How exactly do you tell the gender of a mantis?

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justkelly

justkelly

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I was wondering how you tell the gender of a mantis? I read somewhere that you count from the stomach down, and I think I'm seeing 7 segments? I've read so many different things and I would love to know for sure because the behavior and eating patterns seem to be different for both. Ours (apparently an ootheca) is about 6-7 weeks old. Does anyone also know at what point will he get his wings and do they suddenly fly around their enclosures? I have him in a netted cylinder purchased from Insect Lore, but I have a much larger one waiting and I'm wondering at what point to move him to that? We had planned to release him but after joining this site, I quickly realized he's better with us for many reasons. But I honestly look at him and wonder how he isn't bored. My final question (at the moment, ha) is does anyone know how big he will get? Head to toe, he is currently close to two inches. Thanks in advance - I am so grateful for all the non-judgmental info I've been getting here. I just want to make him as happy as possible. :)

 
Ootheca is synonymous with egg case. It is not a Genus of Mantis. You must have one of the indigenous species. The thing to look for is the wing buds. When those show up, adulthood is one or two molts away depending on the species and sometimes the gender. The size of the enclosure should be three times the eventual length of the mantis for safe molting. Too large an enclosure makes it harder for the mantis to find his food.

 
Rich S said:
Ootheca is synonymous with egg case. It is not a Genus of Mantis. You must have one of the indigenous species. The thing to look for is the wing buds. When those show up, adulthood is one or two molts away depending on the species and sometimes the gender. The size of the enclosure should be three times the eventual length of the mantis for safe molting. Too large an enclosure makes it harder for the mantis to find his food.
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Thanks for all the great info, Rich, and for not laughing at my ootheca fumble. :)

 
I didn't know anything about mantids before I hatched some for my yard a year ago. Don't worry about asking questions that is good to do. I named my first mantis " Sally" and found out later it was a male lol. I thought it was dead after I saw the molted skin on the ground the first time he molted lol. There are great threads in these forums about almost anything you could imagine. I still have trouble sexing mantids even knowing how :) The members here are great and full of information and experience. You will do great as a mantis owner.

 
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sally said:
I didn't know anything about mantids before I hatched some for my yard a year ago. Don't worry about asking questions that is good to do. I named my first mantis " Sally" and found out later it was a male lol. I thought it was dead after I saw the molted skin on the ground the first time he molted lol. There are great threads in these forums about almost anything you could imagine. I still have trouble sexing mantids even knowing how :) The members here are great and full of information and experience. You will do great as a mantis owner.
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Awww, thanks, Sally. Your post made me laugh - especially the part about molting. It's true I've already learned so much here but mostly that I still have a long way to go! So glad I found this forum. :)

 
One of the best ways to tell the female from the male is looking at the underside of the abdomen. I forget about counting segments, and just compare the width of the abdomen between the various nymphs. If you have only one mantis, it is not going to work (comparing). That is unless you have some decent pictures to go by. The last segment of the abdomen is going almost the entire width of the abdomen's widest point. On the male, the last segment crosses the abdomen at a much narrower point. I cannot explain any easier than that. If you have a few to several of the same species at the same Stage (eg. L-3, L-4), you can easily see the wide ones (last segment) vs. the narrow ones (last segment). I hope this helps a little.

 
Rich S said:
One of the best ways to tell the female from the male is looking at the underside of the abdomen. I forget about counting segments, and just compare the width of the abdomen between the various nymphs. If you have only one mantis, it is not going to work (comparing). That is unless you have some decent pictures to go by. The last segment of the abdomen is going almost the entire width of the abdomen's widest point. On the male, the last segment crosses the abdomen at a much narrower point. I cannot explain any easier than that. If you have a few to several of the same species at the same Stage (eg. L-3, L-4), you can easily see the wide ones (last segment) vs. the narrow ones (last segment). I hope this helps a little.
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Yes, Rich, that one is very hard since this is my first (I hope of many!) and only mantis. But when you say 'the abdomen,' is that the segment smack in the middle of the four legs? If so (and that seems like the right spot), my mantis' segments only tapers there. Nothing dramatic. I guess it's hard because doing it this way is subjective, right? Maybe I will try to get a decent macro picture? When he was smaller, I could open the top and snap away, but now he almost always comes right up trying to get out if the top is not secure. That's why I worry he's not happy in there. He has no qualms about trying to walk all over my fingers to my arm, just to get out!

 
The abdomen on a mantis looks like their butt or tail. The legs are connected with the thorax. I look at the tip of the abdomen when sexing mantids.

The link in post #2 is very descriptive.

 
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Sexing mantids definitely is easier when they are almost to adult.

I've found that around adult, all I have to look at are the antenna to tell what the gender is.

 
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justkelly said:
I'm curious... what's the difference in the look of adult male antenna vs. female?
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For most species, the antenna of the males are longer and thicker. The antenna of the females are shorter and thinner. A good example of this characteristic would be an adult male ghost and an adult female ghost. You can search pictures and you should be able to tell. :)

 
That's great to know about the antenna. I just noticed that today when i was parading my newly adult male around the living room to my girlfriend. His antenna were huge!! She wanted to see how much bigger the female was, so I brought her out and we noticed how much smaller her antenna were.

Great tip.

 

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