Breeding Orchid Mantis

[macro junkie]

You UK people are lucky... I want orchid mantises!

i wouldn't say luck.i was searching for them for about 9 months untill i got them.the amount of time if spent searching for them many times over the past 9 months iv seen them for sale in the us on the mantid forum..not long back yen had some for sale.. you just need to be on the mantid forum 24hous a day like i am..lol..

 

[darkspeed]

i wouldn't say luck.i was searching for them for about 9 months untill i got them.the amount of time if spent searching for them many times over the past 9 months iv seen them for sale in the us on the mantid forum..not long back yen had some for sale.. you just need to be on the mantid forum 24hous a day like i am..lol..

Well I am on here all the time and I have never seen them on here for US buyers. If it werent for pure dumb luck that I was snooping around Peter's site when he had some listed I would not have gotten ahold of what I got. And even at that I ended up with all girls and no boys, so my chance to increase the US population of orchids was a bust. Hopefully Rebecca's breeding attemps are successful. She seems to be our only hope left, as Yen has since gone out of bizness, and I cant rely on dumb luck to cause me to stumble onto Peter's site every time he has some available.

 

[OGIGA]

i wouldn't say luck.i was searching for them for about 9 months untill i got them.the amount of time if spent searching for them many times over the past 9 months iv seen them for sale in the us on the mantid forum..not long back yen had some for sale.. you just need to be on the mantid forum 24hous a day like i am..lol..

Yeah, well, that was a long time ago. And by the way, is it legal to have exotic mantises over there? I keep hearing UK people saying what they saw in pet stores.

 

[Rob Byatt]

its been about a week now sinse i mated my female orhid..shes not laid an ooth..i think we can safley say shes egg bound..

You need more patience mate

On a good note iv been feeding my subadult orchids about 3 crickets every single day.i stoped feeding them flys for now..its to much hassle feeding them every day..when is someone going to bring out house flys that cant fly?lol

How is that a good thing ? I'm sure we talked about this

 

[macro junkie]

You need more patience mate How is that a good thing ? I'm sure we talked about this

because the faster they shed to adult the better and you said if i put it on a plant and sprayed it it would lay after 24hours..i want my 10£ back :lol:

 

[Rob Byatt]

because the faster they shed to adult the better and you said if i put it on a plant and sprayed it it would lay after 24hours..i want my 10£ back :lol:

.....and the more often you feed them crickets, the greater the chance they'll die

I'll give you a tenner when you prove to me that she was fat enough

 

[macro junkie]

.....and the more often you feed them crickets, the greater the chance they'll die

if they die im blaming you :lol:

 

[bugzilla]

Day 9 post seperation and still no sign of an ooth. She was really uneasy in her old tank and seemed to struggle to grip the top so I've put her in a big net. Still not eating but she seems more comfortable in her new home at least.

 

[bugzilla]

6 days in the net whichis in an 18" cube tank with heat mat and sprayed daily plus loads of BB flies and still no ooth :angry: That 15 days now with no sign.

The male has been on my other female for the past week.

Should I re-mate the original female or is she still likely to lay? How long exactly should it take?

 

[bugzilla]

Just found this article here

Looks like it can take up to 8 weeks for the female to lay. Looks like I've got some waiting yet

 

[macro junkie]

i thought this was cool info

There is also a dark spot in the last part of the abdomen, near the anus. It was demonstrated that this attracts small flies which mistake the spot for an individual of the same species foraging on a flower. A large number are attracted this way, but they sometimes they are not taken by the mantis due to their small size. Bigger species are lured by the abundance of other smaller insects and are immediately captured.

 

[hibiscusmile]

My female took 3 weeks or so to lay after mating, but she was a good 6 or 7 weeks adult before I mated her due to the advice of I think it was Rob. So it does take a while. They do not seem to lay like most other mantis I have.

 

[Pelle]

My female was 4 weeks adult when the male mated her, and 7 weeks adult when she lay her first ootheca.

 

[bugzilla]

It's taking so long I feel like an expectant father. I've got the hot water and towels ready <_< . Alright thats a slight exageration but I have started 4 extra FF cultures and will do some more next week to space them out a bit

 

[OGIGA]

Just found this article hereLooks like it can take up to 8 weeks for the female to lay. Looks like I've got some waiting yet

It took my female about that long too. I thought she was eggbound. Fortunately, she wasn't

 

[bugzilla]

Stupid question here but what did everyones females lay on? Did they use the net top of the cage or did they perfer sticks or something?

 

[Pelle]

My female has laid 7 on the same top lid so far

 

[bugzilla]

My female has laid 7 on the same top lid so far

Thanks for that. So nothing needs changing then, just got to be patient.

 

[Pelle]

I quess so :lol:

Before she lays an ootheca she walks a lot and doesn't eat anymore, at least that's what my female does..

 

[bugzilla]

She's been walking around alot, especially in the evening. She also went off her food for a while but is now eating again <_< . I think she's leading me a merry dance atm, typical woman h34r: