Hello from Iowa, U.S.A.!!!

[GreenLisa1964]

Hello from Iowa! I just found this forum and I am excited to join in! I am 47yrs young, Blissfully Married to the Love of my Life & a stay at home mom to 2 of the Best Kids EVER!!!! Caden is 9 yrs old and Delaney is 5 yrs old! We also have 2 dogs, a Golden Retriever named Gunny and a Boxer named Cyrus! We have only one Praying Mantis, named Pray! =) My sister found him in her driveway sometime in August. We were told he'd only live a few months...but he is still going strong!!! He eats lots of crickets and is super sweet. I was researching Praying Mantis's on line to find out if we had a boy or a girl. I thought by his wing length he was a male...but it appears it is a female b/c "he" made two egg sacks!?! I didn't know what they were and thought some other unwanted bug had spun a weird looking cocoon...so I tossed them. I feel horrible. Can anyone tell me how to def. determine what sex is which? And where to get the best egg sacks after Pray dies? Thank you so much!!!!

 

[sinensispsyched]

Welcome to the forum! You can determine sex by counting the abdominal segments underneath the body. If there are six, it is a female, and if there are seven or eight, it is a male. Rick has a GREAT thread (with photos) that helps to determine sex:

http://mantidforum.n...?showtopic=7110

You can make a request in the For Sale/ Wanted section and ask for either a European Mantis, Chinese Mantis, Stagmomantis, Budwing Mantis, Indian Flower Mantis, or Ghost Mantis ootheca, or egg case. Those are generally the easiest species for beginners to raise. It is all up to what look or attitude that you wish for.

 

[Fichte]

Not each Mantids have 7/6... but every male have more than the female.

Another way to sex is looking at the subgenital-plate. Males have a splitted one and females... not

Easy to see here (its a page about roaches but its the same system):

http://schabenzentru...d=42&Itemid=110

best regards

 

[twolfe]

Hello GreenLisa1964 and Welcome.

We're about the same age. I live in Minnesota and have been raising and enjoying mantis for just over a year.

Hope you enjoy the forum.

Tammy

 

[lancaster1313]

Welcome.

My daughter and I like to sex our bugs by looking at the subgenital plate, as Fichte has helpfully posted. My daughter Estelle is 6 years old and I let her reliably sex the bugs most if the time.

 

[gripen]

Welcome!

 

[Fichte]

I use this method cause i always count wrong =P

Cool you have the future of the insektkeepers at home... respect to your daughter

best regards

 

[hibiscusmile]

welcome!

 

[Chivalry]

Welcome! You might consider getting a nymph instead of an egg case, unless you're looking to put them outside or you want a LOT of babies.

 

[Rick]

Welcome

 

[Peter Clausen]

Iowa? It's funny because I don't know if I've ever met anybody from Iowa and internet bug hobbyists seem under-represented in the state. Welcome!

 

[agent A]

Iowa? It's funny because I don't know if I've ever met anybody from Iowa and internet bug hobbyists seem under-represented in the state. Welcome!

Same with Connecticut, there's only like 3 CT members and only 1 is very active on the forum, there is a website I came across a while ago and some peeps from Iowa were keeping a log of the indigenous mantises, here is the link:

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug,%20Mantids.htm

Anyways welcome!!!