Continuing story of a Chinese Mantis

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Lu has cast her second oothecae. I say "cast" because to me it is like a spider casting a web or is it spinning an ooth? or laying eggs?

Got my copy of "Keeping Aliens" book from Elytra and Antenna.

I am thinking of keeping to the Chinese Mantids because of the local availability.

I have made a few inquiries about other mantids available (people on this site are very helpful and for that I am thankful). If I am to sink any amounts of money into another hobby I want to do it right. I would be apprehensive about the more exotic species in case I just outright fail.

Where do oothecae that sell in garden centers come from? Is there a "big" breeder that packages these?

I am keeping a beetle that I am trying to figure out feeding etc. On a bug site they mention that it is nocturnal and eats insects but I have it in with a cricket and now the cricket is dead but doesn't seem to be consumed in any apreciable way...

cheers,

:rolleyes:

 
lionsden112002 said:
Lu has cast her second oothecae. I say "cast" because to me it is like a spider casting a web or is it spinning an ooth? or laying eggs?Got my copy of "Keeping Aliens" book from Elytra and Antenna.

I am thinking of keeping to the Chinese Mantids because of the local availability.

cheers,

:rolleyes:
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LU has cast her third oothecae and this one is much smaller than the previous two. Any ideas or experiences on Chinese ooth size and ability to deliver nymphs?

I attach for your viewing pleasure my photobucket homage to LU my pet:

http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z1/lion...nt=93c4695b.pbr

When you get to my photobucket feel free to look around at all my mantid stuff.

I was showing my boss the movie file in the post above and she reacted very much like the descriptions you all are sharing in the thread "Angry" her quote upon seeing the ooth in the picture was. "What is that?" .... "It's the mantids ooth" "it will hatch about 400 babies in the spring." "OH MY GOD! aren't you going to kill it!?"

I just laughed and said no. They begin to expect this sort of behavior from an art teacher.

Hope you enjoy the images on the movie. I really didn't like the mantid killing video on You tube - I can't access You Tube at work so I am real happy with photobucket. (and my new digital cannon 570).

Just prior to casting this ooth LU was repeatedly falling off the lid of her critter keeper. I took her out and placed her on a window screen for an evening. The next morning was funny because it was so hard to get her out. I had to remove the glass window from the window frame (not that hard) then as I picked her up she struck at me!! It is the first time I have ever let a mantid get that up close and personal.

Regards

 
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lionsden112002 said:
Lu has died

RIP

IMG_2616.jpg
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B)

lionsden112002 said:
Lu has died

Sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, that's the down side to this as opposed to a keeping a cat or dog or whatever, the short life span. I felt the same way after Mother died but when those ooths began to hatch that was sort of the Recycling of life, as my nephew put it. It occurred pretty much the same as with your Chinese with our first refugee, so to speak. When we found our wayward Chinese, my dudes named "Mother!" She was clinging to the brick wall just above the doorway of our Apt. complex and the other neighbors were either too afraid to even venture through the door or they were in the process of finding weapons to crush her with due to her antagonistic size and threat posture. She only assumed the posture because the jackasses were throwing stuff at her. :angry: When my nephew, with his very tall self and lengthy arms walked up to her, plastic drinking cup in hand I believe and slowly and carefully scooped her up, she went willingly with him. He did not even need the cup all it took was him shielding her so that she could not see the jackasses and then with the other hand he coaxed her in. Anyway, that was last September, she laid 6 oothecae and died in, November I believe or so. In the next few months her offspring will be following the same path. I did set some free. And I believe this, that we caught a very large female on my neighbor's screen not far from where we caught the last one and not far from where some escaped when thrown out into the cold by my nephew. It seemed kind of like "full circle" as this September, a female we caught was the same size and looked exactly like the one from last Sept and was ready to mate just as the ones I have in my crib are. So, we kept her for three weeks and when she did not adjust well, we set her free to mate. She could very well have been one of the escaped offspring, at least that's what my boys and I like to believe!!! We hardly get many wild mantids around here at all. <_<
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I just had a chinese go like that too. She was scratching at the caqe all day, I finally took it down to see what she was up to and she did not seem right, I took her out and she just kept clawing at the lid, so I told her goodby and took her outside and put her on an evergreen bush, and within three minutes she died. :(

 

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