A couple of questions.

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hawk 1sr

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first of all i was reading somewere and it said that mantis die before winter and thier ooths last through winter to hatch in spring. I also head that they can live up to 1 year, so how do some of them survive? do they hibernate or something similar? How do their ooths survive the winter?

Second. I live in Oklahoma and it recently got cold real fast. I was keeping my mantis near a window (opposite the sun) and i suspect it got pretty cold. I noticed that one of my mantis (about 5 molts from birth) was on the bottom of the cage!!! I have never seen them actually on the bottom so plainly and still. And yes i know he was a alive because i saw him move and hes upright. I've also noticed that he's letting his abdomen and forelegs rest (curled) on the ground (and hes looking down, like hes depressed). Is he sick/frostbitten (so to speak)?

 
YAY! Another Oklahoman!!! It did get cold pretty crazy fast here, but unless they're outside in that cold for extended periods I don't think it would kill them. Was it inside or outside? I assume inside from your post, but just in case. Also, the ootheca survive through the winter and come out the other side in spring and hatch. How all these babies made it over this last winter, I don't know!!! I've seen more mantids this season and it was the worst friggin' winter EVER!

That body position, in my experience, means they're dying. I hope this isn't the case with yours however!

 
Hi!

Mantids don't hibernate.

In any part of the US that has a hard frost, mantids living outside will freeze to death.

When kept indoors, and kept at coolish temps (mid seventies) and not fed too much (every other day), native mantids may survive for close to a year from when they hatched. Don't count on it though!

It sounds as though your male is dying. A prayer to the Great Mantis Goddess (Blessed be Her Name) sometimes helps. She likes candles.

 
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I think you're confusing mantids from warm climates with mantids from temperate climates. Those mantids from places without a cold winter can live much longer. Those mantids that live in temperate climates die when winter arrives but their ooths survive the winter to repopulate in the spring.

 
Just to let you know, native/naturalized mantids of the U.S. will live close to a year only if kept inside (and that is probably what's implied too). Otherwise, they'll be killed by the first frost or snow. Another thing, each year, when mantids hatch, some grow faster than others. Those that grow faster are able to reach adulthood and are able to put down ooth(s) before the real cold hits. And because of those faster growing mantids, there will be mantids in your area. Therefore, as long as the growing season is adequate, it'll be fine. It's just natures way of culling out the slower growers. Now, if you had a very cold icestorm in the middle of the growing season (spring/summer), that would be a problem. And to answer why ooths survive the winter, they just do (protective foamy material covering the eggs inside).

 
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Laura G said:
YAY! Another Oklahoman!!! It did get cold pretty crazy fast here, but unless they're outside in that cold for extended periods I don't think it would kill them. Was it inside or outside? I assume inside from your post, but just in case. Also, the ootheca survive through the winter and come out the other side in spring and hatch. How all these babies made it over this last winter, I don't know!!! I've seen more mantids this season and it was the worst friggin' winter EVER!

That body position, in my experience, means they're dying. I hope this isn't the case with yours however!
Click to expand...
yea, he died one day later...*sad face*

 
oh wow okc! thats right next to norman! Since you live in OK, do you happen to know what kind of species are native to that general area? I want to know what kind of species i can breed and release.

 
Carolinas and Chinese are typically the only that I've seen, although I've found an article from a Tulsa entomologist saying there are 4 species indigenous but doesn't name which ones! Probably a grass mantis and something else.

 

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