# Ghost laying and mating question



## Alex 1 (Jun 4, 2006)

Hi everybody. My old username was executor of fruit flies, but I found that too cumbersome and stupid to keep using it. Anyway:

My ghost is laying an ooth as I type this. However, I never observed actual mating. I know she's been mounted by 3 different males, but I never saw them "connect." Does anyone with experience know how long ghost mating lasts(the connecting part)? I'm hoping I just missed it, since I may have an infertile ooth.

Also, I plan to incubate it in the container pictured below, except with moist sphagnum moss at the bottom. Any comments for improvement? Like replacing the mesh lid with a lid without mesh, just holes, to keep more humidity in?


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## yen_saw (Jun 4, 2006)

Hi Alex,

Based on my understanding, ghost mating usually last somewhere between 4-12 hours, but a 30 minutes may be enough for her to lay fertiled ooth but i wouldn't count on that.

If the ooth is fertiled, it should hatch in 6-7 weeks. Keep the substrate moist but don't spray on the ooth. YOur setup looks good. JUst make sure there is no water condensate inside the container (due to high humidity) which will cause the ooth to mold. Good luck!


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