# orchid breeding



## massaman (Aug 1, 2010)

I read about the speeding up the females and slowing down the males but a 30 degree difference if you intend to breed them.Would it hurt to just use the same temp that I keep for the other mantids I am raising and my apartment is kept at a constant 81-82 degrees with my air conditioner running most of the time but turning it off would raise the temp to near 90 or higher .So I dont really want to raise temp any higher and I do have a male and female orchid nymph so trying to make sure they are at a comfortable setting as possible!


----------



## hibiscusmile (Aug 1, 2010)

There is no need to change what u have now, the males live really long enough and beyond to fertilize the females, trust me, it is ok.


----------



## Mr.Mantid (Aug 2, 2010)

hibiscusmile said:


> There is no need to change what u have now, the males live really long enough and beyond to fertilize the females, trust me, it is ok.


I have a L6 male (subadult?) and hopefully a female orchid that is 2 to 3 molts behind my L6... she should be able to catch up to the male to breed right?


----------



## Rick (Aug 2, 2010)

You don't need to slow down the males growth for breeding.


----------



## hibiscusmile (Aug 2, 2010)

As Rick &amp; I stated, they will do fine just like they are. The good Lord made them this way and they are still with us, so it will be fine.


----------



## ismart (Aug 2, 2010)

Mr.Mantid said:


> I have a L6 male (subadult?) and hopefully a female orchid that is 2 to 3 molts behind my L6... she should be able to catch up to the male to breed right?


The males live a lot longer than most people think. Your female should have no problem catching up to him in time. Just keep your male healthy, and you should be good to go! Good luck!


----------



## Mr.Mantid (Aug 3, 2010)

As far as identifying the sexes, to my understanding, males are a little less than 1" and females are usually 2"? is there any other way to differentiate males from females? Counting segments is kind of hard, they are so white, its hard to count the segments.


----------



## ismart (Aug 3, 2010)

Mr.Mantid said:


> As far as identifying the sexes, to my understanding, males are a little less than 1" and females are usually 2"? is there any other way to differentiate males from females? Counting segments is kind of hard, they are so white, its hard to count the segments.


Males are about an inch long as adults. Females are usually around 2.5 to 3 inches long as adults. The band between the thorax and the abdomen, is also a sure fire way of sexing them. The band usually shows up around L3. Females have a green band, while males have a brown band.


----------



## Mr.Mantid (Aug 3, 2010)

ismart said:


> Males are about an inch long as adults. Females are usually around 2.5 to 3 inches long as adults. The band between the thorax and the abdomen, is also a sure fire way of sexing them. The band usually shows up around L3. Females have a green band, while males have a brown band.


This helps alot. One mantis has a brownish, yellow band, Male, the other one is too young to tell yet.


----------



## Rick (Aug 3, 2010)

Mr.Mantid said:


> As far as identifying the sexes, to my understanding, males are a little less than 1" and females are usually 2"? is there any other way to differentiate males from females? Counting segments is kind of hard, they are so white, its hard to count the segments.


You really don't need to count segments on any adult mantids. The differences between the two are quite obvious. It is really obvious with orchid mantids. The male is an inch or so and the female is at least three.


----------



## Ghostie (Aug 3, 2010)

Haha look at that little guy. He's so skinny. You can definitely tell the difference between those two.


----------



## hibiscusmile (Aug 3, 2010)

Wonderful pic Rick! u the man! I have heard tell of that band before, and I gotta say " rubbish" I can't even see the band on my babies, what's an old blind woman suppossed to do? :angry: Look at the butts, not her's u bad boys! the mantis butt, if it is fat and round like a hot dog, it is boy, if it is flat on the top side it is girl...... :tt2: 

u guys made me make that face.


----------



## hibiscusmile (Aug 3, 2010)

ok, based on above info I gave you, and these pics, which is which?


----------



## ismart (Aug 3, 2010)

Pre-sub male with a missing back leg? From your pics it's kinda hard to tell what color the band is?


----------



## Mr.Mantid (Aug 4, 2010)

1. and 3. look like hot dogs. so they are boys.

#2 looks like its flat on top, so its a girly-girl.

Am i right? Am I right?


----------



## Rick (Aug 4, 2010)

Mr.Mantid said:


> 1. and 3. look like hot dogs. so they are boys.
> 
> #2 looks like its flat on top, so its a girly-girl.
> 
> Am i right? Am I right?


Shape of the abdomen is not a good way to determine gender on nymphs. On nymphs you want to count segments. On adults, all you should need is a glance to tell.


----------



## Ghostie (Aug 4, 2010)

Ooh a "Tripod" Orchid!

My mom had a pure bred lab like that once from a litter of puppies! Tripods always have the most character. Hehe


----------



## Mr.Mantid (Aug 4, 2010)

how many segments do each gender have? is it 8 for males, 6 for females? or does each genus of mantis have its own magical number?


----------



## Rick (Aug 4, 2010)

Mr.Mantid said:


> how many segments do each gender have? is it 8 for males, 6 for females? or does each genus of mantis have its own magical number?


Six for females. Males have more than six. Same for all mantids.

This may help:

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7110


----------



## Colorcham427 (Aug 4, 2010)

Because of all of you guys I have become ever more intrigued with this magnificent species! Orchids are very pretty!


----------



## Mr.Mantid (Aug 5, 2010)

Rick said:


> Six for females. Males have more than six. Same for all mantids.
> 
> This may help:
> 
> http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7110


That is a very good topic. I have read that before, but I thought I also read somewhere that some types of mantis have more segments than others which is what got me confused. Thanks for all the info. I 'll figure it out ha.

Cheers

Nick


----------



## Rick (Aug 5, 2010)

Mr.Mantid said:


> That is a very good topic. I have read that before, but I thought I also read somewhere that some types of mantis have more segments than others which is what got me confused. Thanks for all the info. I 'll figure it out ha.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Nick


The males might, however all females have six. Anything more than that is a male. As you gain more experience the differences between ADULTS is just plain obvious. On some species there are other clues.


----------

