Is Lola gravid? (adult female M. religiosa)

Hey again...

My family's wild-caught female european's belly looks pretty big.

Having been caught in the first week of October, is it likely she's expecting?

I feed fairly small crickets daily. Usually just one.

Does she need more, if preparing to deposit her ooth?

Referring to these images, does she look preggy?

Thanks in advance for any help in determining...

I would stay away from the word pregnant because that implies that the nymphs are maturing inside her and they aren't yet.  I would use the word gravid referring to is she holding eggs and yes she is very gravid!  Since she is wild caught, there is a chance that she has mated already and is just putting on more size.  Keep feeding her regularly and she can probably eat more than you think, helps her get the nutrition she needs to lay her ooths.  You can't guarantee the fertility of the eggs, but I would just keep feeding her and let her do her thing!  Good luck! 

I agree with @minomantis. Unless you have proof that she has been mated, you cannot say for sure if she is pregnant. Mantids lay ooths regardless of whether or not they have been mated.

- MantisGirl13

If adult and female she is gravid. 

@minomantis @MantisGirl13 @Rick

Gravid. Thank you. 

I figured she's looking plump. 

So just keep feeding her a small cricket or two a day? These crickets are nowhere near as large as the grasshoppers etc I see as feeders in photos and videos. The largest I have is are 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch at the longest (12mm to 16mm) and not very thick. 

Ive put a stick in with her greenery to give her something solid for an ooth to stick onto. 

After an ooth, she'll likely die quick? 

I would give her more than just one place to lay if possible. Females can be pretty picky!

- MantisGirl13

hysteresis said:

After an ooth, she'll likely die quick? 

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According to my reading, a couple of months generally, but I'm sure there are exceptions. She looks beautiful and healthy, so maybe she'll be lucky and have several months ahead of her. I hope her ooth is fertile. ?

The last female I had that laid an ooth died a within the month. ? 

Cool TY @Synapze

Hopefully she sticks with us for a bit, as acquiring more mantids is difficult in Canada, when it's too cold to ship this time of year. We've had frost and a bit of snow (although it only lasted a for hours) so wild mantids are done. 

But, we're (as in our family) prepared for that day. My boys (6 & 7) know these insects don't live too long beyond their final molt. It would be nice to have her around at Christmas but I don't expect her to last that long. 

Let see if she'll bless us with babies. 

Thatd be quite the adventure and experience. 

Thanks @MantisGirl13.

I think I'll try something a bit larger with more perches this weekend. She has no problem stalking her crickets. 

I accidentally cracked her jar anyway. ?

She looks beautiful and fat. The others said enough   If she is mated her ooth will be fertile. Keep her ooth and see what is happenning. Hopefully she will give you many baby mantids to care for.

@Little Mantis that would be amazing! 

The kids (I keep saying the kids, but really... ???) would learn so much from seeing nymphs go through their molts. 

I'll have to research how to keep an ooth viable and trigger the development of the babies inside. 

That may get us through our hard Canadian winter. ?

One day I'd like to try something fancier like orchids, ghosts, and the lovely diabolicas.

There is a good chance she is mated since it is so late in the season but never definite of course. And she might lay several ooths (never know!) My female has just laid another ooth today (I was SHOCKED!!) So I will hope for you!

@Prayingmantisqueen Congratz on the ooth! 

- MantisGirl13

@PrayingmantisqueenGratz on the ooth!

That's awesome, @Prayingmantisqueen!

Congratulations! ?

MantisGirl13 said:

@Prayingmantisqueen Congratz on the ooth! 

- MantisGirl13

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Little Mantis said:

@PrayingmantisqueenGratz on the ooth!

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hysteresis said:

That's awesome, @Prayingmantisqueen!

Congratulations! ?

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Thx everybody

Wow. Lola can really wolf those crickets down! I just put in #3 and she got him immediately. I'm dropping another one in tonight. I'll have to grab some more tomorrow. ?

Hope she produces and lives on through her brood.

Me too!

An update, hoping someone can contribute some experience... 

Lola is getting finicky. She seems too gravid to hunt successfully. I have mixed success dissecting her meals. When I offer, she strikes out with her raptorials. Im not sure if she's trying to catch or punch her away her feed. Sometimes I place a gutsy morsel right on her mouth and she eats it. Sometime she'll grab it and finish it off. Sometimes she'll just drop it after several chomps.

That being said, yesterday I successfully fed her four small crickets, dissected. It was painstaking. 

When moved to another enclosure to hunt, she ignores her cricket. She's more interested in trying to climb up the glass and ends up on her back. Her wings stick to freshly misted glass and it holds her down. Guh! 

Do gravid females slow waaaay down like this? She appears to get tired easy. 

Also, I've been having to mist several times a day. Our Nest smart thermostat is reporting 40% humidity in the house. I try to keep it moist in her tank. 

Can too much mist hurt her? 

If she is not eating a ton anymore than she should lay soon. Too much mist won't hurt her as long as you are not missing her cage too much. In that case she could get way too humid and die.

- MantisGirl13