# Noob Questions



## yankeereefer

Hi All-

I'm a noob here to the forum - I came across a terrestrial mantis last night when I came home from work - He was there the other day and I shooed him off -

Well last night, I decided to collect him as I knew that there was a group of people that maintained them as "pets". Until I googled the web today, I had no idea how huge of a group it actually was and that's how I came to subscribe to this thread.

Over the winter I noticed several "nests" in the shrubbery in front of my apt - I'm almost sure that this is one of it's previous offspring - I do not know if the last nest I saw were viable or not.

Anyways, being a new keeper I was hoping someone might help me learn some basics - I have perused some of the threads herein and on other sites and found myself unfamiliar with some of the "lingo"

What is L3, L4, etc.? I believe it to be an indicator of size - What are they specifically?

How long does a typical mantid live? I thought I read once uon a time that females die after egg laying.

Lastly, can someone ID my mantis? Here's a pic:







In case anyone's wondering, my screen name is related to my interest in nano reefkeeping - I use the same handle at nano-reef.com where you can see my saltwater tanks - My newest addidtion there is a 5.5g tank housing a Mantis Shrimp. here's his pic snapped during acclimation process:






Anyways, thanks in advance for any help - I plan to hang out here quite a bit to further my knowledge of my new found charge.


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## Rick

Welcome to the forum! Be sure to make an intro in the introduction forum. That is a chinese mantis nymph. If you see any egg cases this time of year they have already hatched. "L" refers to the instar or stage the mantis is at. A newly hatched mantis is L1 and each time they moult they go up. The one you have appears to be subadult which means after it's next molt it will be an adult. It looks like it's gonna be a female but if you could get a pic of it's underside I can confirm. Most mantids we keep are captive bred by breeders. The one you have is a common mantis that is not very desirable to breeders. I keep them on occasion though.


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## yankeereefer

Thanks for the reply and welcome!

I will make my way to the intro forum this evening -

Is this mantis a pretty "hardy" individual and easy to keep for noobs? I will get (if I can) pics of it's underside to post later tonight as well- I think I read that you can sex them by counting segments on their thorax

Can you tell me the life expectancy of this little guy? I am also curious if I should release it as it was "wildborn" vs. captive bred.

Thanks again!

YR


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## Herp13

Hey, i'm a noob just like you, i had one of the chinese i caught outside, but it died this morning during a bad molt, it was at the same stage in life as yours, oh, nice shrimp by the way, what species?


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## Rick

You can keep it if you want. It will probably live another few months indoors. They die at the first frost outside. They are fairly hardy once they are at that stage and after. It will need some vertical space to molt though. Yes you can tall sex on nymphs by counting the segments. Adults you can tell at a glance because the males are petite and the females are larger.


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## robo mantis

where you at in illinois


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## yankeereefer

> Hey, i'm a noob just like you, i had one of the chinese i caught outside, but it died this morning during a bad molt, it was at the same stage in life as yours, oh, nice shrimp by the way, what species?


My mantis (aquatic) is a Neogonodactylus wennerae which is a pretty common hitchhiker found when purchasing live rock. He's what they categorize as a "Smasher" type of mantis - As their name inplies, they use their front "arms" to club crabs, sails, etc. The other type of aquatic mantis is "Spearer"- Spearer's appendages are more akin to those found in our terrestrial mantids.


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## yankeereefer

> where you at in illinois


Chicago suburbs; Naperville


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## robo mantis

omg i used to live in a town around there now i am at Indiana border


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## yankeereefer

Well, then we're still practically neighbors!


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## Rick

I am also originally from Illinois. Small town Illinois:Central part.


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## robo mantis

nice was in South Holland but moved


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## yankeereefer

I'm not a Illinois native - I'm a CA boy deep down, but consider myself a Southerner as alot of my time has been spent in TN/MS. I have also lived in MA, MI and MN


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## yankeereefer

So am I to understand that my new mantis will only live a few months outside, due to frost (if I left him go) or inside the house (as Rick wrote) - I'm confused


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## xenuwantsyou

Basically it'll most likely live longer in your care, given the proper care. Either way age will eventually do it's thing, unfortunately.


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## Rick

> So am I to understand that my new mantis will only live a few months outside, due to frost (if I left him go) or inside the house (as Rick wrote) - I'm confused


Whenever the first frost usually occurs in your area is when she would die outside. Will live a little longer inside.


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## yankeereefer

> Basically it'll most likely live longer in your care, given the proper care. Either way age will eventually do it's thing, unfortunately.


If I maintained it, how long might I expect it to live (average) - Do captive bred mantis have a longer life expectancy than wild caught?


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## Rick

You may get four months if you're really lucky. Chinese don't live long to begin with. Get another type from some of the breeders here. Some other types live much longer.


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## yankeereefer

I guess I'll rear it the best I can for as long as I can - It'll give me time to research and find the best species for my skill level


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## Rick

African mantids are very easy to keep. They live awhile too. I have some available.


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## wuwu

nice advertising. :lol:


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## robo mantis

hey i got a few egyptian mantids easy to care for :wink:


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## yankeereefer

Here's a couple of pix from tonight - I'm probably going to hang onto it for a while - Not really knowing what to buy for it to eat, I bought a tin of mealworms












Right now he's temporarily housed in a aquarium net quarantine thingy - Not permanent lodging mind you - It should suffice for a little while - It is about 6x his height and I've stuck a twig in it for him to hang from.


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## robo mantis

good job  very cool


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## Rick

Mealworms are ok but they should not be primary diet. I buy crickets in bulk online and they are fairly cheap. Roaches work well too but are more expensive.


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## bruty2fruity

as are and as do locusts. also african mantids are well easy to keep. as are giant indian and marbled. chinese are a pain and constantly mismoult or do random things when moulting


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## 13ollox

looks like a subadult to me . also looks like he will shed pretty soon due to the size of his buds . you can always buy them fold away dog kennels . they are really cheap and work wonders when it comes to moulting , ive never had a fallen mantid in one of these . heres a link for example .

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-Popup-cages-for-Bu...1QQcmdZViewItem

also the crickets usually climb around the top instead of staying at the bottom , which is good for the mantis when its hunguary . but not when it's going to shed. so remove everything .


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## yankeereefer

Sorry it's been so long between posts-

This mantis was found back in August and is still alive in captivity. In fact, she just laid her first ooth a couple days ago.

From what I've read/understand though, the eggs are likely infertile since she hasn't been mated - Is this this case?

I've read that some mantids may not need mating, but I don't think that Chinese Mantis falls into this category.

Thoughts?

Yankee


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## Mister Michael

during the day (cause its probably getting cold) you could put her outside in a cage with fine mesh covering it so those stupid wasp won't get her...and maybe by chance her pharmones(sp?) will attract a male if its not too late cause its getting kinda late in the year for mantids....and if any mates do arrive breed them....or find a male...or buy a male...thats how I catch my males most of the time....


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## yen_saw

> the eggs are likely infertile since she hasn't been mated - Is this this case?


yes it is infertile.



> I've read that some mantids may not need mating, but I don't think that Chinese Mantis falls into this category.


As far as i know, Brunneria Borealis (Northern American Stick mantis) is the only species that can guarantee hatching without mating.



> those stupid wasp won't get her


Wasp would probably prefer to stay away from an adult praying mantis. It is the parasiitc wasp that will lay eggs inside mantis ootheca not directly into the adult praying mantis.


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