Average Captive Chinese Mantis Length

[tenoderaterror]

Hi,

I have seen a couple of threads saying that the captive raised mantis will be smaller than the wild caught mantis. With that, I can eliminate there being a 4 1/2 inch long mantis living in my terrarium. However, will she even reach 4 inches, or will she only be 3 inches?

Keegan

 

[minard734]

What people say is not true 100% of the time. It's just what you are to expect. Most captive raised specimens are a little smaller. From my experiences a Tenodera sinensis female averages 90mm in captivity (either that or I'm just no good with mantids, hahaha!) and a male is about 85mm.

How about in the wild?

Females are 96mm usually, with males at about 89.

So a male's size is LESS affected which only makes sense. Females require a lot of care. It's hard to imitate the wild there!

P.S. 4 1/2 inches is ALMOST unheard of, even in the wild. The biggest one of the year for me is 106mm. Then I had a 103mm and like 2 more over 100mm. The rest were under 100mm. Usually 90-97mm. Try raising them in a somewhat colder environment. It helps them grow to be larger (though it is slower).

 

[Rick]

Not nearly as large as people think. It is possible for captive to be smaller, but I have also seen smaller than average wild ones as well.

 

[guapoalto049]

I've seen many more WC 10 cm Chinese than I've raised, and I've done plenty of generations of Chinese.

I think genetics may play a role, as I grabbed a few ooths from Wallops Island, NC a few years ago and that stock was full of 10 cm mantids. Any mail order ones I get very rarely achieve 10 cm.

I've never seen a Chinese noticeably over 4", so it is very very very unlikely you'll get one to 4.5"

 

[minard734]

Not nearly as large as people think. It is possible for captive to be smaller, but I have also seen smaller than average wild ones as well.

Agreed. I just think the average length is a bit more in the wild. You are still bound to find small ones though. I've seen females a little under 90 in the wild before.