# Parastagmatoptera trouble



## louvadeus (Jun 6, 2006)

Hello friends, I´ve just registered and I would appreciate some help. I´ve been trying to mate my Parastagmatoptera females, but they are really ferocious towards the males, even when gorged with food. Females are three weeks past the last moult, and males about two months ( in this species males moult six times and females seven), so I figure they should be mating. Do any of you know of some mating tips that could help?


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## yen_saw (Jun 6, 2006)

Howdy! i will try to wait for another week. When a female mantis is ready, she would remain calm and do not show aggression towards the male. Also put some twigs and leaves in the enclosure so plenty of place for the male to sneak up from behind. Or you could feed the female a large hopper so it won't hurt the male when pairing them up. But usually if the female is not ready she will drop the food and try to fend off the male. Good luck and welcome!


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## Ian (Jun 7, 2006)

Welcome to the forum  I find the best method for mating is the houseplant method, whereby the female has no vlue of the males presence, until he is on her back. Just place the female facing upwards, near the top of the plant, and give some a cricket, or a locust to keep her amused. Place the male about 15cm behind, and within a few minutes he will usually of picked up her pheramone. Then it's pretty self explanatory from there on. This method has never failed me, so you may want to give it a try!


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## louvadeus (Jun 7, 2006)

Thanks Ian and Yen, I´ll follow the recomendations and see what happens.


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## louvadeus (Jun 12, 2006)

Hello Friends,

I followed both advices and had partial success! I waited one more week and tried the mating with the females upside down, hanging from a branch and with food. One male mounted (out of 4 different couples) but still hasn't connected. What is your usual rate of succesfull matings? My males and females are all from the same Ooth. What is your experience with inbreeding? Do you think it can interfere with matings and fecundity?

Thanks again.

Louvadeus


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