# Very happy



## Orin (Sep 17, 2007)

I was very excited to see my first Texas unicorn ootheca hatch out today -- after 41 days. I was really starting to worry there. There are about thirty of them. The female was mated of course but you never really know if it's going to work out or if you're going to make an error in caring for the ootheca. Keeping them too cold can cause bad development but trying to warm them is often more likely to cause desiccation. I've got tons more so I'm not sure what to do if they all hatch out great -- I'll figure something out :wink:

(These are actually oothecae produced by hatchlings from the original ootheca as mine did not grow nearly as fast as Yen's. I kept them close to 70F most of the time. I didn't have the issues in subadult but that could be a result of temperature, caging, feeding or even something else).


----------



## Mantida (Sep 17, 2007)

Aw, congrats on the hatch!  

I'm a bit jittery with my texas unicorns. I've heard the females usually produce infertile ooths. I hope I don't have too much of a problem with that. :|


----------



## Rick (Sep 17, 2007)

Cool. Mine are doing well. Perrys are already becoming adults and mine are a couple molts away. Don't know why as we're keeping them under the same conditions.


----------



## yen_saw (Sep 17, 2007)

Congrate Orin, You will be swarmed by hundreds if not thousand of little Texas unicorn nymphs!! but in my case - when female is not remated - the hatching rate reduce after the 4th or 5th ootheca. Best of luck and have plenty of fruit flies ready.


----------



## Andrew (Sep 17, 2007)

Orin, does that mean the ooths you sent me will hatch out soon as well?  

Five ootheca(various sp.) incubating, and only one mantis in my collection. SOMETHING NEEDS TO HATCH SOON, or I'll go insane.

RAWR. :x


----------



## hibiscusmile (Sep 17, 2007)

Just wait the fun is yet to begin, congrats!


----------



## Hypoponera (Sep 17, 2007)

Hey Andrew,

With that many ooths, you better have a huge supply of fruit flies ready to go! All those ooths will hatch out at the same time!!


----------



## Orin (Sep 18, 2007)

> Orin, does that mean the ooths you sent me will hatch out soon as well?  Five ootheca(various sp.) incubating, and only one mantis in my collection. SOMETHING NEEDS TO HATCH SOON, or I'll go insane.
> 
> RAWR. :x


Not that soon, this was the first laid, those were formed weeks later though the bigger one is a few weeks older than the smaller. I only wrote down dates on the first three.


----------



## Andrew (Sep 18, 2007)

> Not that soon, this was the first laid, those were formed weeks later though the bigger one is a few weeks older than the smaller. I only wrote down dates on the first three.


I see. So three to four weeks then, I'd guess? Thats not so bad.


----------



## Precious (Sep 19, 2007)

Congrats! I love the Unicorns. I hope mine will be successful. I like to watch them dance.


----------



## OGIGA (Sep 19, 2007)

Congratulations! That species is on my wanted list too.


----------



## Andrew (Sep 19, 2007)

Orin, it appears you may have been wrong about the dates. I came home from school today to find around 40 nymphs waiting for me! :shock:

Regardless, I am very happy. Pics will come soon.

Edit - Pic







None of the others came out very well. I seem to have misplaced my macro lens for the moment.


----------



## Orin (Sep 19, 2007)

I just came home to 50 out of one (oddly a little smaller than the one that hatched 30).

I stopped putting dates on them after I realized I wasn't going to put each in its own container. I guess that was one of the earlier ones. The bigger one is the one that hatched. Looks like I'm going to have a few too many nymphs.


----------



## Andrew (Sep 19, 2007)

Ahh, that makes sense. Are all of your nymphs so hyperactive? Mine won't stop running around the cage.

As for the nymph overload...at least the species is communal. *insert relief smilie*


----------



## Orin (Sep 19, 2007)

I never kept the nymphs together but all my adult males were eaten by the females (fortunately after mating). I had one female that ate two males without mating so she went to an insect house looking for an adult display mantis.


----------



## Orin (Sep 20, 2007)

Another batch hatched out. I sure hope these don't eat each other much.


----------



## Asa (Sep 20, 2007)

Congrats!


----------



## Andrew (Sep 20, 2007)

Mine are already taking fruit flies. But they don't really look like they have strong enough attitudes to take each other on.

As soon as I can sex them they'll be separated though.


----------



## Orin (Sep 21, 2007)

Another 44 hatched out from one this morning (Hibiscusmile - that was one of the other two of the three). I dont think I'll be putting mine in individual cages unless the losses are pretty high. There are a dozen more and coming. It's a really wonderful relief that such a beautiful species is also native to the United States and may be the easiest of any mantis to rear.


----------

