Carolina mantis eggs question

[Dana]

Hi! I've got three Carolina oothecas. Currently they're outside on my porch in a butterfly enclosure because they're native here, so I've let them be in their natural temperature, etc. 

I'm going out of town in a couple weeks for ten days. I'm very concerned they might hatch while I'm gone. I don't have anyone to watch over them for me. I really want to hatch them where I can keep some. 

Do you have any suggestions on what I can do? I'm wondering if I can put the eggs in the fridge to delay them until I get back, but I don't want any harm to come to them. 

Thank you so much!

 

[River Dane]

Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s much you can do. Putting it in the fridge will kill the eggs, as they’ve most likely already started developing. If you keep them in an enclosure, it’s most likely they will starve or resort to cannibalism. 

The only thing I would suggest is putting them in a somewhat isolated part of your garden and trying to find them when you come back. Mantids generally don’t like crawling onto the ground, so putting them on a tree far away from any other foliage is the most likely place (that I can think of) that you’ll be able to find them again.