First attempt at mating Europeans

[chrisbrock]

This is probably another case of me over reacting...

I've had this male since he was about a half an inch long, and has been a full adult for over a month now.

My brother caught an adult female for me, but I have no idea how long she has been mature.

Ok, so I tried following the "My proven technique for mating mantids" technique for mating, but it's totally nerve wrecking :-( The male shows no sign of noticing the female, and every time he moves, the female spins around and eyes him hungrily. I spend most of my time trying to get her to turn around and not kill the male. I have a spare room in my house with very little furniture in it. Would it be advisable to just leave them for several hours and just let nature takes it's course? What are the chances a puny male can survive the onslaught of a vicious female heck-bent on male mutilation and mayhem? I'm pretty sure this is one of those times when "the less I do, the better it will be" rings true, but this male is a hand raised, pampered aristocrat, and the female is a hardboiled, armor plated killing machine.

nervously,

chris

 

[Ben.M]

Make sure u feed her something big while trying to mate them as the movment will attract the male and the food will keep the female occupied but do be careful as this species often end up with dead males before, during and after mating so keep cheching on them and make sure that the male has space to run and hide once the deed is done

 

[Rick]

Wait a few days and try again. If he shows no interest in her he is not ready.

 

[hibiscusmile]

yea, and do like I did yesterday, pray

 

[chrisbrock]

ok, so this is a REAL noob question.

How long do mantids live after they reach the full adult stage? I know it can take 2-3 weeks till they are 'ready' to mate, but how long before they are 'ready' to bury?

 

[chrisbrock]

YEAH!!! It worked tonight. He pretty much had to be within inches of her before he started "pointing" at her. When he finally did make his move, it was a leaping mount!! wasn't expecting that

Keeping her focused on food really helped with keeping her eyes off him. Thanks for that

chris

 

[OGIGA]

ok, so this is a REAL noob question.How long do mantids live after they reach the full adult stage? I know it can take 2-3 weeks till they are 'ready' to mate, but how long before they are 'ready' to bury?

Depending on the species, some can live another whole year.

 

[Ian]

YEAH!!! It worked tonight. He pretty much had to be within inches of her before he started "pointing" at her. When he finally did make his move, it was a leaping mount!! wasn't expecting that Keeping her focused on food really helped with keeping her eyes off him. Thanks for that

chris

Nice work Keep us updating with the progress from here on.

 

[Ben.M]

ok, so this is a REAL noob question.How long do mantids live after they reach the full adult stage? I know it can take 2-3 weeks till they are 'ready' to mate, but how long before they are 'ready' to bury?

Average species live, males 3-5 months after maturing, female 5-8 months(althought i can vary), but like OGIGA said, it does depend on the species, like dead leafs can live a year after maturing :blink:

 

[Ben.M]

Oh, and [SIZE=10pt]well done[/SIZE]

 

[joossa]

YEAH!!! It worked tonight. He pretty much had to be within inches of her before he started "pointing" at her. When he finally did make his move, it was a leaping mount!! wasn't expecting that Keeping her focused on food really helped with keeping her eyes off him. Thanks for that

chris

Congrats! I know how you feel; I recently had my first successful mating of the season a couple of days ago.