Hello!

[Insect-lover]

Hello! I am Richard, im a teen(hope thats not a problem here) interested in wild life, both sub aquatic and terrestrial, i own a reef tank, iv had taken care of many diferent insects since i was small, and recently a big achievment of mine was granted, my very first Chinese Praying Mantis ootheca! The reason for the speices to be chinese is because for what i researched, this is a good beginner species.

Its kinda big, it said that i should expect about 200 nymphs to hatch, but of course i won't keep all that, i might keep one or two as pets and realese the rest.

So, first photo, its a hatchery, the egg has been incubating for almost 2 weeks now at a temperature of about 25 cº above a light:

That's actually net above by the way.

And second picture, the Ootheca itself:

Sorry for its blurriness(?),it was taken with my phone's camera.

I hope to get along with all of you, and thanks for reading!

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Welcome, you may want to attach the ooth to the lid and remove the stick, as the nymphs will drop down a inch or two on a little silk like thread and need to hang there for a bit to inflate and hard'n, and they can't touch anything in the way or they may die, also moist paper towel in the very bottom is a good idea to keep humidity higher and later they will drink from it. mist it (Paper towel) every 2 day's or so.

 

[Insect-lover]

Welcome, you may want to attach the ooth to the lid and remove the stick, as the nymphs will drop down a inch or two on a little silk like thread and need to hang there for a bit to inflate and hard'n, and they can't touch anything in the way or they may die, also moist paper towel in the very bottom is a good idea to keep humidity higher and later they will drink from it. mist it (Paper towel) every 2 day's or so.

Thank you alot for the adivce! Ill be doing what you said.

Do you have any tips on how to attach the Ootheca to the lid?

And shouldn't i mist the Ootheca aswell?

Thanks againe.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

No don't mist to ooth directly, and don't over mist as it can mold if moist to long=mist, let dry out - mist, let dry out. and a small amount of hot glue it is what most of us use to attach ooths, try to orientate the ooth the way it looks like it was laid. zipper or line side down, thats where they will come out of.

 

[Insect-lover]

No don't mist to ooth directly, and don't over mist as it can mold if moist to long=mist, let dry out - mist, let dry out. and a small amount of hot glue it is what most of us use to attach ooths, try to orientate the ooth the way it looks like it was laid. zipper or line side down, thats where they will come out of.

Thanks, sorry for so many questions but i have another,i acidently let my ootheca hit the ground, the ootheca itself seems to be fine, its complelty intact and not a single bit was removed, but im afraid for the lifes inside it.

Could this have killed the nymphs?

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Well I never tested that out? but I think they should be ok. hopefully it was carpet?

Just tell them your sorry :lol: and good luck.

 

[Insect-lover]

Well I never tested that out? but I think they should be ok. hopefully it was carpet?

Just tell them your sorry :lol: and good luck.

Yes indeed it was carpted. Oh man i just hope i didn't kill a life before it was even born.

 

[GreenOasis]

LOL...they'll be fine. Just don't play hacky-sack with it! (Actually, with a Chinese ooth, you probably COULD!...But, don't!)

As far as you being a teenager, no problems...they have the censorship set pretty high, so it's unlikely you'll learn any new or interesting words, other than "tarsi" or "cerci"...sorry!

 

[Insect-lover]

LOL...they'll be fine. Just don't play hacky-sack with it! (Actually, with a Chinese ooth, you probably COULD!...But, don't!)

As far as you being a teenager, no problems...they have the censorship set pretty high, so it's unlikely you'll learn any new or interesting words, other than "tarsi" or "cerci"...sorry!

Oh, thank god , i feel much better now.

Thanks!

 

[GreenOasis]

Oh, and you may have already heard, but these guys are considered highly cannibalistic, so what I would do is just separate them into as many deli cups as you want nymphs (like 10 to a cup or something) & they will "population control" themselves in a matter of time. Just be sure to keep feeding them regularly so you don't lose too many to starvation or anything. They are also considered difficult to get past the early stages of nymphhood (is that a word?) ...so, you might want to plan ahead and keep extras so that you have a few that make it to adulthood.

