Chinese Mating Troubles?

[SneakyPsycho]

I'm trying to breed my Chinese mantises for the first time, and I'm having some troubles. I read the article about making sure they are at least a couple weeks old before mating, having them on a flat surface, etc, and I've been doing all of that to no avail. I've lost track of how long the male has been an adult, but I would guess him to be a little over five weeks old. The female is 3 weeks old, as of today. I've tried mating them on 4 or 5 different occasions (pretty much if I have nothing else to do I try it lol) and the male has tried to mount the female around 10 times. Each time (except one) she FREAKS out and then after a moment or two of struggling he flies off. One time he sat on her for a good 8 seconds before she flipped out. I was so disappointed inch: Does anyone have any tips or tricks? I haven't tried feeding her during the process yet because if she isn't moving around he tends to get distracted and forget the task at hand.

 

[lancaster1313]

I failed to breed my T. sinensis but with a different problem.

My males would hop on and do nothing else. The females were ready and would lay their claws down and let the males have a chance. It was frustrating and mating never happened for me.

Your female may need more time, or you can feed her and try putting the male right on her back.

I notice that putting the male on works better if he is pointing his antennae directly at her before you let him on(it will be obvious if he is interested). Maybe letting his antennae touch the tip of her abdomen to smell it will get him going. That has worked for me with other species when the male is distracted or oblivious.

 

[sueb4653]

I'd try the feeding the female

it worked for my griffins

 

[brancsikia339]

Feed the female! I've bred t. sinensis for years!!! They are easy once you get the hang of it.

 

[aNisip]

Feed the female! I've bred t. sinensis for years!!! They are easy once you get the hang of it.

This is exactly what I would've said.

 

[Rick]

Set them up where he is behind and is watching her. Give her food using tongs so that your hand doesn't disturb them. There should be enough movement from her eating to attract him. It may not work as she may still freak out, but worth a try. It sounds like she isn't ready.

 

[SneakyPsycho]

I set them up again today and it worked! It took around 30 seconds this time haha I was so surprised. How often should I feed the female so that she doesn't eat the male? He's my favorite :wub: