Caught my first mantis...

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J

joshy

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Earlier this week I found a pregnant mantis while doing yardwork for a neighbor. When I checked on her today she had laid her egg on the paper towel I attached to the lid of the jar I'm keeping her in. I pulled it out and put another paper towel in for now. Should I leave the egg in the cage with her or leave it out? Where should I keep the egg? How long does the egg take to hatch? What's the life expectancy for the mother mantis at this stage in her life? And any other tips for raising my first mantis?

Any help would be appreciated!

Now for some pictures:

The mantis:

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The ootheca:

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The cage:

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You have a lovely mantis, please make a nice home for her, she will die in that bottle. Mist the ooth 4 times a week, u can leave it in that jar with some airholes, should hatch in 6 weeks, but please make her new house with some branches to climb and hang onto. WAIT, I looked again, the jar is good size, just give her some more perching room and put the ooth somewhere else to hatch.

 
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You Shoukd separate her from the egg so that she doesn't lay another egg on top of it. you should put it in the refrigerator for awhile then put it in a separate container to hatch.

Also, it may not be fertile. Mantids lay eggs even when they haven't mated. Expect more than 100 nymphs.

 
Thanks for the tips! She's been much more active since laying the ooth so she's fun to watch - now she pursues her food instead of just going for it if it got close.

Any ideas on the species? I'm guessing Chinese?

 
It's Mantis religiosa, European mantis. Common species, but really cool. Give her lots of food while she fattens up to try and lay another ooth.

 
I was about to say the same thing, can't see the spots (I can't) but there is no doubt that is a Euro ooth.

 
MantidLord said:
It's Mantis religiosa, European mantis. Common species, but really cool. Give her lots of food while she fattens up to try and lay another ooth.
Click to expand...
Do I need to hunt for a male to mate with her for her to lay again or will she lay one regardless?

 
She'll lay one regardless, they only need to be mated once (or not at all) to keep laying ooths. However, since you don't really know if she was mated for certain, if you come across a male, I'd catch him and try to mate them.

 
If you keep her away from cold weather and have good supply of food you can expect her to live until late November. In best cases they can live through December and early January.

The ooth may hatch around May and June of next year because it needs a diapause period. Basically a type of hibernation. For the diapause to work the ooth needs to be exposed to the cold temperatures of Winter or a fake Winter like a fridge.

 
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She laid another ooth this morning! If/when the ooths hatch, how long can I let them live together, if at all?

 
Until they shed their skin 1-2 times. It will hatch a ton of nymphs, but only a few survive. I recommend releasing them and keeping only a few. They will need fruitflies when they hatch. Don't get a culture just for a few nymphs. Maybe build a trap. A jar with rotten fruit and small holes in the lid should work.

 

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