Still alive. Still dark. Still not eating on his own. He ate 2 fly thoraxes thoraces today (...and I learned a new word, but I digress...) He is slowly improving, at least in regard to what and how much he will eat. He still can't grab the prey insect on his own, but is starting to make attempts to hold onto it with while he's eating. (I feed him by using a slender grass stem as a skewer and holding the food right up to his mouth.)

He also doesn't seem to be cleaning himself. Mantids are normally very fastidious about keeping themselves clean and will usually groom their claws, feet and antennae several times a day, especially after eating. Below is an example of an arboretum mantid cleaning himself, from a couple summers ago.


Anyway, he's still alive, and that's good news.