Adult females behavior pre-ooth

[Deacon]

I thought female mantids ate lots before laying an ooth but mine have gone on a hunger strike for three days. Last week, they each ate a whole adult male Dubia and then maybe a few BB flies over the weekend. Now nothing. I have tried BB flies, crickets, and waxworms and they just bat them away. I have hesitated to give them another roach as I was saving that in case I decide to let them mate---that's a whole other topic!

My Budwing is 23 days old. My Hierodula is 21 days old. Both are still round but not as much as a few days ago. I haven't seen either one calling (wagging the abdomen up and down?) But, the Heirodula has been pacing all over in the evenings so I put her in a 24"H X 14" diameter net cage today so she can wander all over the sticks---which she has (I tried the Budwing there for two days but she just sat so she's back in her container. I also have a ghost female who is 14 days old but she is eating everything (as were the above gals when they were two weeks old.)

I've looked all over for some information on pre-ooth behavior but haven't found a thread. Do they not eat when it's approaching time to lay an ooth?

 

[LAME]

Mine have usually always eaten the day prior to producing an ooth... Sometimes the day of. I'd say it could depend on the particular mantis AND possibly the species in general.

I have noticed that female adult ghosts do seem more aggressive than say, a budwing.

I actually have a female adult budwing... Honestly she doesn't roam or move around much. They tend to be more stationary... For me anyway. Which does help when taking photos is involved

I also have a Heirodula x. and she too also seems more skittish than the ghosts...

Sometimes they'll just refuse food, try water or honey. I'd be more worried when they start to become flat.

 

[Deacon]

LAME,

Thank you for your response. Okay then, it sounds like my females are behaving normally. They are still very round---not the Ghost who only eats BB flies but she eats more now than before. Maybe the dubia roaches filled the Hierodula and Budwing up for a few days as they were half the mantids size---it was the first time I offered them a whole adult roach and I was surprised that they could actually eat the whole thing.

I have done the honey/water routine each day when they haven't eaten and they were happy to accept.

I'll keep offering food and watching them. These are my first unmated, healthy females. My first female was a T. sinensis and although she was mated, she had that prolapsed anus and passed without laying an ooth.

fftopic: As your mantids mature, do you only mate the ones you want to carry forward, or do you mate all your pairs? I'm asking because I have Budwing and Ghost pairs right now. In a couple of weeks, the Double Shields and Hierodulas will have mates also. But I don't think I want these species again (I really think my first mantids, T. sinensis, spoiled me as I loved their personalities and that both sexes were large mantids. And now that I am actually set up for my bugs---not the kitchen counter any more---and I have tried six of the beginner mantids with excellent results, I think I want to try T. sinensis again.)

None of my current species are unusual or hard to find. So, is it bad not to mate them? Do mated females live longer? If so, I could try mating them and (gulp) destroy the ooths...I'm feeling guilty, I guess.

 

[LAME]

No problem.

I've read online that unmated females may live longer life's... But still, anything could happen. You could wake up and find one just dead for unknown reasons... Those things happen.

When it comes to breeding, I like to breed those I like the most. Man... Honestly I've lost count on how many species I've even owned lol. But still like yourself I enjoyed the Chinese the most..

 

[Deacon]

LAME,

Thanks for your reply---I feel less guilty. I kind of wondered about the incidence of them getting egg bound more often if they are not mated. But I like the idea of the unmated females possibly living longer as I like their larger size.

If someone had told me nine months ago that insects had personalities, I probably would have laughed out loud---not anymore!