# Stagmomantis ooth hatching



## yeatzee (Jan 5, 2010)

Well my mom discovered the ooth 90% hatched already (happened last night/early this morning I suppose) but there were a few stragglers....

The ooth:






Two stragglers:





(notice the shape of the head of the non-spread out nymph)

What is this called? (almost like a molt.. the skin they shed out of as the hatch):






Thanks again Kamakiri!


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## sufistic (Jan 5, 2010)

yeatzee said:


> Well my mom discovered the ooth 90% hatched already (happened last night/early this morning I suppose) but there were a few stragglers....The ooth:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Congrats! That's their first molt and transition from 1st instar to 2nd instar.


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## yeatzee (Jan 5, 2010)

Well that controdicts all I thought I knew than :blink: 

I always called new born nymphs as first instar nymphs.... so really they were 2nd instar? So ALL my mantids are one instar farther than I give them credit? :mellow: 

Edit: does everyone base their nymphs off of the above? So for instance Ismart, were the nymphs that i purchased from you 3 instar counting the hatch as 1 or ???


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## sufistic (Jan 5, 2010)

yeatzee said:


> Well that controdicts all I thought I knew than :blink: I always called new born nymphs as first instar nymphs.... so really they were 2nd instar? So ALL my mantids are one instar farther than I give them credit? :mellow:
> 
> Edit: does everyone base their nymphs off of the above? So for instance Ismart, were the nymphs that i purchased from you 3 instar counting the hatch as 1 or ???


Wait I might've confused myself. My apologies as it's 3 am here lol. You're right in your definition. After the first shed, they'll still be known as 1st instars. After shedding two times including when they hatch, then they're known as 2nd instars.


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## kamakiri (Jan 5, 2010)

That first 'shed' skin is the 'exuvium'. Those are still first instar 'L1'

Biologically speaking, I do not know it to be different than any other molt...just functionally as to exit the egg chamber and ootheca.

Watch the ooth again tomorrow morning...more will still probably come out for several days. I've had ooths hatch for over a week.


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## yeatzee (Jan 5, 2010)

Oh ok....

and thanks Kamakiri thats the word I was looking for


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## Rick (Jan 5, 2010)

That pic of the two emerging is incredible.


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 5, 2010)

All that advanced stuff confused me, and it's three in the afternoon!

This is how it goes. The emergence of the mantis nymph tends to differ from that of other insects, largely due to the ootheca and the embryonic mantis's need to escape it. We shall consider one egg.

The embryo develops inside an embryonic cuticle within the chorion (egg shell) The anterior end is covered by a cephalic[head region] cap which is thought to be involved in its emergence from the ooth. Immediately prior to hatching, it is called a pronymph. At hatching, the pronymph breaks through the chorion and wriggles its way to the surface of the ooth. I am seriously not interested in starting any kind of debate here, and it is true that when the pronymph emerges, it casts off the embryonic cuticle with its cephalic cap and ventral rod(cf), but the "strings" that you see are not the exuviae, but "hatching filaments" produced by the embryonic cercus (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/109917798/abstract?CRETRY=1&amp;SRETRY=0) Again, note that the chitin here is not exuvial Chitin is secreted by insects under conditions that have nothing to do with ecdesis, such as the formation of the hypertrophic matrix. I am sure that Christian and a few others could greatly enhance this description, but it will do for now.

So there you have it. Egg, pronymph, first instar (L1) nymph. And away you go! Post or Email me if anything is unclear.


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## kamakiri (Jan 5, 2010)

PhilinYuma said:


> All that advanced stuff confused me, and it's three in the afternoon!This is how it goes. The emergence of the mantis nymph tends to differ from that of other insects, largely due to the ootheca and the embryonic mantis's need to escape it. We shall consider one egg.
> 
> The embryo develops inside an embryonic cuticle within the chorion (egg shell) The anterior end is covered by a cephalic[head region] cap which is thought to be involved in its emergence from the ooth. Immediately prior to hatching, it is called a pronymph. At hatching, the pronymph breaks through the chorion and wriggles its way to the surface of the ooth. I am seriously not interested in starting any kind of debate here, and it is true that when the pronymph emerges, it casts off the embryonic cuticle with its cephalic cap and ventral rod(cf), but the "strings" that you see are not the exuviae, but "hatching filaments" produced by the embryonic cercus (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/109917798/abstract?CRETRY=1&amp;SRETRY=0) Again, note that the chitin here is not exuvial Chitin is secreted by insects under conditions that have nothing to do with ecdesis, such as the formation of the hypertrophic matrix. I am sure that Christian and a few others could greatly enhance this description, but it will do for now.
> 
> So there you have it. Egg, pronymph, first instar (L1) nymph. And away you go! Post or Email me if anything is unclear.


Phil,

Thanks for the best explanation that I've seen on the matter so far.

Yes, Id rather not have another debate or much other discussion on the matter!

(forgot to mention that the link doesn't work for the unregistered)


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## kamakiri (Jan 5, 2010)

Link above fixed?


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## yeatzee (Jan 5, 2010)

Rick said:


> That pic of the two emerging is incredible.


Thanks Rick!

Oh and Phil.... how in the world do you remember all those names? I have trouble remembering quite a few mantis species names let alone all this :lol:


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 5, 2010)

Yep, that's the one! Though it isn't quite the same as the one on my list, which has no "Retries"! Thanx Grant!


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## yeatzee (Jan 18, 2010)

L2


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