# Violin Ooths!!!



## Colorcham427 (Jan 6, 2010)

Just recieved my Violin Ooths!!

They came in a nice little plastic container, already stuck on a piece of paper towel cloth that is clearly hot glued to the ceiling of the

little plastic cube shaped container.

What are ideal temps and humidity levels for incubating the ooths?

I am planning on placing the cover of the plastic container (where the ooths are glued on to) and tape the cover to the ceiling of the

cricket keeper. I'm going to fill the cricket keeper with very thin branches that I baked for 45 minutes in 350 degrees (kills anything in

the wood). I have a question about the humidity levels, is it cool if I stick a bowl of vermiculite in the cricket keeper that is soaked?

Or how about placing a pot of organic soil that is soaked to keep the dampness in the keeper?

Thank you for any help.

P.S. The ooths came in the mail today. I am not certain if the heatpack did it's job and stayed warmed up or recently burnt out? But

when it arrived, the heatpack was cold... The box wasn't insulated either, it just had newspaper scraps in it, but no styro foam walls,

not even a styro foam cover... Would Violin ooths be greatly effected if they were in 5-15 degrees for a day or two at most?

Please don't ask where I got these from because I got them from a highly respected person.  Just asking the community for

some advice. Thanks,

~ Brian


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## Rick (Jan 6, 2010)

Critter keepers are poor homes for mantis nymphs due to the slits in the lid.


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## yeatzee (Jan 6, 2010)

Rick said:


> Is this breeder feedback? Critter keepers are poor homes for mantis nymphs due to the slits in the lid.


Very easy cheap fix though (not sure of the name of the fabric I use... I believe its muslin? Its covered in square holes. I just triple it up and hot glue it to the top of the containers. Keeps the Melanogaster FF's in perfectly fine)..... I use them almost exclusively.


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## kamakiri (Jan 6, 2010)

Did you pay for express shipping? Did you leave them on your doorstep? Shouldn't you have asked about the temps *before* buying ooths?

Sounds like you're airing your dirty laundry. Good luck to you.


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## sbugir (Jan 6, 2010)

You have so many people who have kept this species to PM...

Kruszakus, Katnapper, Yen Saw, Hibiscus, ABbuggin, Tier, Mantisfart2, etc.

Here's my 2 cents:

When they hatch, they can't climb plastic. Even with branches they will mainly hang on the lid, with nothing to grip but only plastic they will fall.

HIGH humidity is not necessary. I'd use paper towel sooner than vermiculite for these guys.

As for incubation, treat them like you'd treat the mantis, I'm assuming you've done your research. If they don't hatch you can only assume it was too cold.


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## Katnapper (Jan 6, 2010)

Don't use tape to fasten the lid (or anything) inside the Critter Keeper. Tape is a no-no... nymphs will get stuck in it and die. Use hot glue or super glue.

Don't use any soil or vermiculite in the cages... all you need is a layer of paper towel, cut to fit, in the bottom.

Hot glue fabric (I use organza) over the ventilation slots in the Critter Keeper to keep the fruit flies and baby mantids inside.

If there was a heat pack within the parcel, it should have done its job, even if cold when you got it... as long as the parcel wasn't sitting out in the weather for any great length of time.

For humidity, just mist the interior of the cage every other day or so (you can dampen the paper towel with some water if you like too). But let it dry out completely between mistings, or you may end up with a mold problem.

Be patient and wait...


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 6, 2010)

This species likes it a bit hotter than most!


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 6, 2010)

ps, if u got it from overseas, the heat pack would not of been much good.


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 6, 2010)

I have to agree with all the sound "MantidForum" advice above, but I was taken aback by yr temperatures! Are you saying that for all you know, the ooths were in a virtually uninsulated container, possibley for two days at (again, your guess) 5F? That is 27 degrees below freezing!!

I don't understand the mystery about your seller. If he/she is "well respected" on this international forum, then I would wonder why he wishes to remain anonymous. If he is only "respected" by a friend of a friend, you may have a problem. To work out how bad that problem is, check the franking date on the package, calculate how long it was in transit , and subtract the number of hours that the heat pack was supposed to work. If you bought them from Europe, I can't see any respected seller sending them without better insulation and a longer-acting hot pack.

In the final analysis, though, no one knows whether it will hatch or not. If it does, you will be luckier than you deserve.

I am sorry to say that I found Kamakiri's comment quite brusque and unsympathetic; I am even more sorry to say that I completely agree with him.


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## ZoeRipper (Jan 6, 2010)

PhilinYuma said:


> I have to agree with all the sound "MantidForum" advice above, but I was taken aback by yr temperatures! Are you saying that for all you know, the ooths were in a virtually uninsulated container, possibley for two days at (again, your guess) 5F? That is 27 degrees below freezing!!I don't understand the mystery about your seller. If he/she is "well respected" on this international forum, then I would wonder why he wishes to remain anonymous. If he is only "respected" by a friend of a friend, you may have a problem. To work out how bad that problem is, check the franking date on the package, calculate how long it was in transit , and subtract the number of hours that the heat pack was supposed to work. If you bought them from Europe, I can't see any respected seller sending them without better insulation and a longer-acting hot pack.
> 
> In the final analysis, though, no one knows whether it will hatch or not. If it does, you will be luckier than you deserve.
> 
> I am sorry to say that I found Kamakiri's comment quite brusque and unsympathetic; I am even more sorry to say that I completely agree with him.


As per my usual response, I agree with Phil.


