Help! Nymphs drying out and dying!

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Mantards

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Like the title says. I've had about 20-30 hatch in the past afternoon but somethings wrong, they wriggle out on filaments and squirm for a bit then they seem to dry out and die. I have a twig and a damp piece of paper towel in a small plastic container with netting over the top. I'm pretty sure the humidity is okay since its only about 27 degrees. Also I thought it only took 2 hours for thr hatching ...this started early this morning and has been going on all day.

Whats the problem??

 
Yeah knowing the species would probably help. Maybe some details on how you kept the ooth prior to hatching, but it sounds like a moisture/humidity issue.

Also you might wanna throw in a post in the introductions section of the forum. It seems to be appreciated.

 
Hi. Thanks for replying.

These are Chinese mantids that were orderded online. I've had the ooth for only a week or so and it must be a humidity issue but I'm concerned that it may be too late. I'm resisting the urge to overspary now that I see them drying out.

I have increased the humidity for them but if 20-30 have already hatched (and are dying) is that going to be it or will it continue for awhile? I haven't seen any new hatch in the past couple hours.

The plastic container had just a mesh top (garlic bag) kept on with a rubber band but now I have that mostly blocked off with a lid to help retain the humidity.

Anything else I should be doing?

Thanks!

P.S . after hanging down on their filaments for awhile, how long should it take for them to drop down and start using their legs?

 
Decrease humidity and give them a good grip(paper towel) on the walls of your terra so they can climb easily.Too much humidity will kill them for sure.

They need to drink once a day but stop playing with water for now :cowboy: .Good luck!I am sure you will save some.

 
They arent even making it to their feet. they're dying while hanging on filaments soon after leaving the ooth! :(

 
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This is typical for chinese, also the ooth may of been to dry and they will get stuck in it. chinese nymphs need a drink twice a day, warm water and a fine mist so they do not get stuck in it.

 
After looking at some vids online of chinese mantids hatching, it really seems my nymphs were somehow not really ready to hatch. They came out really small and weak in comparison to what I've seen online and none of them could even manage to break free of the cluster.

Was something wrong with the ooph or do you think I did something wrong?

 
Well I suppose it could be that the eggsac was already too dry when I got it but it was almost like they came out too early since they were small and weak.

...or possibly I had the egg positioned a little off and they werent supposed to clump together quite so much. I had the "zipper mostly pointing down so that they basically just had to slip out of the egg and then gravity would take over. The only problem with this seemed to be that they all climped together and got stuck!

I guess it's late in the season but I'm going to order another ooth and hopefully this one goes well since my kids were pretty bummed out with this one :(

 
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So costco is sending me another ooth and I should get it by the end of the week or monday at the latest. Do you guys think its almost too late now?

 
If you're hatching inside and keeping them inside, no. They'll hatch fine whenever. If you want to release, it's pretty late in the year and depending on where you live they may not survive to breed out there. Depends on the point of your experiment :)

If you're strictly keeping them indoors, be aware that mortality rates are really high on Chinese, in any case... I had a good couple of hatches but even on those oothecae several 'dud' nymphs that failed in exactly the way you describe. Also, because it's so late in the year, the ooths you're getting may be late-season ooths from last year, a breeding female's fifth or sixth one, which also don't do as well.... So it may have been no fault of yours.

 
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UPDATE:

Wow, these guys don't give up! This is the morning of day 5 since the first nymph dangled out of the ooth and they continue to come out. First day there were 30 or so and they all died. Every morning since has produced roughly 10 more to have a go at surviving outside the egg. None have been successfull so far but there are a couple crawlers in there now so I'm still hopefull. The latest nymphs seem slightly bigger/stronger ...perhaps with the extra few days of "cooking" inside the ooth?

If they keep coming like this I'll keep doing what I can to help them survive but I thought the hatch only took a few hours not a week!! :)

If 1-2 make it they will end up being the most loved bugs in town! ...I'll name him George and love him and pat him ..etc..etc. :D

 

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