# Chinese adults in the wild in July?



## Mantidae (Aug 18, 2006)

Noticed a lot of "adult" Chinese mantids a few weeks ago. Usually I find adults in the wild in September at the earliest in the NJ and PA area. This past week I've did find some Chinese mantids that are only in the wing bud stage. I caged one younger mantid and it happened to moult that night to the wing bud stage, about the time I would have expected this to happen. In the previous two years the ones I had caged and the ones I noticed in the wild all reached the adult stage no earlier than September. That's usually when I've noticed it happening in past years too. Either one ooth hatched very early or the weather, as hot as this summer has been, helped some mature quicker. Any comments from those who've been rearing them for some time?

I will try mating a few of them this weekend. Never tried hatching ooths out of season before but I want to try my hand at it this Winter. What's the chances of finding ooths in the wild soon, based on the adults I found last month?


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## Rick (Aug 19, 2006)

I found an adult chinese a month ago. If you are just now finding adults then maybe in about a month you will find ooths. Chinese ooths will hatch sooner if kept indoors.


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