My #1 mantis seemed a lot bigger today, but I wasn’t sure she’d (I’m 90% sure this is a female) molted because there was no change in coloring and there was no shed to be found. But then I looked at the others that I know were about the same size as this one the other day, and they looked tiny in comparison. Maybe the feeder crickets ate the shed.

l6 mantis side
l6 mantis back

I finally got a shot of the foot-cleaning thing they do, which is adorable when they’re really small:

l6 mantis cleaning foot

I also almost got bitten. I took off the lid and she came up to the lip so I put my hand out for her to climb on, and as her arms touched my fingers her head went down. This is something I’ve been watching out for so I pulled back fast. I quickly grabbed a plastic jar lid and splashed some water on it, and she climbed on and took a long drink from one of the droplets.

I’d read that when they’re really thirsty they’ll instinctively bite whatever they’re standing on in an attempt to find water, but this is the first time I’ve seen it in practice. I usually mist the leaves and inside of the container once a day, but it’s been getting a bit musty in there so I’ve tapered off to let it dry out, and in combination with the molting I guess she got dehydrated. There was still plenty of water in a little container of cotton balls (which the feeder bugs definitely drink from), but I don’t think the mantis knows to use it especially since it’s on the “ground” where she almost never goes. I’ll have to figure out some water source I can put up high where she hangs out.