infertile ooth

[Dartania]

well, it must be the heat lamp I guess. We thought it might be the dirty air here in Miami. We did turn the lamp off at night, and we were monotiring the temperature, and it was from 75-80 degrees all the time. The humidity was at 75 and we misted every day. If the humidity got too high, we dried out the tank some.

We read that distilled water was the best, since there are horrible chemicals in the water here that will kill everything.

I guess that's why we are so confused. We followed everything we read about ( for months in advance) very persicely and bought all the equipment.

We have two more chinese and we're going to put them in small containers with one air hole, mist and forget about it. Do you guys think it's best to put them in a cabinet, or outside in the balcony? It will get pretty hot outside, but chinese mantids are native to florida anyway, so they should be fine.

And you can never really tell if an ooth is 100% fertile unless you are god, so we aren't blaming any dealers. And we aren't giving up, so if anyone has ooths, we will buy them.

Thanks so much everyone for all your help! you guys/gals are the best.

 

[Rick]

I don't do anything special. I put them in a tank with a screen lid and I mist it every few days. I also put a layer of moist spaghnum moss in the bottom. My room stays between 75-83 degrees.

 

[garbonzo13]

Hey Dartania, where did you find info on Chinese being native to Florida? Anyway I had 3 chinese ooths and only got 1 nymph from all 3. I believe it IS too hot down here for this species, as I think I cooked mine. LOL I found this when I went to ( http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/pi-pest-alert.html) Why is a permit required?

By law, any organism which may pose a risk to Florida agriculture, become a nuisance, threaten native Florida wildlife, or pose a serious medical hazard to humans or livestock requires a permit to import into the state. The possibility of exotic pet arthropods becoming established is far from theoretical. The tarantula Brachypelma vagans has established a breeding population in central Florida which has persisted for a number of years. Just this year, populations of the Indian stick insect Carausius morosus, a popular species among stick insect fanciers, were found in San Luis Obispo and San Diego counties in California, where they were discovered because of damage the insects were causing to ornamental plants. I would assume mantid would threaten native populations of insects. So I figured I would need a permit. I still have heard NOTHING from them, by sending in an inquiry. :roll:

 

[Rick]

Garbonzo, your concerns have been addressed on this board more than once. Please do a search on the topic. Lets keep the thread on the original topic. And Chinese are not native to Florida. They are not native to the US at all hence their name.

 

[Jesse]

I am not sure where or who you purchased your ooths from, but buying them from a garden/organic store after may means you have ooths that have been sitting in the fridge too long and the hatch rate decreases as time passes by........they should come with an expiration date! If you want a good hatch rate by them during the winter or from an individual that has bred the adults themselves.

 

[Dartania]

Well, The chinese mantids are not ENDEMIC to florida, meaning they did not originate here, but they were introduced 100's of years ago, and have now become native ( like 70% of the trees, bugs, lizards,animals and people here!). Palm trees aren't actually native either, but Florida is so perfect for everything, that it becomes native when introduced. We have tons of books, guides, about Florida bugs, and animals, and they all say there are 8 species of mantids in Florida, the Chinese being one. So we thought we were cool.

We did buy the ooth from Insect Adventures, and maybe they did freeze for too long. Thats a good guess. Thanks everyone for the input. I apreciate it!

 

[Jesse]

Native=indigenous, things can only be native if they are indigenous. I think what you mean to say is adventive or established. They are actually called exotic (but not meaning fancy) or invasive depending on the organism.

 

[Dartania]

thanks

 

[Dartania]

thanks!

 

[hortus]

Well, The chinese mantids are not ENDEMIC to florida, meaning they did not originate here, but they were introduced 100's of years ago, and have now become native ( like 70% of the trees, bugs, lizards,animals and people here!). Palm trees aren't actually native either, but Florida is so perfect for everything, that it becomes native when introduced. We have tons of books, guides, about Florida bugs, and animals, and they all say there are 8 species of mantids in Florida, the Chinese being one. So we thought we were cool.We did buy the ooth from Insect Adventures, and maybe they did freeze for too long. Thats a good guess. Thanks everyone for the input. I apreciate it!

lol he means naturalized

its the same idea with plants

if a plant is not "native" but is a stable and constant populace of a area for a period of time its naturalized.