Ghost mantis breeding questions...

[JoeCapricorn]

So, my male Ghost Casper has been an adult for about 10 or 11 days now. Around Tuesday it will be 2 weeks, but how soon can I try to mate him with Chloë (female Ghost)?

I know Ghosts aren't particularly aggressive toward each other, but is there anything I need to know about them other than feeding to protect Casper? If Casper is scared of Chloë, anything I can do to help his bravery? (Same question for Hierodula, tried mating Dio and then Nereid to Kit, both scared of her, would fly away, aww)

Now if all goes well, Chloë lays an Ooth, do these Ooths need an overwintering period? How long does it take until they hatch?

 

[sbugir]

I suggest you check this thread out http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15562&st=0&p=108746&fromsearch=1entry108746

It should answer all your questions and more to come. No overwintering period is needed for the ooths, this a tropical species.

 

[JoeCapricorn]

I never figured out what exactly "Calling" is.

I've seen Rick say "You don't need to see "calling", mate them anytime",

But what is calling? Can it be noticed? What exactly is it?

 

[PhilinYuma]

I never figured out what exactly "Calling" is.

I've seen Rick say "You don't need to see "calling", mate them anytime",

But what is calling? Can it be noticed? What exactly is it?

Here you go:

 

[myles]

is that link meant to be funny??? :tooth: *****

 

[Mr.Mantid]

Here you go:

lulz lulz lulz

 

[JoeCapricorn]

I'd appreciate a serious answer to my question guys...

 

[PhilinYuma]

Here you go: http://www.springerlink.com/content/m57jw2j43305t68r/

It really is time that you learned how to use your friend, young Joe!

 

[JoeCapricorn]

I did google it but I got a lot of stupid unrelated stuff.

I guess what I should've done is gone on my college library website and research it there. That explains all I need to know and the conditions I need to breed my mantises.

There was an interesting incident with my Hierodula, Dio, when I was visiting a friend's house with him tagging along. He literally tried to mate with my finger. He clung to my finger like a mantis clings to a female mantis and he curled his abdomen underneath my finger. I have been perplexed as to why he would try to do this. Is it possible that males might also send out a signal? Or was there something in the air that thought he was on a female mantis? I hadn't handled Kit that day, but that is possible.

So I take it the best time to try to mate Ghosts is in the evening?

 

[JoeCapricorn]

Okay, very important... it has been about 11 days since Casper molted to adult, would he be ready to mate?

Second, very important, Chloë laid an infertile ooth today. It's a short one. How long should I wait after to try to mate her?

The previous thread answered all of my questions except for those two.

 

[JoeCapricorn]

I tried to mate them today. There was a moment where Casper bent his antennae toward Chloë but after a while nothing. I fed Chloë a moth, a crane fly and two crickets. I'm going to give her a break for now and count how many turds are in her container tomorrow. There is 4 right now, see what that number is tomorrow.

Chloë seemed nervous. She did strike at Casper once, but later he crawled over her - foot on head and all - without her snapping at him (she did kneel down, touching her face to the paper towel). There was also a point where she was startled and crawled away.

Casper didn't seem too keen on mating either. The most he got to was looking at Chloë and bending his antennae toward her, otherwise he would look around and crawl right over her. At least he isn't flying around the room... all the time, but he did flitter to my computer screen about twice.

I'll try tomorrow. Casper needs to eat, I'll be going out to get some moths for him tonight, or I might wait until tomorrow and see if I can score a crane fly (his favorite!).

What time of day does calling occur in Ghost mantises? Is it just at dawn or is it also at dusk? All I know at this point is that it occurs in low light conditions. But if it occurs in the dark, how do people observe it?

 

[PhilinYuma]

Joe: lemmiwinks gave you a link to an excellent thread by kamakiri which describes nocturnal and diurnal mating. I gave you one about two species of mantis (though not ghosts) calling in the dark (scotophase), & there have been innumerable posts about male mantids being tactilely stimulated to mate by a human finger In insects generally, including beetles and moths as well as mantids, the female emits pheromones and conserves her energy for egg creation while the male, frequently with more complex antennae than the female to present a larger surface area to sense her pheromones, flies to her (which is why mantis males usually have stronger/longer wings than females) in order to mate.

I suspect that your anxiety makes you forget these things. Just relax and bear in mind that a male and female ghost know more about there own mating than we ever will.

 

[sbugir]

Yeah, what Phil said...

If anything, Casper just isn't ready. Calling isn't necessary for mantids to mate, as many have stated, and I'm pretty sure it is unobservable. Ghosts are a pain to breed as it is so you will have trouble. Why not separate Chloe from Casper, and keep them both in exile :lol: for a few days? Then introduce Chloe into Casper's container.

Follow this thread:

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7112

 

[JoeCapricorn]

So, I tried that... and... so far... things are looking good. Casper is on Chloë's back and I just gave her two crickets to keep her appetite down. No connection yet, but I am leaving them be. If they connect, I intend on staying up to watch the whole process and ensure Casper can get away safely. Ghosts aren't as aggressive toward each other though, right? Casper should be fine. I won't be closing his container, so if mating is successful he can escape and fly freely around the room. So, about 30 minutes later still no connection, but as soon as I turned the light off he tried to connect. So, now I wait and see... watching with just the light of my monitor.

Around 1:00 AM, they have connected! WOOOHOO!!!!