Could she be pregnant?

[Burmeister]

Is there any way to tell if our wild caught Mantis is expecting??  We’ve had her two weeks. She has a ravenous appetite and has grown a big belly but she was definitely starving when we found her. What do you think??

Shes eating two crickets a day, that seems like a lot?

 

[minomantis]

Female Mantids can eat WAY more than two crickets a day. They have huge appetites. If you live in an area that has wild bugs, I would try and catch some moths, grasshoppers or other insects so her diet isn't just crickets. 

The term we use is gravid or full of eggs. Your female looks like she is ready to mate. You can either find a male or you put her on the porch and have her call in her own male. Either way good luck!

 

[Aristalochia]

She's likely to be laying an ooth shortly, the question is whether she has mated yet.

 

[Burmeister]

Female Mantids can eat WAY more than two crickets a day. They have huge appetites. If you live in an area that has wild bugs, I would try and catch some moths, grasshoppers or other insects so her diet isn't just crickets. 

The term we use is gravid or full of eggs. Your female looks like she is ready to mate. You can either find a male or you put her on the porch and have her call in her own male. Either way good luck!

Thanks but we won't be able to put her outside because she is not indigenous to where we live, also I'm thinking the cold night air would harm her. I'm in Canada and it's getting pretty cold at night now. She was found at the airport on a shipment from China so I don't think she'll find a mate here

my husband has been catching moths, daddy long legs (not the official name lol but what I only know them as) and a few spiders so she's getting a mix of prey . I'm a bit confused on how much food to offer her as I also read that too much feeding can shorten her lifespan?

 

[Aristalochia]

we do have both european and chinese mantids established from vancouver to at least as far as kelowna and vernon. Since people brought them in in the early 1900's. So a male wandering finding her wouldn't be unheard of, until it freezes.