# Hello!



## Insect-lover (Jan 12, 2011)

Hello! I am Richard, im a teen_(__hope thats not a problem here_) interested in wild life, both sub aquatic and terrestrial, i own a reef tank, iv had taken care of many diferent insects since i was small, and recently a big achievment of mine was granted, my very first Chinese Praying Mantis ootheca! The reason for the speices to be chinese is because for what i researched, this is a good beginner species.

Its kinda big, it said that i should expect about 200 nymphs to hatch, but of course i won't keep all that, i might keep one or two as pets and realese the rest.

So, first photo, its a hatchery, the egg has been incubating for almost 2 weeks now at a temperature of about 25 cº above a light:







That's actually net above by the way.

And second picture, the Ootheca itself:






Sorry for its blurriness(?),it was taken with my phone's camera.

I hope to get along with all of you, and thanks for reading!


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## angelofdeathzz (Jan 12, 2011)

Welcome, you may want to attach the ooth to the lid and remove the stick, as the nymphs will drop down a inch or two on a little silk like thread and need to hang there for a bit to inflate and hard'n, and they can't touch anything in the way or they may die, also moist paper towel in the very bottom is a good idea to keep humidity higher and later they will drink from it. mist it (Paper towel) every 2 day's or so.


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## Insect-lover (Jan 12, 2011)

angelofdeathzz said:


> Welcome, you may want to attach the ooth to the lid and remove the stick, as the nymphs will drop down a inch or two on a little silk like thread and need to hang there for a bit to inflate and hard'n, and they can't touch anything in the way or they may die, also moist paper towel in the very bottom is a good idea to keep humidity higher and later they will drink from it. mist it (Paper towel) every 2 day's or so.


Thank you alot for the adivce! Ill be doing what you said.

Do you have any tips on how to attach the Ootheca to the lid?

And shouldn't i mist the Ootheca aswell?

Thanks againe.


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## angelofdeathzz (Jan 12, 2011)

No don't mist to ooth directly, and don't over mist as it can mold if moist to long=mist, let dry out - mist, let dry out. and a small amount of hot glue it is what most of us use to attach ooths, try to orientate the ooth the way it looks like it was laid. zipper or line side down, thats where they will come out of.


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## Insect-lover (Jan 12, 2011)

angelofdeathzz said:


> No don't mist to ooth directly, and don't over mist as it can mold if moist to long=mist, let dry out - mist, let dry out. and a small amount of hot glue it is what most of us use to attach ooths, try to orientate the ooth the way it looks like it was laid. zipper or line side down, thats where they will come out of.


Thanks, sorry for so many questions but i have another,i acidently let my ootheca hit the ground, the ootheca itself seems to be fine, its complelty intact and not a single bit was removed, but im afraid for the lifes inside it.

Could this have killed the nymphs?


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## angelofdeathzz (Jan 12, 2011)

Well I never tested that out? but I think they should be ok. hopefully it was carpet?

Just tell them your sorry :lol: and good luck.


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## Insect-lover (Jan 12, 2011)

angelofdeathzz said:


> Well I never tested that out? but I think they should be ok. hopefully it was carpet?
> 
> Just tell them your sorry :lol: and good luck.


Yes indeed it was carpted. Oh man i just hope i didn't kill a life before it was even born.


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## GreenOasis (Jan 12, 2011)

LOL...they'll be fine. Just don't play hacky-sack with it! (Actually, with a Chinese ooth, you probably COULD!...But, don't!)

As far as you being a teenager, no problems...they have the censorship set pretty high, so it's unlikely you'll learn any new or interesting words, other than "tarsi" or "cerci"...sorry!


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## Insect-lover (Jan 12, 2011)

GreenOasis said:


> LOL...they'll be fine. Just don't play hacky-sack with it! (Actually, with a Chinese ooth, you probably COULD!...But, don't!)
> 
> As far as you being a teenager, no problems...they have the censorship set pretty high, so it's unlikely you'll learn any new or interesting words, other than "tarsi" or "cerci"...sorry!


Oh, thank god , i feel much better now.

Thanks!


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## GreenOasis (Jan 12, 2011)

Oh, and you may have already heard, but these guys are considered highly cannibalistic, so what I would do is just separate them into as many deli cups as you want nymphs (like 10 to a cup or something) &amp; they will "population control" themselves in a matter of time. Just be sure to keep feeding them regularly so you don't lose too many to starvation or anything. They are also considered difficult to get past the early stages of nymphhood (is that a word?)  ...so, you might want to plan ahead and keep extras so that you have a few that make it to adulthood.

And don't forget that you will eventually need a bunch of fruit fly cultures to feed all those hungry little mouths!


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 12, 2011)

Hello insect lover! join the club, thats good. Here is what I do with the ooth...

use a low heat hot glue gun to attach it or you can use a needle and thread and just attach it with a loop or two. MIST the OOHT DIRECTLY, three times a week with distilled very warm water if you have it. Otherwise use tap water that has sat overnight to rid it of the clorine it always has in it to kill parasites and nasty stuff! You wont get mold as long as the jar is ventalided with paper towel or a nylon or almost any cloth over the opening and secure with a rubber band. Remember the most important thing about hatching an ooth is to duplicate the outdoors they were laid in. Ooths outside get blown around in the wind, so dropping won't hurt it and they get rain and snow on their little heads, so misting won't hurt them either!


