# How long can a mantis really live for?



## kitkat39 (Apr 2, 2011)

The general answer has always been "about a year". I saw something today that kind of blew my mind. If you look at this thread you'll see what I'm talking about: http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=20805

I know exactly where that Lobata came from, and it came from a batch that hatched in May of 2010. IT IS NOW APRIL OF 2011!!! All of you who got Lobata from me, this female that you see in these pictures from that link is their AUNT! It's still got a couple sheds away from adult, yet it's ALREADY almost a year old! As an adult, my females from the same batch lived roughly around 6 months or so and some are still alive! (Although fading).

I think that we may see one of the longest living mantis on record here as long as Patrick treats her well and that she doesn't end up mismolting on him before reaching adult! GOOD LUCK PATRICK!   :lol:  :blink:


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## patrickfraser (Apr 2, 2011)

OMG! I had no idea. I will be treating her the utmost care. I think she is heading for a molt as she isn't eating. I hope it's a molt. I think I have a male or 2 lined up for a mating attempt when the time comes. How long does it take for them to reach adult usually? Is she just taking her time? I have never had one of these and do not know if there are special requirements. I am about to really look into this as I want to give the best care. Any Info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


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## kitkat39 (Apr 2, 2011)

According to her siblings, she should have already had her full life and on her way out of this world already. She obviously is not as she's still got a couple sheds to go. And as an adult, she'll live about another 6 months for you.


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## GreenOasis (Apr 2, 2011)

Yeah, Kiet...my last few nymphs seem to be taking FOREVER to molt &amp; grow...what's UP with THAT? :huh: Shuh...I'll be lucky if I get to breed them before the end of the year! :blink:


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## Mr.Mantid (Apr 2, 2011)

I'm going to guess that it will probably live longer than a year and make it to adult, but I guess we will not find out until it drops.

Good luck!

Mr. Mantid.


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## JoeCapricorn (Apr 3, 2011)

Very strange... a mantis that was born 11 months ago and is still not adult?

I have seen bugs that were stuck in a sub-adult stage for an extreme amount of time. I've no idea what causes this. Last year, there were a pair of M. differentialis grasshoppers that I would see often that never molted to adult. I even found one in early November, still sub-adult. I recall originally finding them in July although it is certainly hard to tell if they were the same ones. One thing that was kind of strange with them was their coloration - olive-green, almost graying and faded at times. They were aging like their adult peers, but as sub-adults.

However I can definitely say for sure that Lobatas have one of the longest lives of all mantises. I just came on here to post a concern about my remaining female (Gnarles) from LAST year that is EASILY one year old. She has amazing strength in her fore-arms. My only concern is with feeding her, her abdomen is HUGE, but she hasn't laid any egg-case at all. She laid one, way back sometime in December. She became an adult in August. I got her early May as a 3rd or 4th instar nymph. In fact, I can pinpoint her arrival day as May 6, although her birth-day is unknown it is assumed she was at least a month old when she arrived. So, around now she would be turning one year old.

Is there a way to aid egg-bound unmated female mantises with their abdomens? Does reduced feeding help them at all? I am afraid of feeding her to the point where her abdomen bursts or something


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## Krissim Klaw (Apr 3, 2011)

JoeCapricorn said:


> Is there a way to aid egg-bound unmated female mantises with their abdomens? Does reduced feeding help them at all? I am afraid of feeding her to the point where her abdomen bursts or something


I've had a couple eggbound females and reduced feeding seemed to do them well. Made the extra weight easier on them. All of mine also lived full lives despite never laying an ooth.


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## warpdrive (Apr 3, 2011)

Wait, what? They live how long again? Somebody owes me some flys to make up for this.

Yo, my baby L1's hit L4...most of them, anyway.

They seem to be doing great. Feeding well and no problems with molting. They do like to be pigs so I make sure they have plenty to munch on.

As for slow growth, do you think that temps might be too low for some people?

Mine seem to be right on time.

Harry


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## patrickfraser (Apr 3, 2011)

I will name her Little Old Lady, LOL


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## sporeworld (Apr 3, 2011)

JoeCapricorn said:


> Very strange... a mantis that was born 11 months ago and is still not adult?
> 
> Is there a way to aid egg-bound unmated female mantises with their abdomens? Does reduced feeding help them at all? I am afraid of feeding her to the point where her abdomen bursts or something


Not sure if this species has to go through diapause, but I've read that some do. Mine were long lived, but not THAT long.

One of mine had the same egg bound issue, and never got better. She got so big that her butt folded over when she turned sideways. She died a month or so later, but it's not clear if it was directly related to that.


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## Rick (Apr 3, 2011)

Because she lags in development doesn't necessarily mean she will live six more months as an adult. A year is pushing it for most species. Many of your temperate mantids (chinese, carolina, etc) won't barely even do six months total.


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## patrickfraser (Apr 3, 2011)

I'm not sure if this is the problem, but she doesn't seem to want to eat. She will drink readily from a q-tip, but seems uninterested in BB or anything else I put in with her. Any suggestions??? She is also very slow in movement, bit can sure "lash out" if she feels like it. She gave me quite a scare the first time she did it. I am hoping a molt is coming, but it's been since Thursday that I received her and she hasn't eaten (not that I've seen). She is still quite plump though. I am just a worrier. What if I do get males for her and she still won't "grow up"? Wouldn't that stink? I hope not, as I may be getting 2 males for her.


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## more_rayne (Apr 4, 2011)

My female C. nebulosa and male D. dessicata refuse to die.


