Can a clone have clones

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I have a clone mantid and I wanted to experiment to see if she could have clones. (Iris oratoria). She never laid eggs, while her peers of the same age had laid 2 - 3 egg cases. I got scared so I mated her with a very respectful male outside. (No one ate no one!) She is still not laying eggs. Its been about a week. But I'm curious: Can a clone have clones?

 

[Ranitomeya]

Many insects create clones of themselves through parthenogenesis and it can go on for an infinite number of generations if at least one individual without any mutations reproduces successfully. Assuming your mantis is healthy and nothing is wrong with its ability to lay eggs, it should be able to give rise to another generation of clones.

Since she's been mated, any eggs she produces will not be clones if they've been fertilized successfully. It's not unusual for some females to hold off laying until they've mated successfully. She should lay an ootheca soon if she's fed properly.

 

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Thank you! Interesting!

 

[MantidLord]

Even if she wasn't a "clone" she would still lay an ootheca, they would just be infertile. Basically her ability to reproduce (parthenogenetic or otherwise) isn't really determined by if she laid an ooth.

 

[Orin]

Why do you say she is a clone? Did you hatch her from an ootheca laid by a female you reared last year from a nymph that was never exposed to a male?

 

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Yes, I believe that she is a clone because the only way that she would not be a clone is if a male flew through my bathroom window, (which was open) mated with her mother, and flew out without her mother eating him. She did attract 2 males that did fly through my window after the first ooth was laid, but they did not make it out. So, I believe that her mother was not exposed to a male.

My female that I think is a clone, will not lay eggs now even after mating. I don't know what is wrong with her.

My idea was that maybe she has a defective gene, so she is infertile for some reason. I know mantids that are not fertilized lay ooths anyways, but would there be some instances where a female would not want to lay eggs because she is infertile?