# Breeding Orchids and how to



## massaman (Oct 11, 2015)

I have a pair of orchids and finally both sexes but my question is how to prepare them to breed being put them in the same enclosure and keep the female occupied and the male will climb on her and does he drum after he gets on top or waits a while to do so or what since I never bred this species and this may be the first time for me!


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## MantisMatt14 (Oct 11, 2015)

Place the well fed female down somewhere near where the male is resting. Once he catches sight of her he will slowly walk up to her, then begin drumming. from then on its their job. Good luck!


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## Vlodek (Oct 11, 2015)

I just place male on the top of female. Give her something to eat. If male is ready he will beginto drum and sooner or later connect. If he stears and does nothing for 1-2 days I would remeove him and try in a week.


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## MantisMatt14 (Oct 12, 2015)

Vlodek said:


> I just place male on the top of female. Give her something to eat. If male is ready he will beginto drum and sooner or later connect. If he stears and does nothing for 1-2 days I would remeove him and try in a week.


You shouldn't force such a natural cycle. Let it happen on their own time


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## Ranitomeya (Oct 12, 2015)

If you only have one male, you should introduce the male to the female's back manually rather than risk the chance that he's seen as a prey item when he jumps towards her back. Allowing things to happen on their own time can result in the loss of the male. The male should readily jump on if you have him on your finger and put his face near the female's back.


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## Vlodek (Oct 12, 2015)

Considering I been doing it for years and males mate most of the time I think I'm doing it right.


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## MantisMatt14 (Oct 12, 2015)

Vlodek said:


> Considering I been doing it for years and males mate most of the time I think I'm doing it right.


Have it your way then


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## PIaf94 (Oct 12, 2015)

I would try what Vlodek and Mantismatt said. In my personal experience I've tried manually placing the male on the females back, only for him to be scared sh*tless and run off. The best method for me was putting both the male and female in a large cage. Make sure both are well fed, especially the female. Feed her till she refuses and abdomen is plump. Also be sure that they are ready to breed. Males show interest in breeding 1-2 weeks into adulthood. Females about 2-4 weeks. Once both mantids are in the cage make sure to keep a good eye on them incase things get ugly and you'd need to intervene. (I.e. Have a pencil or paint brush in hand.) place the male a few inches behind the female. If he hasn't noticed her rite away I usually nudge or blow on her to make her start walking. This usually gets the males attention. It's very tedious at this point because it can take an hour or more. The male will inch towards her at such a slow pace, Only moving when the female moves. once the male is in distance he will hop on her back. Watch closely to make sure the female doesn't turn around and grab him. Most cases it startles the female a little but the male will immediately start drumming Wich normally calms her down. He will drum constantly until she lowers her abdomen and they have insertion. Mating usually takes 30min give or take. After mating the male may still stay on the females back and still be drumming. He can stay for a few days to weeks. After a week if the male hasn't hopped off I usually remove him and save him for future breeding. Best of luck!


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## PlayingMantis (Oct 13, 2015)

Depends on how much time you have to spend on monitoring their breeding sessions. Monitoring means that you have to give your utmost attention. If your smartphone distracts you and in that split second, something could go terribly wrong.

In the past, I always placed the male a couple inches behind the female, and then we play the waiting game. I would watch as the male's eyes and antennae lock on to the female, and then he would slowly walk towards her. Ever so slowly, one step at a time, one cautious step at time. Then he makes the final jump onto her back, and holds on for dear life.

Tonight, however, I saw this thread, and plus, I don't have time tonight to sit for hours and watch the shy male orchids walk ever so slowly towards the female. I just took the male out of the container, put him on the tip of my finger, and moved the mantis so his face is close to the female's wings. His antennae would bend forwards, as if to examine the female. That is a good sign, meaning he is interested in mating. Then, I give a little blow of air, and the male walks on to her back and clutches on tightly. You can see he is in mating position since his body is flattened and he will start drumming in order to get the female to cooperate and bring her abdomen to one side so he can connect. This helped get my 2 pairs connected. So happy  

There is a caveat. If you simply grab a male and drop him on the female, he may not even be in "the mood" and would walk right over the female as if she's a piece of furniture or inanimate plant.This is extremely dangerous because some of these "clueless" males walk straight into the female's raptorials.

If you have clueless males, your best bet would be to wait a week or two. Maybe the males are not ready or even the females are not ready.


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## womantis (Oct 26, 2015)

i understand that getting a viable orchid ooth is challenging - what makes it challenging? it is the mating or something about caring for the ooth. if mating is successful, are there any other tips to getting the ooth to hatch? happy to hear insights.


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