Is it possible they are sisters?

Mantidforum

Help Support Mantidforum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BriGuy

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
47
Reaction score
4
Location
Boston
About 3 months ago, I released 100+ freshly hatched Chinese mantids (Tenodera sinensis) in my backyard and I held on to a few to raise. Fast forward to a week ago, my one remaining mantis is at L6 and looks relatively happy and healthy. When taking a walk, I find outside a huge sub-adult female Chinese. She is very active and has a dark pink body that matches the twigs of the bush that I found her on. A few days later, she molts into a full adult while my captive raised girl is only at L6 and about half her size.

Is it possible that they are sisters from the same ooth? The difference in life stage and size are very surprising and the difference in body coloration is pretty striking. Having never seen a mantis on my property for 4 years prior, it would be an amazing coincidence if she wasn't one that I released.

A bonus side note: My neighbor works in his garden often and said that he sees mantids all the time. This makes me very happy to know that a good number of my little buggies made it!

Here's a pic of my girls:



 
It's very possible they came from the same ooth.

I myself have 6 double shield's that have all been raised in the exact same conditions (enclosures, food, temperature etc) and they all vary pretty substatially.

They all hatched from the same ooth at the same type, 1 is sub-adult, 1 is pre-sub adult, 2 are L5 and the other 2 are only L4.

 
Possibly but no way to prove it for sure. Different rates of development are to be expected between two living in very different environments. With that being said I have also had captive mantids from the same ooth grow at very different rates.

 
Top