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## dgerndt (Apr 4, 2011)

I heard that miomantis paykullii are very long-lived. I had an adult female for months, who I got from someone else who had her for months, who got her as an adult from someone else. No idea how old she really was, but she handled traveling well!


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## Schloaty (Apr 5, 2011)

I still have a female D. bolivari that hatched last spring (April? May?). She was mated twice, but has never laid an ooth, so I assume she's ooth bound....but she's still otherwise alive and kicking.

Rick is right about the temparate species, though....I have the new hatched nymphs from Chinese ooths (from last year's mantises) that are starting to molt to L2, and their PARENTS hatched around the same time as this D. bolivari of mine.


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## kitkat39 (Apr 5, 2011)

Schloaty said:


> I still have a female D. bolivari that hatched last spring (April? May?). She was mated twice, but has never laid an ooth, so I assume she's ooth bound....but she's still otherwise alive and kicking.
> 
> Rick is right about the temparate species, though....I have the new hatched nymphs from Chinese ooths (from last year's mantises) that are starting to molt to L2, and their PARENTS hatched around the same time as this D. bolivari of mine.


I've had the same problem with the Bolivari! I was able to mate 2 of them, and perhaps more than once, yet one of them has already died without ever laying an ooth for me. I'm not counting on the survivor to lay me an ooth either... =(


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## dgerndt (Apr 5, 2011)

Try raising the humidity. I've heard that can help egg bound females lay ooths.


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## patrickfraser (Apr 5, 2011)

Woo hoo. She finally ate a moth. TORE IT UP! She sure can devour something quick for moving so slow. Any "best practices" for collecting moths? My outside lights don't seem to draw them. I have only been able to find a few, but she was only went after this big fluffy one. It was funny seeing her bury her face in all that fur.



. Then just a husk and wings at the bottom. She is very fat now and she bulges out the black lines on her back. I will use that as a judge of whether she is full or not. Daddy's very happy. Now if she'd just grow up!


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## patrickfraser (Apr 6, 2011)

Well, it isn't looking good. Today, when I left for work she seemed to be going to molt. When I got home, she was at the bottom with one of her hind legs bent up. I placed her back on the top hanging from the screen. She might not be long for this world. Seems like it may be the opposite of progeria. Aging, but not maturing. Who knows. I will be keeping an eye on her. Looks like there won't be a chance to mate her, unless things turn around.


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## kitkat39 (Apr 6, 2011)

Oh well


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## patrickfraser (Apr 6, 2011)

Yeah, oh well. Good thing I didn't get too attached.


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## patrickfraser (Apr 14, 2011)

LOL (Little Old Lady) is still hanging around. Her leg seems to have righted itself, but still having very little to do with eating. No molt as of yet, either. What is the length of time, usually, between molts? I am puzzled and was not expecting her to be around this long after her "accident". I'll keep providing care, but I have no idea what else to do.


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## JoeCapricorn (Apr 14, 2011)

What do you have on the top for her to cling from?

Having some sort of webby fabric (such as the netting from some wash-cloths, that's what I use anyway... the netting, cut from the washcloths, then my mom yells at me, hahaha, jk I just got them from a dollar store) on top is one idea.

Anything that can be better than a paper towel would do. D. lobata, from my experience, have strong, sticky feet. The 5th instar babies I have, in some of their cages there is still a leg from their molt that is still attached to the top. The ones I raised last year never needed anything more than paper towel, but did need quite a bit of room.

On the complete opposite side of things, the Violin mantis I have was a pain in the butt when she had to molt to adult. Two of her legs couldn't even stick to anything, and her two other legs could barely stay on a branch. I ended up using scotch tape and then held two of her feet in place with my fingers for a good half-hour to make sure she molted alright. She is doing well and is quite strong, very beautiful mantis too... so if it must come to doing this for LOL, I am sure it will be worth it. If it doesn't work, at least you tried. (Believe me, this wasn't the first time I had to tape a mantises feet to prevent a fall, but this was the first time it actually worked)


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## patrickfraser (Apr 15, 2011)

The top is a mesh screen, which she hangs very easily. Just not molting or eating much that I've seen. She is always hanging. Thanks


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## JoeCapricorn (Apr 15, 2011)

Try to put her in a container with a mesh top, but also less ventilation so humidity is a bit higher. That may help.

My dead leaf mantis Gnarles laid her ooth. It's unfertilized, and it's also the nastiest thing I have ever seen. Increasing the humidity seemed to help though. She certainly seems to be glad to be rid of it too!


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## Ghozt (Jun 27, 2011)

LOL ! My 1st Mio mantis that I got from my 1st order from MantisPlace as a random suprise mantis ! She lived to lay 10+ ooths and lived for about 1year and 6months! So that would actualy be this month last year when she finaly died. She really aged... she looked all dry and turned a smokey color b4 finally turning black in alot of areas then finally her head started to turn black and she was dead the next day. She lived in butterfly cage and had alot of sunlight. She had a set up in the living room window. I gave her a random diet, flies, moths, crickets, roaches, ect... and powdered the feeders with "homebrew". I think i still have a pic of her and her sister eating a black widow together...


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## psyconiko (Jun 27, 2011)

Have you heard about "calorie restriction" that extends lifespan?Seems to work well with insects.


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## patrickfraser (Jun 27, 2011)

Nikkko said:


> Have you heard about "calorie restriction" that extends lifespan?Seems to work well with insects.


I am intrigued by the concept. No wonder people are starting to live shorter lives. I am off to a "flying" start. Isn't that just a fancy way to say diet?


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## kmsgameboy (Jun 28, 2011)

No pressure Patrick, no pressure.


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