u/WeirdRequirement

Hey! My girl moulted the day before yesterday after a significant wait (3 months), and now has a little black mark—which I’ve read is the colour their ovipositor turns in the subadult stage? not sure if that’s true—and what appear to be wing buds. Is she a subadult already? I expected this to be only instar i5/6! She’s about 3-3.5cm long.

Do they start getting wing buds this early or should I expect this next moult to be her last?

There was an exoskeleton beneath her so she’s already moulted - is she okay, just drying off or something?

I like to offer her water on my finger to make sure she’s always hydrated… this evening she shoved her whole face in the droplet

I always assumed she was an I4 female but it’s been 3 months since her last moult and now I’m having doubts! Could she be a subadult male? It doesn’t look like she has wingbuds to me but I’m not sure what to look out for—I assumed the segments on her back were just a part of her body, but the first picture shows a little gap between them that’s making me rethink.

There is a little raised green bit between her eyes but it’s not particularly tall (it’s best visible in the last pic). Her ‘collar’ is a mix of brown and green. I thought she had 5 segments visible but my count could be off.