freeing my two nymps into the wild concerns

[sevenoaks]

i can get some opinions on if my mantids will be able to survive on their own after i release them soon?

i feel they only know me feeding them and living in their little enclosure. i am wondering if letting them go in the weather and open air will shock them and they wont be able to survive. they are full grown now(they have wings, i guess they are right?) i am keeping the one that mis molted so im not worried about her but i am about the other two.

 

[ismart]

They should get along just fine.

 

[hibiscusmile]

if worried, take them out a few minutes each day and they can get used to it, thats what we do with birds.

 

[Woodbox]

They should be ok. Mantids are all instinct. I would release them in dense/tall weed and look out for any birds or lizards when your doing it.

When I was 8, I raised an io moth caterpillar (I named him Toothpaste) When he finally hatched I was so proud. I took him outside not thinking daylight probably was not the best time. Toothpaste flew to the nearest tree which was past some thorny bushes I couldnt reach. At the bottom of that tree was an anole which saw Toothpaste and ran up and ate him. I was so sad.

 

[sevenoaks]

They should be ok. Mantids are all instinct. I would release them in dense/tall weed and look out for any birds or lizards when your doing it.

When I was 8, I raised an io moth caterpillar (I named him Toothpaste) When he finally hatched I was so proud. I took him outside not thinking daylight probably was not the best time. Toothpaste flew to the nearest tree which was past some thorny bushes I couldnt reach. At the bottom of that tree was an anole which saw Toothpaste and ran up and ate him. I was so sad.

i love that touching story. thank you

i also love the name of your moth! too cute!

 

[PhilinYuma]

They should be ok. Mantids are all instinct. I would release them in dense/tall weed and look out for any birds or lizards when your doing it.

When I was 8, I raised an io moth caterpillar (I named him Toothpaste) When he finally hatched I was so proud. I took him outside not thinking daylight probably was not the best time. Toothpaste flew to the nearest tree which was past some thorny bushes I couldnt reach. At the bottom of that tree was an anole which saw Toothpaste and ran up and ate him. I was so sad.

Eh! Same thing happened to me when I was a kid. I raised a hawk moth caterpillar, watched it burrow in the earth and pupate and then emerge a few months later. I gave it its freedom outside our back door. Away it flew into the heavens and then into the beak of a swooping swallow. Good day for the swallow, I guess.

 

[Rick]

They will be fine.

 

[Orin]

They will die, probably within a few days of release.

The survival rate for mantids in the wild is normally in the 1-5% range. Consider the number of eggs produced be one female.

 

[PhilinYuma]

No one knows whether they will survive or not, but a large percentage of mantids, as you know, die within the first few instars so your adults will have a better chance of survival until mating than L1 nymphs would. In humans, a newborn has an actuarial life expectancy of 75.1 years, but a 70 year old has a life expectancy of another 13.5 years for a total of 83.5 years. Confusing, ain't it?

 

[sevenoaks]

They will die, probably within a few days of release.

The survival rate for mantids in the wild is normally in the 1-5% range. Consider the number of eggs produced be one female.

well that is not a good thing for me to hear. i just bought one permanent cage for the one i was going to keep. now im wondering if i shoudl just keep all three. i do know one wants OUT and charges me when i mist him, he doesnt seem happy. their cages now are way too small. i have no room or time to care for all three. i dont knwo what to do at this point. i feel bad for them, as they are all doing well

 

[Rick]

well that is not a good thing for me to hear. i just bought one permanent cage for the one i was going to keep. now im wondering if i shoudl just keep all three. i do know one wants OUT and charges me when i mist him, he doesnt seem happy. their cages now are way too small. i have no room or time to care for all three. i dont knwo what to do at this point. i feel bad for them, as they are all doing well

I doubt they will die in a few days. There is a chinese nymph in my yard that has been sitting in basically the same spot in a cilantro plant for weeks now. It is now about an L4. I also know where another one is that doesn't move far. Yours are already adults. I also doubt he charges you :lol: Not something mantids do. If you can't care for them let them go. THey may die eventually or they may not. You won't have any control over what happens in nature.

 

[sevenoaks]

I doubt they will die in a few days. There is a chinese nymph in my yard that has been sitting in basically the same spot in a cilantro plant for weeks now. It is now about an L4. I also know where another one is that doesn't move far. Yours are already adults. I also doubt he charges you :lol: Not something mantids do. If you can't care for them let them go. THey may die eventually or they may not. You won't have any control over what happens in nature.

i am not a bug person Rick as you already know i just came upon the momma mantid one cold novemeber day and took her in and cared for her over the winter when she layed this ooth and three hatched. i really dont dig bugs that much but i will care for them and have been. the one that isnt happy (i think) when i open his cage to mist him he comes running over to me like to scare me away because he is frightened. (i call it charging me.. )i know he wants to be let free. i will drive over to a farm field of daisys and wild flowers i passed the other day and let the two go. they are large enough to be ok i hope. the one i will care for that mis molted. i bought him a big butterfly cage and have wood and vines all ready for him.

 

[sevenoaks]

BTW the field i am scoping out to let them go in , it has no shade, it is all wildflowers and high weeds. i was wondering about the water situation also. anyone?

 

[Rick]

BTW the field i am scoping out to let them go in , it has no shade, it is all wildflowers and high weeds. i was wondering about the water situation also. anyone?

It sounds perfect. Shade and water is not a concern. It sounds like the perfect place. Those types of places are usually full of mantids.

 

[Ghozt]

I have 10 chiness ooths that i hatched inside. After the hatch i tried to separate them in groups of 15-25 and i feed them 1x then i scattered them around my complex "i live in a condo"

And i see them EVERYDAY if I look hard enuff in the right places... I have 2 small trees that has athids and i release them on that and that tree will cover food for weeks... i capture them and move them to flower spots where bees and other flying insects go and i already have had seen 10 mantids with wings... so, the answer to your question is, YES ! They will do just fine. Just seperated them when u free them so they dont target eachother !

 

[MantidLord]

I have 10 chiness ooths that i hatched inside. After the hatch i tried to separate them in groups of 15-25 and i feed them 1x then i scattered them around my complex "i live in a condo"

And i see them EVERYDAY if I look hard enuff in the right places... I have 2 small trees that has athids and i release them on that and that tree will cover food for weeks... i capture them and move them to flower spots where bees and other flying insects go and i already have had seen 10 mantids with wings... so, the answer to your question is, YES ! They will do just fine. Just seperated them when u free them so they dont target eachother !

Where do you live? I'm in Vegas too, wish I could catch some Chinese.

 

[sevenoaks]

i was wondering if my adult chinese are able to fly if needed. i was wondering if the farmer decides to mow the field i was going to release them in, that they could fly out of danger...

 

[Rick]

i was wondering if my adult chinese are able to fly if needed. i was wondering if the farmer decides to mow the field i was going to release them in, that they could fly out of danger...

Males can fly. Females can fly for a short time before they start developing eggs and get too heavy. But if they have messed up wings they can't fly regardless.

 

[sevenoaks]

Males can fly. Females can fly for a short time before they start developing eggs and get too heavy. But if they have messed up wings they can't fly regardless.

thanks, i am keeping the one with the messed up wings so im not worried about her. ok i will release the other two soon as the temps are alittle warmer at night. in the field i explained. thanks for all..