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## warpdrive (Jan 12, 2011)

hibiscusmile said:


> Hello insect lover! join the club, thats good. Here is what I do with the ooth...
> 
> use a low heat hot glue gun to attach it or you can use a needle and thread and just attach it with a loop or two. MIST the OOHT DIRECTLY, three times a week with distilled very warm water if you have it. Otherwise use tap water that has sat overnight to rid it of the clorine it always has in it to kill parasites and nasty stuff! You wont get mold as long as the jar is ventalided with paper towel or a nylon or almost any cloth over the opening and secure with a rubber band. Remember the most important thing about hatching an ooth is to duplicate the outdoors they were laid in. Ooths outside get blown around in the wind, so dropping won't hurt it and they get rain and snow on their little heads, so misting won't hurt them either!


good sound advice. I mist my ooths and wondered why it was said not to.

oh, and Welcome to the forums. you will love it here.

Harry


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## Insect-lover (Jan 13, 2011)

hibiscusmile said:


> Hello insect lover! join the club, thats good. Here is what I do with the ooth...
> 
> use a low heat hot glue gun to attach it or you can use a needle and thread and just attach it with a loop or two. MIST the OOHT DIRECTLY, three times a week with distilled very warm water if you have it. Otherwise use tap water that has sat overnight to rid it of the clorine it always has in it to kill parasites and nasty stuff! You wont get mold as long as the jar is ventalided with paper towel or a nylon or almost any cloth over the opening and secure with a rubber band. Remember the most important thing about hatching an ooth is to duplicate the outdoors they were laid in. Ooths outside get blown around in the wind, so dropping won't hurt it and they get rain and snow on their little heads, so misting won't hurt them either!


Ah thanks, i got to admit it, im loving the advices im geting, im much more confident now.

I ordered a culture of bean weevils some days ago, wich i should be geting either tomorrow or in the start of the next week, because i know the ooth. wont hatch for at least 2 weeks it will give them time to hatch and reproduce a bit.

Is feeding the nymphs bean weevils a good idea? The insects themselfs Are as little as 5mm and less.


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## ismart (Jan 13, 2011)

Welcome to the forum!


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 13, 2011)

If they are the same bean wevils I get in my hibiscus flowers they will probably be to hard of a shell to eat, but you let us know in the food and feeding forum and we can discuss it there.


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## angelofdeathzz (Jan 13, 2011)

warpdrive said:


> good sound advice. I mist my ooths and wondered why it was said not to.
> 
> oh, and Welcome to the forums. you will love it here.
> 
> Harry


I was told by a higher up member not ot mist a ooth directly some time ago. :huh: 

But I guess that was bad info, well you live and learn, thats what the forum is for.  

so I guess when they said if you get one wet "dry it in the microwave" was wrong too? :lol:


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## Insect-lover (Jan 13, 2011)

hibiscusmile said:


> If they are the same bean wevils I get in my hibiscus flowers they will probably be to hard of a shell to eat, but you let us know in the food and feeding forum and we can discuss it there.


Well, the ones i ordered are black eyed bean's, they make holes into the beans, put their eggs, and i think they also only eat the beans.

Wich i can replace along the time for new eggs to be laid, etc.


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## warpdrive (Jan 13, 2011)

angelofdeathzz said:


> so I guess when they said if you get one wet "dry it in the microwave" was wrong too? :lol:


well, no longer then 50 mins or you get pop corn. or mantis corn? :clown: 

Harry


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 13, 2011)

angelofdeathzz said:


> I was told by a higher up member not ot mist a ooth directly some time ago. :huh:
> 
> But I guess that was bad info, well you live and learn, thats what the forum is for.
> 
> so I guess when they said if you get one wet "dry it in the microwave" was wrong too? :lol:


Oh my! :huh:


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## Rick (Jan 14, 2011)

Welcome. You can mist ooths if you want. They get wet when it rains in the wild. It won't matter either way. In the pic you have the exit for the nymphs facing up. You should flip it over or turn the part you have facing the ceiling towards the floor about halfway. It will help them emerge. If you want to release any keep in mind that your ooth will hatch far earlier than any ooths in the wild.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2011)

I didnt see that, good eye Rick, good eye! :blink:


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## Insect-lover (Jan 14, 2011)

Rick said:


> Welcome. You can mist ooths if you want. They get wet when it rains in the wild. It won't matter either way. In the pic you have the exit for the nymphs facing up. You should flip it over or turn the part you have facing the ceiling towards the floor about halfway. It will help them emerge. If you want to release any keep in mind that your ooth will hatch far earlier than any ooths in the wild.


Yeah, i flipped the ooth. the right way , by pinning it to the stick, i might take a photo a post it later.

Also, what do you think about the wet paper towel on the bottom to offer humidity? Is it good? Or is spraying the oth 3 times a week enought?


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## Insect-lover (Jan 14, 2011)

This is currently how the hatchery is:







On the bottom theres the wet paper towel to provide humidity acording Angel.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 14, 2011)

Three times is good if you mist it good.


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## Insect-lover (Jan 14, 2011)

hibiscusmile said:


> Three times is good if you mist it good.


How much trigger hits would that be each of these 3 days?

I only spray 1 time , should i spray more than just one "shot" in each of those three days?


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