# ootheca arrived but i am worried.



## Adamski (Apr 29, 2005)

The ootheca arrived today and it is an Taiwan green bush mantids ootheca.

I am worried because the egg seems very brittle and crispy, some of the little pods are visable and i don't have the first clues how to keep the ootheca in the correct position like which way is up and which way is down and how do i keep it stuck to a surface? Also there seems to be a peice that has been cut off the the top i think this because that is where the little point is.

Please advise me, post a pick of your oothecas, or a link.

Thank you very much.


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## Barvid (Apr 29, 2005)

Hi,

What specie does your ootheca come from? Oothecas has many different looks. In some oothecas the eegs are protected by foam, in others you can see the eegs cause they are not covered with foam.

Cheers,

Barvid.


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## Rick (Apr 29, 2005)

It would be helpful if you could post a pic of it.


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## Adamski (Apr 29, 2005)

Barvid. I only have the common name for this species and this name is Taiwan green mantid. If you go on www.bugsdirectuk.com you will see a pic of the mantid and i think a scientific name next to common name.

The eggcase has what looks like the foam on it but there are two holes in it, and through these hole the eggs are visable. One of the holes is at what i think is the bottom and the bigger one in the middle.

There is also another peice of the eggcase and it seems to have been cut with knife from the main ootheca.


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## Ian (Apr 30, 2005)

adamski, may I ask where you got the ooth from, was it from bugsdirect?

Cheers,

Ian


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## Adamski (Apr 30, 2005)

Yes i bought it from bugsdirectuk.

I have a freind who buys mantids from there and they didn't have any problems.

Have you had problems with bugsdirectuk before or something?


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## Ian (Apr 30, 2005)

well, I could say a LOT of things about bugsdirectuk. For starts, out of the 3 bugs shows I have been to, joe, the guy that runs it, has had a box of oothecaes, and that box has had exactly the same ooths in. What you have to think to yourself, is why would he want to sell such exotic mantis species oothecae, when he could hatch them out and sell the nymphs for a lot more than the ooth??? I would be pretty certain that your ooth will not hatch, as none of mine I have got from him have ever done. But hey, unles you try, you will never find out, so good luck!!!

Cheers,

Ian


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## Adamski (May 1, 2005)

Joe phoned me just 5 mins ago and we had a chat about the oothecas, the peice i thought had been chopped off he said was actually a small ootheca and theother a medium sized one. those smooth eges were where the eggs had been hung on the side of the tank the mantis was in.

I am not too sure about the medium sized ones health but am pretty sure the smalll one will hatch because it looks much healtheir than the other.

well all i can do is hope for the best.


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## Chris Dickie (May 2, 2005)

> well, I could say a LOT of things about bugsdirectuk. For starts, out of the 3 bugs shows I have been to, joe, the guy that runs it, has had a box of oothecaes, and that box has had exactly the same ooths in. What you have to think to yourself, is why would he want to sell such exotic mantis species oothecae, when he could hatch them out and sell the nymphs for a lot more than the ooth??? I would be pretty certain that your ooth will not hatch, as none of mine I have got from him have ever done. But hey, unles you try, you will never find out, so good luck!!!Cheers,
> 
> Ian


Ive never heard of problems with Joe, we did have a problem with 1 of the 20 pedes I bought @ Kettering for my bro but thats been sorted

How do you know its exactly the same ooths? He hasn't had ooths in stock while he was in Thailand so I guess he collected ooths there and/or imported them from elsewhere.

lots of people sell ooths, Ive not looked at the site to check but I presume its a Hierodula sp, which means up to a few hundred nymphs per ooth. If he imported the ooths I imagine he got 30-100+ which could mean tens of thousands of nymphs, that is why anybody sells oothecae normally. You have been selling the same ooths for a while, should I be wary of you, lol(jk)


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## Ian (May 2, 2005)

LMAO, na, I havent any for sale any more, a LOT of them hatched before I sold them, which was a shame. Oh, graham was saying, he said he was appauled when he saw the same box, and, to be honest with you, judging by the state some of his insects were in, I really dont find that suprising.

Cheers,

Ian


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