And don't forget that you will eventually need a bunch of fruit fly cultures to feed all those hungry little mouths!

 

[hibiscusmile]

Hello insect lover! join the club, thats good. Here is what I do with the ooth...

use a low heat hot glue gun to attach it or you can use a needle and thread and just attach it with a loop or two. MIST the OOHT DIRECTLY, three times a week with distilled very warm water if you have it. Otherwise use tap water that has sat overnight to rid it of the clorine it always has in it to kill parasites and nasty stuff! You wont get mold as long as the jar is ventalided with paper towel or a nylon or almost any cloth over the opening and secure with a rubber band. Remember the most important thing about hatching an ooth is to duplicate the outdoors they were laid in. Ooths outside get blown around in the wind, so dropping won't hurt it and they get rain and snow on their little heads, so misting won't hurt them either!

 

[warpdrive]

Hello insect lover! join the club, thats good. Here is what I do with the ooth...

use a low heat hot glue gun to attach it or you can use a needle and thread and just attach it with a loop or two. MIST the OOHT DIRECTLY, three times a week with distilled very warm water if you have it. Otherwise use tap water that has sat overnight to rid it of the clorine it always has in it to kill parasites and nasty stuff! You wont get mold as long as the jar is ventalided with paper towel or a nylon or almost any cloth over the opening and secure with a rubber band. Remember the most important thing about hatching an ooth is to duplicate the outdoors they were laid in. Ooths outside get blown around in the wind, so dropping won't hurt it and they get rain and snow on their little heads, so misting won't hurt them either!

good sound advice. I mist my ooths and wondered why it was said not to.

oh, and Welcome to the forums. you will love it here.

Harry

 

[Insect-lover]

Hello insect lover! join the club, thats good. Here is what I do with the ooth...

use a low heat hot glue gun to attach it or you can use a needle and thread and just attach it with a loop or two. MIST the OOHT DIRECTLY, three times a week with distilled very warm water if you have it. Otherwise use tap water that has sat overnight to rid it of the clorine it always has in it to kill parasites and nasty stuff! You wont get mold as long as the jar is ventalided with paper towel or a nylon or almost any cloth over the opening and secure with a rubber band. Remember the most important thing about hatching an ooth is to duplicate the outdoors they were laid in. Ooths outside get blown around in the wind, so dropping won't hurt it and they get rain and snow on their little heads, so misting won't hurt them either!

Ah thanks, i got to admit it, im loving the advices im geting, im much more confident now.

I ordered a culture of bean weevils some days ago, wich i should be geting either tomorrow or in the start of the next week, because i know the ooth. wont hatch for at least 2 weeks it will give them time to hatch and reproduce a bit.

Is feeding the nymphs bean weevils a good idea? The insects themselfs Are as little as 5mm and less.

 

[ismart]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[hibiscusmile]

If they are the same bean wevils I get in my hibiscus flowers they will probably be to hard of a shell to eat, but you let us know in the food and feeding forum and we can discuss it there.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

good sound advice. I mist my ooths and wondered why it was said not to.

oh, and Welcome to the forums. you will love it here.

Harry

I was told by a higher up member not ot mist a ooth directly some time ago. :huh:

But I guess that was bad info, well you live and learn, thats what the forum is for.

so I guess when they said if you get one wet "dry it in the microwave" was wrong too? :lol:

 

[Insect-lover]

If they are the same bean wevils I get in my hibiscus flowers they will probably be to hard of a shell to eat, but you let us know in the food and feeding forum and we can discuss it there.

Well, the ones i ordered are black eyed bean's, they make holes into the beans, put their eggs, and i think they also only eat the beans.

Wich i can replace along the time for new eggs to be laid, etc.

 

[warpdrive]

so I guess when they said if you get one wet "dry it in the microwave" was wrong too? :lol:

well, no longer then 50 mins or you get pop corn. or mantis corn? :clown:

Harry

 

[hibiscusmile]

I was told by a higher up member not ot mist a ooth directly some time ago. :huh:

But I guess that was bad info, well you live and learn, thats what the forum is for.

so I guess when they said if you get one wet "dry it in the microwave" was wrong too? :lol:

Oh my! :huh: