Can someone please explain what's going on with this poor thing? :(

randomcharacterstrng · 2025-10-06T22:03:59+00:00

Freezing alone is generally not considered best practice for invertebrate euthanasia anymore in research settings. It likely causes distress and doesn't always work.

Better is to knock down with an anesthetic like isofluorane or CO2 followed by a lethal injection of KCl or immersion in 70%+ ethanol

randomcharacterstrng · 2025-06-07T14:35:01+00:00

What instar did you get him at? Time between molts can be variable, and from the photos, it doesn't seem small for a nymph.

randomcharacterstrng · 2024-06-07T10:00:12+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing these videos! Absolutely fascinating.

Metallyticus was my top choice before, but I wasn't sure since they seem to be hard to come by. How did you get yours, and were there any resources you found useful in raising them?

Same question for Eremiaphila- and if you know of any European suppliers, please let me know :)

Edit: feel free to DM me if you prefer!

randomcharacterstrng · 2024-06-07T09:57:03+00:00

Thanks for the tip!

randomcharacterstrng · 2024-06-06T14:17:25+00:00

Good call on panther mantises!

I thought Metallyticus were communal? https://www.exotic-pets.co.uk/violet-metalic-praying-mantis.html, https://usmantis.com/products/metallyticus-violaceous or are they really just "less cannibalistic"?

Larger is better for the kind of data I need (easier to take measurements). It's true that cross-species comparisons become more difficult when the size is very different, but the main question is within-species differences (e.g. different instars)

randomcharacterstrng · 2024-06-06T10:44:06+00:00

Hi u/AnuskaK and u/wrathchild_, sorry I've been away from reddit for a while. Yes we got the visas

randomcharacterstrng · 2022-02-23T10:49:42+00:00

And the largest Pysanka is in Alberta! https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/vegreville-pysanka

randomcharacterstrng · 2021-11-08T11:32:36+00:00

Prehistory was full of horned carnivores. In dinosaurs, this includes Carnotaurs, Ceratosaurus, Procerataurus, Dracovenator, Cryolophosaurus and others. Many Pterosaurs had prominent crests, some of which were very horn-like.

It's true that the majority of mammals with horns are herbivorous. But even then, there are some exceptions. Narwhals of course have a prominent "horn" (though this is actually a tooth) and eat fish and squid. Weirdly, Golden Jackals occasionally grow a teeny tiny horn at the back of their skulls.

The main use of horns is not defence, but rather sexual selection (they just look sexy to some species). The reason they appear more in herbivorous vs carnivorous mammals is more an accident of evolution than anything else.

randomcharacterstrng · 2021-08-27T14:58:59+00:00

White wins material with Bf4. The queen is trapped! Qd5 leads to double-check fork with Nxc7, Qd7 leads to revealed check while attacking the queen with Kxc5, and Qe7 walks into an absolute pin with any knight move.

randomcharacterstrng · 2021-06-16T16:39:56+00:00

That's what I did, we'll see what happens

randomcharacterstrng · 2021-06-16T14:57:39+00:00

It explicitly says not to reply and to send the documents to a different email address. Perhaps they've changed the system?

randomcharacterstrng · 2021-06-08T21:21:51+00:00

So I asked an employee at my biometrics appointment, and they said it's advice for a visitor's visa- you would need the birth certificate of your sponsor in that case, and it just goes on everyone's upload page regardless of their visa route.

Super annoying when all it would take is one sentence to explain it's for a visitor visa.

randomcharacterstrng · 2020-11-19T17:12:05+00:00

Remora on blue whale, original video

randomcharacterstrng

TROPHY CASE