First Time Mating (Chinese Mantis)

[Teamonger]

I have been attempting to mate my Chinese mantis every few days for about two weeks now with no luck. My poor girl is near to bursting with eggs and calling but I can't seem to get any of my males to get the job done.

My oldest male definitely is interested. He does his little cat like body wiggle, chases, and pounces on her. He even attempted to make the connection once but has never actually been successful. He's very lucky my girl is amazingly mellow cause he's terrible at the whole endeavor lol. I am quite sure she would roll her eyes at his antics if she could.

The rest of my younger males are either completely uninterested or jump on her, pause as if to say "ok now what", then wander off while I face palm.

Is this just a matter of the males maturing slower then the females? Most of them have both been adult for 2 or 3 weeks now. Any tips on what I might try to get myself some mantis babies?

 

[Teamonger]

Woo! Apparently persistence was the only trick. Finally got a connection! Now to wait and hope Miss Frizzle isn't feeling hungry  I am so excited!

 

[Ocelotbren]

Hope it goes well!  :lol:

 

[Teamonger]

Success! The mating completed with both parties alive and well  I am so pleased.

 

[Ocelotbren]

I'm glad to hear it, congrats!

 

[Serle]

You're an outstanding mantis wrangler .... S

 

[Teamonger]

@Serle Why thank you!

To live up to the name I've successfully gotten two more couples into the mood tonight! I am very excited! Seems I just had to wait a little longer for the males to reach maturity and get on board.

 

[Ocelotbren]

@Teamonger How long did you wait after they molted to adult, do you know exactly?  Also, what do you plan to do with all the ooths you are soon to get?

 

[Teamonger]

Here is my timeline for those interested.

Jan 12 - My mantises hatched
Mar 14 - My first mantis (Miss Frizzle) molts to adult followed quickly by the males I am currently using to breed.
Apr 22 - Finally managed to coax my first male and female to mate
TBA - Ooths!


I was thinking of offering the ooths up to Canadians for the cost of shipping to spread the mantis love here in the frozen North. Chinese Mantises are pretty easy to come by so I doubt I'd attempt to ship to the US.

 

[Ocelotbren]

I see, thanks!  And that is a great idea to try and help grow the hobby in Canada.  It seems like several people have been asking about sellers in Canada lately.  Hope it all goes well for you.

 

[Serle]

@TeamongerAn xlnt idea , I want  to establish an exotic market as well .

We have an abundance of mantid lovers here ....  S 

 

[Sarah K]

Congrats on the successful mating! good luck spreading the mantis love in Canada! I THINK THAT IS A GREAT IDEA!

 

[Teamonger]

@Sarah K Right!? If I ever get exotics going I'll surely try to spread those around as well for cheap. Making money of the hobby helps feed the addition but spreading mantis love is even better then moola

Poor miss Frizzle is having a rough go of it. I thought she was dead this morning for sure when I found her on her back on the bottom of the cage but she had just fallen and could not get up cause she's so enormous. I had to relocate her to one of the safe molting apartments last night so she could climb easier on the fabric walls. She's lost two of her tarsels (one raptorial finger and one foot) by trying to climb on the mesh while soooo fat. She's incredibly lethargic, I hope she lays soon I'm starting to worry for her health poor girl.

 

[Ocelotbren]

@Teamonger What kind of mesh was it that damaged her tarsi?  Is that normal for a gravid mantis to have a hard time moving around?  That does seem rough!

 

[Teamonger]

@Ocelotbren I honestly have no idea. This is my first time matting mantises so I'm just winging it and doing all I can to keep her somewhat comfortable. The mesh was just the plastic window screen mesh (No aluminum as I know that's hard on their toesies). I know that even the plastic mesh becomes a bit of a problem when they get older and more brittle but I didn't think it would be an issue for at least a month or so more. I'll be picking up some of that spongy drawer liner stuff asap.

 

[Ocelotbren]

@Teamonger Hmm I see.  Well, best of luck to her and to you!

 

[Zeppy44]

I have an unmated female budwing that I thought was going to burst from being so big. Within 4 days laid 2 huge ooths. Back to normal after that but I was worried for a long while. So keep positive thoughts and let nature lead the way.

 

[Teamonger]

@Zeppy44 Fingers crossed. She's been adult for about a month and a week so there may still be hope! I'm going to pull out all the stops tonight. Get her into a humidity controlled environment with a bit more heat and all the branches she could ever want and see what happens.

 

[Serle]

@Teamonger I have screen in my hutch and it may have led to a couple mis moults , they couldn't hold on well.   Sooo  how can we train them to pick a good moult purchase ? .... S