# Chinese mantis nymphs dying



## TheWrongCrowd (Mar 20, 2021)

My chinese nymphs have been dying on me, some have reached their second molt while others have been dying right before it. Looks like their hind or fore legs get almost paralyzed. My humidity is at around 60% and the temperature is usually around 72°F. They are being housed each in separate plastic containers with ventilation. The top is paper towel. They are feeding off flightless fruit flies, 4 a week per mantis. 2 light mists a week, making extra sure to wipe away any larger droplets. I had 200 and now I'm down to 20. I have never found chinese mantis L1 nymphs to survive well, any advice?


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## Synapze (Mar 20, 2021)

TheWrongCrowd said:


> They are feeding off flightless fruit flies, 4 a week per mantis.


In my opinion, at this instar they may be dying due to starvation. Chinese L1's are prone to die offs as is, so I would definitely increase feeding. Are you feeding them  melanogasters? Are you finding dead flies in their cups?


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## TheWrongCrowd (Mar 20, 2021)

Synapze said:


> In my opinion, at this instar they may be dying due to starvation. Chinese L1's are prone to die offs as is, so I would definitely increase feeding. Are you feeding them  melanogasters? Are you finding dead flies in their cups?


Yep feeding them melonogastors. Another odd thing is im finding living flies still in some containers where a nymph has passed. I hope the feeders arent bothering them when they molt.


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## Synapze (Mar 20, 2021)

TheWrongCrowd said:


> Yep feeding them melonogastors. Another odd thing is im finding living flies still in some containers where a nymph has passed. I hope the feeders arent bothering them when they molt.


Doesn't sound like starvation then. I had something similar happen to a batch of another species. I beat myself up trying to figure out what went wrong... I never did. 

I hope the remaining 20 survive for you.


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## TheWrongCrowd (Mar 20, 2021)

Synapze said:


> Doesn't sound like starvation then. I had something similar happen to a batch of another species. I beat myself up trying to figure out what went wrong... I never did.
> 
> I hope the remaining 20 survive for you.


Thanks I appreciate it. Very hard when it happens though for sure


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## Pizzaparlor45 (Apr 13, 2021)

Synapze said:


> Doesn't sound like starvation then. I had something similar happen to a batch of another species. I beat myself up trying to figure out what went wrong... I never did.
> 
> I hope the remaining 20 survive for you.


What species was it? I am having a very similar problem with D. Truncata. Mass die off of nymphs that seem to become paralyzed


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## Synapze (Apr 13, 2021)

Pizzaparlor45 said:


> What species was it?


Stagmomantis limbata.


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## Pizzaparlor45 (Apr 13, 2021)

Synapze said:


> Stagmomantis limbata.


Can you describe specifically what happened to your batch? I just want to see if it was the same issue happening with mine, and to see if we have any common attributes that would cause the problem for a possible diagnosis.


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## Synapze (Apr 14, 2021)

Pizzaparlor45 said:


> Can you describe specifically what happened to your batch? I just want to see if it was the same issue happening with mine, and to see if we have any common attributes that would cause the problem for a possible diagnosis.


They hatched in the evening and died overnight. Other than lightly misting the net enclosure with purified water, there was no interaction. About a year earlier, I had previously hatched out a batch of S. carolina which also died off overnight. They were born early evening and I separated them later that night but only a few survived. I suspect that I perhaps may have separated them too early and stressed them out, but the environmentals were spot on with multiple caresheet recommendations.

Thankfully it has never happened again.


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## hibiscusmile (Apr 15, 2021)

The native species die off quickly after hatching. I agree with the first answer, the mantis at babies need to eat every day after the first good

day has passed. 4 a week would kill them as they are starving. Even a grown mantis won't do well on 4 bbs a week. Don't get upset with the die off, this is normal.


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