Clovers demise :(

Ricardo · Feb 6, 2011

Hey guys . . . My first mantis died just recently. I forget when she was mated but I'm pretty sure it was in november.

Anyways she previously tried to lay an ooth but it was in small increments and I got these deformed things.

Then she got really fat and I thought this might be the real deal but then I saw some scars and patches on her abdomen and she looked bloated. I think she couldn't lay it for some reason and then died.

Anyone have experience with this sort of thing? It looks like she has an ooth in her , can it be harvested?

Why didn't she lay? Did the ooth hatch inside her ?

I failed at farming one of the easiest species . . .

RIP Clover, my first . . .

When she was healthy

After she died

Findarato · Feb 6, 2011

I'm sorry for your loss. Although I have not so much experience with mantids yet, I know of eggbound syndromes in other species (reptiles and birds), and they can be fatal. For an insect I know of no treatment, except humidity etc. But there can be many reasons, anatomical or metabolical, and there was nothing you could have done.

The eggs inside her will not hatch (I don't call it an ooth, because that is what he mantis makes of her eggs when she lays them). I believe it is like puppies died inside a pregnant dog, they would kill the mother as well. But a dog can be helped with operation, a mantis is too small for that. And I could not give a mantis a shot to lay her eggs like I would a dog to have her puppies out. I think something went wrong inside your Clover, and no one could have helped. Scars and patches on her abdomen could indicate decaying material inside her. That's just how my veterinary eye would see, but I understand how helpless one feels when one's pet dies in such a way.

dgerndt · Feb 6, 2011

I'm so sorry.

It looks as though Clover was egg bound. Some people think this is caused by over feeding, but Clover might have also just been old. I recently had to put my adult mio in the freezer because she was egg bound and food could no longer make it to her abdomen. There wasn't anything you could do. I know it's hard to lose a mantis, especially your first.

Krissim Klaw · Feb 7, 2011

I'm so sorry for your loss, it is always hard to loose your first one, but just look at the new mantis world and added experience she has opened up to you. You will be a better more skilled owner for all your future mantises thanks to what you learned while caring for her.

I've experienced egg bound females a few times, all where unmated females. With mine it never effected life expectancy and I never saw any discoloration to the abdomen. Unfortunately there is only so much we can do for our buggies when something goes wrong.

JoeCapricorn · Feb 8, 2011

I've had a Chinese mantis who was eggbound for most of her life. She just died this past week but she still lived a lot longer than her siblings. She was part of the first mantis hatching that I ever witnessed, 26 baby mantises spread throughout my bedroom floor. The egg was on the floor and forgotten about, lol. She was unmated, so that could've played a part, but she was always so fat but never once laid an ooth.

Keeping mantises is a constantly rewarding experience, although it is disappointing that they eventually must go. This is especially when the mantis had lived so long and even more so if the mantis was one you raised from a baby. Each species though has their unique quirks and traits, and I notice personalities even among individuals.

Just something you gotta get used to. Your mantis lived a long and healthy life, it was her time.

Heck, my mom still holds a grudge against my Dead-Leaf mantis Angus for eating her mate, even though that resulted in two egg-cases, one of which hatched.