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## yeatzee (Jan 7, 2010)

Katnapper said:


> Don't use tape to fasten the lid (or anything) inside the Critter Keeper. Tape is a no-no... nymphs will get stuck in it and die. Use hot glue or super glue.Don't use any soil or vermiculite in the cages... all you need is a layer of paper towel, cut to fit, in the bottom.
> 
> Hot glue fabric (I use organza) over the ventilation slots in the Critter Keeper to keep the fruit flies and baby mantids inside.
> 
> ...


Thats the name of it!


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## massaman (Jan 7, 2010)

hmm just wondering if this person you bought that ooth from is someone from this forum perhaps?


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## Katnapper (Jan 7, 2010)

massaman said:


> hmm just wondering if this person you bought that ooth from is someone from this forum perhaps?







Hmmm.... do you think?!!!


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## ABbuggin (Jan 7, 2010)

He got the ooths from me.

When we were discussing the details, I told him my heat packs were only good for 40 hrs. He knew that and knew that they would be in the cold for a little bit with priority. It's not my fault here. Now, I did PM him last night after I finally  settled things with Arkblue. Boy was that a nightmare.  Anyways, I told him I was finally in a semi-good mood and would replace his ooths if they failed to hatch.  I was tired of arguing with Arkblue, and felt like putting a smile on somebody's face.  

Now, when I bought some of my violins ooths for my breeding stock, I bought some from the UK in the winter. They couldn't of been protected from the cold in anyway, and they all hatched just fine.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 7, 2010)

Now we gotta know, what were u arguin about with blue? :huh:


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 7, 2010)

OH! never mind, I did say sometimes I miss a post or two!


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 7, 2010)

ABbuggin said:


> He got the ooths from me.When we were discussing the details, I told him my heat packs were only good for 40 hrs. He knew that and knew that they would be in the cold for a little bit with priority. It's not my fault here. Now, I did PM him last night after I finally  settled things with Arkblue. Boy was that a nightmare.  Anyways, I told him I was finally in a semi-good mood and would replace his ooths if they failed to hatch.  I was tired of arguing with Arkblue, and felt like putting a smile on somebody's face.
> 
> Now, when I bought some of my violins ooths for my breeding stock, I bought some from the UK in the winter. They couldn't of been protected from the cold in anyway, and they all hatched just fine.


It looks to me as though your offer to replace the ooths went beyond the call of duty. Obviously you didn't do anything wrong. If folks in very cold winter climates or very hot summer ones rent a P.O. box, they avoid that most dangerous time in the packages's transit, when the heat/cold pack has expired and the packet is going to spend around six hours in a USPS truck with no heat or AC pending delivery. A PO box is kept at "people" temp! My comment about the packing was because I thought that it came from Europe. Winter shipping from England, BTW, is a lot less risky than from parts of Europe, because the package quickly ends up ona plane (it's a tiny country with lots of big airports). In Europe, unless things have changed dramatically since my day, it is common for a package to spend quite a bit of time in an unheated baggage car.

Brian: It is SOP here for members to detail their transactions with other members in the Breeders' Feedback section. I have also found that by far the best person from whom to receive advice about raising a particular mantis is the person from whom I bought it. If you have doubts about transit time in seriously bad weather, rent a P.O. box and pay the few extra bucks for Express shipping.


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## Colorcham427 (Feb 27, 2010)

PhilinYuma said:


> &lt;!--quoteo(post=121337:date=Jan 7 2010, 07:01 AM:name=ABbuggin)--&gt;&lt;div class='quotetop'&gt;QUOTE (ABbuggin @ Jan 7 2010, 07:01 AM) &lt;a href="index.php?act=findpost&amp;pid=121337"&gt;&lt;{POST_SNAPBACK}&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class='quotemain'&gt;&lt;!--quotec--&gt;He got the ooths from me.
> 
> When we were discussing the details, I told him my heat packs were only good for 40 hrs. He knew that and knew that they would be in the cold for a little bit with priority. It's not my fault here. Now, I did PM him last night after I &lt;u&gt;finally &lt;/u&gt; settled things with Arkblue. Boy was that a nightmare. &lt;img src="http://mantidforum.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/&lt;#EMO_DIR#&gt;/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="  " border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" /&gt; Anyways, I told him I was finally in a semi-good mood and would replace his ooths if they failed to hatch. &lt;img src="style_emoticons/&lt;#EMO_DIR#&gt;/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="  " border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /&gt; I was tired of arguing with Arkblue, and felt like putting a smile on somebody's face. &lt;img src="style_emoticons/&lt;#EMO_DIR#&gt;/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="  " border="0" alt="smile.gif" /&gt;
> 
> ...


Hey all, still waiting for the two ooths to hatch, I reallly hope they do!! If they do, it shouldn't be more than a few days now I'd say.  

anywho, I wanted to ask a quick question or two.

Is it important for the baby nymphs to be separated and housed in small groups? such as 2-4 in one 32. ounce deli cup? They'll have less space for easier prey snatches. I am going to hot glue some paper towel around the cups, so they have something to cling to.

Is it OK for them ALL to be housed in one large container? If I can house them all in one shoe box container and still hot glue paper towels on the sides, I can also replace most of the lid with fine metal screening..

I have sooo many golden hydei and house flies for them to choose from, although I think the house flies are too big.

I had read that Violin mantids have a very low mortality rate at first instar? How low? LOL.. I hope some make it!!! On average it states 20 hatch out...... Anybody on here who have worked with Violins, any help advice would be much appreciated. Thanks to all and I reallly hope these hatch out soon!

They get a light mist every evening.


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