Egyptian Breeding

[agent A]

I've heard things about how profilic breeders egyptian mantids are, and I have an adult female who's been an adult for like 4 or 5 days, and I hear they can mate 3 days after becoming adult. Well my only males are subadult and I'm afraid she'll lay infertile eggs. Any advice?

 

[idolomantis]

eh.. you can just mate them.

If she's fertilized she'll lay fertile eggs.

 

[agent A]

eh.. you can just mate them. If she's fertilized she'll lay fertile eggs.

reread my origional post, my males are subadult and I asked a question there.

 

[idolomantis]

Yeah i saw that. just wait a few weeks when he matures and then mate them. it's not like your femile will die in a month right?

 

[agent A]

Yeah i saw that. just wait a few weeks when he matures and then mate them. it's not like your femile will die in a month right?

right but when will she start laying infertile eggs? one male grabs a cricket, takes a few bites then drops it and I don't know why.

 

[idolomantis]

right but when will she start laying infertile eggs? one male grabs a cricket, takes a few bites then drops it and I don't know why.

when she hasn't mated... and maybe your first ooth(s) might be infertile but after she mated she'll start to lay fertile eggs.

and give the male a fly then.

Miomantis species lay alot of ooths, don't worry

 

[wero626]

Well i have 3 miomantis females 2 that havent been mated and one that has been mated and the 2 that i havent mated have not liad any unfertile ooths and its been like 2 weeks adult so it takes them a long time before they start making unfertile eggs doesnt happen over night but when you do mate them they pop out ooths like crazy jus thought id let you know good luck with those little guys.. =]

 

[massaman]

This is nice to know as I just had my first miomantis paykulli female bred I think it was for more then a hour or 2 when she was mated and waiting on the ooths to be laid and got two more females but those are sub adults so going to probably be swamped with ooths as the Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantis or Gambian for short tend to lay alot of ooths as well! I know my female was mated because i watched the male link up with her and gave them their space to mate in privacy!

 

[massaman]

maybe your be lucky and have a ooth hatch out some nymphs even if not mated as this species has been known on rare occasions to hatch out nymphs to non mated females!

 

[massaman]

WOW I just bred my egyptian like 3 days ago and today she is laying her first ooth and shes halfway done laying it!

but also read this on another site so keeping my fingers crossed on it being fertile!

<after two weeks or so, the females will be depositing her oothecae (plural for ootheca), each every 10 or so days. The oothecae are small and are about 1 cm or less. This species can lay around 4-6 oothecae. Remove the females from the oothecae or the oothecae from the females afterward. After 5 weeks or so of incubation at 30 C (86 F) and 70% humidity, 40-60 nymphs will hatch out. These can be fed on fruit flies a day or two after hatching. They are quite small so fruit flies might even be too big for them, but if they are hungry enough, they should be able to catch them for themselves. Then continue to care for them as this care sheet suggests.>

 

[Cosmic]

Don't throw away your "infertile" ootheca of M. paykullii, treat them as fertile, you never know you might get a surprise

 

[massaman]

Never said it was infertile being I bred her 3 days before she laid the ooth and I know its fertile as I seen her mate with my only male!

 

[agent A]

Never said it was infertile being I bred her 3 days before she laid the ooth and I know its fertile as I seen her mate with my only male!

could you loan me your male massaman?

 

[Cosmic]

Never said it was infertile being I bred her 3 days before she laid the ooth and I know its fertile as I seen her mate with my only male!

I was refering to agent A's unmated females ootheca, your's will no doubt be fertile as long as the pairing was successful, I've had females of various species lay ootheca fertile ooth's less then 24hrs after mating.

 

[Opivy]

hmm, just came across this topic - sorry to resurrect it.

Why would you be surprised about an infertile M.Paykulli ooth?

I have one that has never been exposed to a male - are they parthenogenetic(sp?)

 

[massaman]

its rare that they are and theres rumors that the giant asians are the same!

 

[PhilinYuma]

its rare that they are and theres rumors that the giant asians are the same!

This parthenogenesis thing among mantids (except for Brunneria borealis in the US) is in danger of becoming a MantidForum myth.

Opivy: If any one offers you a bet of 100:1 in your favor if you'll bet just $10 that an unfertilized ooth (Asian, Egyptian, whatever, except B. borealis), will yield parthenogenic nymphs, save yr sawbuck. Really.

As an English seaman said to me about "virgin birth" many years ago, "If the scientists say it's possible I s'pose it is, but my daughter better not come to me with a bun in the oven and say it's no virgin birth!"

 

[Opivy]

thanks phil. i think I'll get rid of it then, no reason to keep it around.