What does calling look like?

Ok... so as of today I have three Polyspilota aeruginosa (two female, one male). I'm waiting to hear back about how long they've been adult. One of the ladies is quite hefty! I've heard people talk about females "calling" but I've never bred anything, so I was curious to know what it looks like when she is calling. She seems to have quite the wiggly bum.

There is no tell tales signs to tell what calling looks like but the lineolas females bend their back ends and I think exposing a gland I think and releasing the pheremones used for breeding but not sure if its the same for other species but also can always wait a few weeks and put a male with the female and just observe them if the female goes after the male then remove the male but breeding a mantis is not always easy but use discretion when doing so!

The wiggly bum is not necessarily calling. You must compare her movements with those of the same species and same sex, when she is not in the "mood". Sometimes you will see her manipulating her most posterior aspect of her abdomen to position her cloaca so that it seems to be bent to a new position, sometimes as radically angled as to be 90 degrees from where it usually faces. That is what I see.

Gotcha. Thanks.

So if she lays an infertile ooth, should I just pitch it?

Howdy, your looking for a few tell tale signs to show that she is ready,Ive only ever seen my female call when hanging upside down.

Her rear legs are in the square position that you'll see with other mantis when they are ready to moult.

Her rear end, from the leg joints back will arching down.

Her abdomen will reach up and move around and it will pulsate as well.

At least thats what im watching my female doing right now

Here's another question, if anyone knows: what is the lifespan for a P. aeruginosa?

prob a few months at most most mantis species have short life spans so most people never get too attached to them being they have short lives!

this is a picture of an adult female creobroter gemmatus female calling

i think it is a little different with different species, but this gives u an idea

Grainy images of Odontomantis sp. 'calling'

Yep, the pictures shows the abdominal position of a female calling. Plus, while the mantid is in that position, look at the rear end. You might be able to see her ovipositor (a pair) moving. Although it's untested, the ovipositor movement is my interpretation that the female is releasing pheromones. At least that's what I see in my calling female mantids.

haha like so?

Yes.

Yep that would be it

Cool odontomantis pic btw, my odontomantis females didn't curl abdomen as dramatically when calling but that may have been due to the fact that I only saw very old, previously mated females calling

agent A said:

Yep that would be it

Cool odontomantis pic btw, my odontomantis females didn't curl abdomen as dramatically when calling but that may have been due to the fact that I only saw very old, previously mated females calling

Click to expand...

Thanks..! I sneaked up on her, they're rather shy about these things

Yup, agreed, I've also noticed they lose interest in calling once they've mated. The lady in the pic was a couple days away from her first (unfertile) ooth, and was probably getting a bit desperate. Half the time I looked, she had her abdomen bent. But after I mated her, she laid three ooths without me seeing her call even once