Tenodera sinensis - how many molts?

Hi all -

Does anyone know how many molts a chinese/Tenodera sinensis takes to go from L1 to adult?

thanks!

Anywhere from 6 to 7 based on my experience... and I've raised my fair share.

I agree with Synapze. Usually a male has one less molt that a female, so keep that in mind too

I have 2 male Chinese, which I believe to be L4, and my kid (and I!) has his heart set on mating them and producing an ooth. I love that he's interested in this stuff, but we don't have a female! I bought, on ebay, a female which was advertised as '1 LIVE Female Chinese Praying Mantis L7 OR L8 STAGE'.

I didn't bother to consider how many instars a chinese female has, cause I was in a hurry and I'd been searching for a while for a way to get these guys a girlfriend. So, this beautiful female shows up, bright green - with wings  

Now, I'm wondering if I can keep her alive until the boys are ready for her. It might be tricky. I was thinking to keep just a hair cooler, to slow her metabolism a bit, and do the reverse for the males. Also, will feed the males as much as they will eat but just feed the female a comfortable amount.  From what I've learned, the males grow so much faster than the females that this could possible work.

Any opinions on this? Do we stand a chance?

It would be a stretch. I’m not going to say that it can’t happen, but it is pretty unlikely. What you have to consider is that the female is already an adult, and who knows how long she’s been that way. If your mantids are indeed L4, they need at least 3 more molts. If you give three Meeks between molts, that would be anywhere between 10-11 weeks before they can be bred. It will be pretty hard to keep the female alive, and willing to accept a mate, for that amount of time. 

ausar318 said:

It would be a stretch. I’m not going to say that it can’t happen, but it is pretty unlikely. What you have to consider is that the female is already an adult, and who knows how long she’s been that way. If your mantids are indeed L4, they need at least 3 more molts. If you give three Meeks between molts, that would be anywhere between 10-11 weeks before they can be bred. It will be pretty hard to keep the female alive, and willing to accept a mate, for that amount of time. 

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Yea that's kind of what I thought, so the whole thing is a bit of a waste now. But, this little girl is a killing machine and I like her, so she can hang out as long as she wants  

I caught her checking out one of the phyllium gigantea in the terrarium right next to hers - she'd love to eat that thing! I better move them a bit further apart!

You might still be able to catch a mate for her by leaving her outside at night in a well ventilated container. Supposedly people have had success luring males to the scent of the female’s pheromones. Some also say males are also attracted to lights.