2nd Ootheca from my mantis

[CosbyArt]

My mantis Susanna (Stagmomantis carolina) just finished laying another ooth! It took about an hour from start to finish for her to lay. I watched and took several images as I was trying to figure out what she was doing originally and she started another ooth.

As I caught my mantis wild, and is my first ever, I have a few questions I hope someone can answer.

If we assume the first ooth she laid was fertilized - would her new ooth be fertilized too even though she hasn't mated since I've had her? Will she continue to lay more ooths -- she has laid two ooths, how many more can I expect?

I started to see the brown streak a few days ago on her abdomen as it expanded, and joked that she was going to lay another ooth (thinking she was just eating too much) but sure enough she did lay another.

Here are two pictures of Susanna starting the ooth, and finishing the last "layer".

 

[DinehCaveman]

If she was already an adult when you caught her, there is a good chance that she mated. How long did you have her before she laid her first ooth?

 

[LAME]

My Stagmomantis Carolina has so far laid 6 ooths.

 

[Aryia]

My females lay an average of 4-8 oothecas depending on species. I have never found a real need to re-fertilize females since their hatch rates do not decline prior to the female's quality of oothecas decline which is due to her age and not the lack of sperm. And honestly speaking, after the 6th ootheca hatches the nymphs will already have eaten you out of the house I only re-fertilize females of very rare species in order to maximize the chance that I will get nymphs.

Generally the more you feed females, the more ootheca they will produce. Good luck with the young ones (hopefully some come out!) and start arming yourself with fruit flies if you haven't already : )

 

[CosbyArt]

If she was already an adult when you caught her, there is a good chance that she mated. How long did you have her before she laid her first ooth?

She laid her first the 3rd day I had her. Then her second 8 days after the first.

My Stagmomantis Carolina has so far laid 6 ooths.

Wow, I was worrying what I could do with all the nymphs from the first ooth (let along any others).

My females lay an average of 4-8 oothecas depending on species. I have never found a real need to re-fertilize females since their hatch rates do not decline prior to the female's quality of oothecas decline which is due to her age and not the lack of sperm. And honestly speaking, after the 6th ootheca hatches the nymphs will already have eaten you out of the house I only re-fertilize females of very rare species in order to maximize the chance that I will get nymphs.

Generally the more you feed females, the more ootheca they will produce. Good luck with the young ones (hopefully some come out!) and start arming yourself with fruit flies if you haven't already : )

Thanks that anwsers my questions, I was curious if once mated then all ooths would be fertile. Indeed, that many ooths and I'll be giving them away as it will be too cold here to release them once they hatch. And having hundreds of houses for adult mantid isn't a option even if I want -- not enough room here.

All I have right now are crickets, I've seen wingless fruit flies sold as tubes that seem to keep for about a week. So I will need to order a new one (or more) each week until they are large enough for small crickets?

Thanks for the details.