Chinese Mantis: male or female

[sinensispsyched]

Hi,

I am a noob to mantids, and my subadult chinese mantis' gender is still unknown. I have been arguing in my head that she's a girl because...

• She was caught eating the last of her siblings.
  
• She is a very aggressive eater, nothing like my adult male chinese.
  
• She has been counted with six or eight segments, but I'm still unsure of officially how many
  

I believe it is a boy because...

• It has small segments on its abdomen (matches a thread about giant asians by Rick)
  

Would it be easiest if I post a picture?

~Keegan

 

[azn567]

Yes post a picture please

 

[agent A]

Aggression has nothing to do with it, my gongies cannibalized and the cannables were all males who ate half of my females and caused one to mismolt from an injury, please post a pic of the end of the abdomen

Good luck with it

 

[CoolMantid]

I do this. On female mantis near the end of there abdomen there is a part ( not sure what it is) that resembles a doorish thing. If anyone help me out here that would be great because now I feel like I sound crazy :helpsmilie: This thingy sticks out in a triangle. (PLEASE HELP ME OUT, IS ANYONE ELSE UNDERSTANDING THIS) This is what she uses to lay eggs and also were the male connects to the female. Inspect the mantis and look for this. Good luck!

 

[Rick]

If you read my thread you should know. If it is an adult there shouldn't be any guessing.

 

[sinensispsyched]

My mantis is still a subadult. She is due to molt in the next week and a half.

 

[lancaster1313]

I do this. On female mantis near the end of there abdomen there is a part ( not sure what it is) that resembles a doorish thing. If anyone help me out here that would be great because now I feel like I sound crazy :helpsmilie: This thingy sticks out in a triangle. (PLEASE HELP ME OUT, IS ANYONE ELSE UNDERSTANDING THIS) This is what she uses to lay eggs and also were the male connects to the female. Inspect the mantis and look for this. Good luck!

I get it. :lol:

I like to look at the last segment for sexing, but it is much easier if you have both sexes to compare. Large wide triangular segment: female Smaller segment: male.

It works for roaches too. My 6 year old daughter now likes to sex every nymph, mantis or roach, she makes a game out of it and is very accurate.

You can do it!

Rick's post makes it very clear with the photos.

I still had trouble sexing my Chinese until they were at subsubadult when I was using the counting method but didn't pay as much attention to the shape of the end segment. It is probably just my bad eyesight. :blush:

 

[sinensispsyched]

Wow, way to rub it in! :tt2: I hadn't tried to teach my 5 year old brother how to sex bugs.

 

[CoolMantid]

So im not crrazy afterall :blink: