JP77
Well-known member
The male Rhombodera valida I have was an adult for about two and a half weeks, and I thought I'd try breeding him with a month old female. First thing's first, I fed the female 'til she was full. She went through six adult crickets before she was satisfied. In the meantime, I had the male positioned behind the female on a table. He was interested, but took his sweet time and never made a move. By that time, the female had finished her massive meal and moved on, looking for more interesting things to climb on.
To improve the mood, I moved them onto a plant, where I hoped the cover would allow the tentative male to make a move. After two hours I finally had the male climb on a stick and I put him right over the female. That did the trick and he hopped on. They connected for about 14 hours overnight, and the male safely got away and the spermatophore transferred to the female.
I've only successfully mated T. sinesis before, and I hope the female lays an ooth soon (she's certainly big enough!). A big thank you to Sally for providing these awesome mantids!
To improve the mood, I moved them onto a plant, where I hoped the cover would allow the tentative male to make a move. After two hours I finally had the male climb on a stick and I put him right over the female. That did the trick and he hopped on. They connected for about 14 hours overnight, and the male safely got away and the spermatophore transferred to the female.
I've only successfully mated T. sinesis before, and I hope the female lays an ooth soon (she's certainly big enough!). A big thank you to Sally for providing these awesome mantids!
