The shield mantids: pronotal flanges spread into leaf-plates, large bodies, and the most architectural silhouettes the mantis trade carries.
Mantid rules govern without exception: under a year of life, molting height as the non-negotiable, flying prey, and nymphs over adults as the only rational purchase. The shield photographs magnificently and expires on schedule.
Southeast Asian supply plus hobby breeding cycles seasonally, and the annual repopulation keeps the market permanently shallow: prices stay modest, availability follows breeding windows, and the genus premium over plainer mantids buys geometry. A year of architecture is the honest product description.
The line on each tile: lowest ask per day.
Rarity BETA Rarity is supply, and only supply: the tier is how many sellers have ever carried a species, and for a single seller, how many separate listings. Price is not part of it, and neither is how recently it appeared. Tiers are given to tarantula species only.