Skip to main content

Catchy has molted again

Time for a non-spood related post. Catchy.

Catchy is definitely my favourite mantis. I'm not sure whether it's because she was my first or is my biggest, but I love her. She's a lot of fun to get out and handle, and feeding times are always entertaining. Well, usually anyway.
At her last feeding, she again batted the prey away. She really didn't want to take the food she had been offered, despite me offering it several times. By now, I know that this means a molt is imminent, so when my daughter came to me and told me "Mummy, Catchy's bum is grey!" I knew that she was preparing a shed. Lo and behold, I woke up the next morning to this:
I can't get her out as yet to show off her new size as she needs to harden up - I would be scared of injuring her. But she is just getting bigger and bigger, at an amazing rate. It is fascinating to watch. My other mantids have each had one molt since arriving, and they're a fraction of her size. She really is amazing.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Memoriam: Summer edition

Unfortunately, due to the delayed nature of the posting on this blog, the things that I write about in the Summer don't get published until Winter, or vice versa. That's the limitation of a prolific poster writing up a buffer, to be released at regular intervals. It doesn't usually pose a problem, but as I write this post in the middle of Autumn - firstly, it is not going to hit the blog until next year. Secondly, due to the nature of the content here, it may interrupt continuity - I am writing to remember the charming little critters that I lost over this summer. Some of the deaths were expected, there had been plenty of warning. Other deaths were...surprising. But while I mention them here, due to the pre written nature of the content to come, there may be posts further down the line where these names and faces crop up again, almost as though I hadn't lost them. I've been umming and ahhing over the best time to place this post, and to be honest - there's...
Post a Comment
Read more

Purple Spood has a Name

This new spood finally has a name! It has taken me a while to get around to it, because I was really struggling. I am really hoping that this spider is a male, because the males of this species take on a really vibrant purple colour once they grow on, while the females are a dusty brown. So I wanted a male name, but also something linked to the colour purple, to highlight my hopes for him. All of the purple-themed names I could think of sounded really girly, like "Lavender", or "Heather". But then it occurred to me - Purple Rain. My partner really came up with it, not me. But he's named after a certain purple singer/songwriter - Prince. Yeah, it might be cliche, but I'm really happy with it. So Prince it is!
Post a Comment
Read more

Blogger Absences!

Sorry guys! I don't know if anyone actually reads my spider blog, but I'm sure if you do you'll have noticed that it's on a temporary hiatus. There are posts queued up, waiting to be edited and finished. I have plenty to write about, including the recent loss of my elderly mantis Catchy, and the rehousing of my Poecilotheria metallica (which was tense). But right now it has to wait, as I am currently juggling my job, my fmaily, and now my new Masters degree in Environmental Management. I will come back and update on all the lovely (and not so lovely) things that my critters have been up to. But for now, I'm afraid it will have to wait. Be safe all, and don't squish that spider!
Post a Comment
Read more