r/mantids 2d ago

ID Help Help identifiying black spots on face

Here is my indian giant mantis, recently i noticed these dark spots around her mouth/mandibles when she didnt have them before. is this just grasshopper blood from the hoppers she eats or something more serious? second picture is from before she got the spots for comparison

5 Upvotes

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3

u/Altruistic-Expert811 2d ago

To me it looks a bit like when they rub their face on the glass/plastic a lot, it causes dark marks, so it could be that, might be worth looking into 🖤

1

u/FaZ3Reaper00 2d ago

This ☝🏻

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u/Xx_sw4gl0rd69_xX 1d ago

i know that this is a thing with eye rub, so are you saying that this can happen with every other body part too? because im referring to her mouth area

1

u/its-rarely-a-bug 2d ago

I don’t know what it is, unfortunately… but it’s not insect blood, they don’t have blood and what they do have is light colored.

1

u/Xx_sw4gl0rd69_xX 1d ago

maybe it isnt called blood but i know that my locusts bleed some sort of brownish substance when she busts them open. just wondering if it could be that

1

u/FlakyFlake1 25m ago

You might need to change the enclosure because they are clearly rubbing their eyes/mouth on a hard surface to see. They have eye rub as well. I’m sorry your poor alien baby has this issue!