Iris oratoria and Mantis religiosa ooth care

[Inkie]

How long does it take for Iris oratoria and Mantis religiosa ooths to hatch under normal room temp. conditions? Are there any specific care requirements for either ooths?

 

[Domanating]

Both require a diapause period. You should expose them to low temperatures and high humidity, simulating cold rainy days of Winter.

We both share a very similar latitude, so I'll assume those ooths were laid between September/November and will hatch in April/May with the 1st hot days (assuming the diapause requirement is met).

 

[Inkie]

Thanks for your help. Do you think a 6 week diapause would be long enough?

Also, they've been indoors for a while, they were laid a month and a half ago. If I stuck them outside today, would it be too late for the diapause, or does it not matter when the diapause occurs?

 

[Ntsees]

A month and a half ago is still early. Sometimes, I leave mines indoor longer than that and they still hatch fine in the spring when I put them outside.

 

[Domanating]

Thanks for your help. Do you think a 6 week diapause would be long enough?

Also, they've been indoors for a while, they were laid a month and a half ago. If I stuck them outside today, would it be too late for the diapause, or does it not matter when the diapause occurs?

I think 6 weeks is way too short but honestly, I don't know what would happen if you drastically reduced or neglected the diapause period. Some say the offspring will become weak and ill or the ooth might not hatch at all.

But I've been going through some ooth caring guides around here and it says: "While tropical species do not require a diapause, the oothecae of temperate species may not hatch without it. Though it may vary from species to species, 3 weeks at 50 degrees is usually enough..."

It's is never too late for diapause. It's what triggers egg development.

My advice if you want them early: If you have ooths to spare, put all of them in the cold. After 3-6 weeks, bring a couple indoors, heat them up and see if they hatch. You'll need to wait at least 2-3 months to see the results. If they do hatch and look healthy, bring the rest of your ooths indoors.

If you do not have enough ooths to experiment with, I personally suggest you leave them diapause all the way until the 1st hot days of Spring. If you're more interested in knowing how short the diapause can be rather than the possible loss of ooths then by all means start experimenting. Then you'll have the knowledge for future ooths.

 

[[email protected]]

I have iris oratoria. Just to let you know, my strongest mantids came from ooths that were not diapaused. The ooths were laid in August and hatched late September/October. They were outdoor in temperatures over 100 degrees though.

I would listen to the other posts, because I am new to this. I just wanted to let you know that outdoors they unfortunately hatch without diapause, then after diapause they go through a second hatching in the spring. (I say unfortunately because they have very short lives when they are hatched in the fall due to the cold winter).

Good luck!

 

[Domanating]

Iris Oratoria is a more versatile species since it can do fine in temperate, Mediterranean and nearly equatorial climates. Their ooths are also known to hatch several times for 2 whole years. Depending of the climate they live on, they might or not require a diapause period. An ooth laid as early as August would certainly result in premature hatches.

 

[Jay]

One thing to note with most mantids I have observed is that, during the 100+ degree weather most are in the shade. If I want to find Mediterranean mantises during the day I usually find them on the bottom branches of trees or the bottom branches of bushes.