Hello! I'm quite a newbie in keeping and breeding mantids, so maybe I've panicked in vain...
However I hope for your help and there is my story.
My mantid is Hierodula transcaucasica. She was given to me on 26 August, a week after the last molt.
I've read many times that female mantids produce oothecae even if they are not mated. Mine's not, for sure.
I tried to mate her 2 weeks ago. The male was not much interested in her, though. He climbed at her, back to front, and remained there for 4 hours without any movement, until the female began to show signs of disturbance (later I was told that he rejected all the females he was introduced to, perhaps on account of his venerable age). I separated them and repeated again in 2 days. This was even poorer attempt. I gave a cockroach to the female to get her claws busy... and he tried to take it away! She got angry at that and... although I had tweezers nearby and separated them, it was too late, male's head had been bitten off.
I was very disappointed at that (it was the only chance to mate the female, this species is rare in aviculture and run out in the wild for this year), put male's body and the female in the container and withdrew not to see horrible scenes of male being eaten. After 2 hours or so I looked into the container and couldn't believe my eyes! Injured male was still alive, tried to connect to female's abdomen and finally succeded!
It was deep night, they began mating and I left them. Next morning wings were all that had remained from the male.
And now I can't wait to see her laying oothecae. She seems very bulk (actually, she had already been before meeting a male), she's voracious and eats much, however she doesn't want to produce any.
Questions:
1) She's an adult since mid-August, was mated once and still produced no oothecae. Is it normal? If not, what are the reasons? Humidity? OK, central heating makes air dry (and temperature high), but I spray her enclosure several times a day.
2) Is there any probability of her possible ootheca to be fertile? What's the deadline for a female after mating to lay a fertile ootheca?
Thanks a lot, if you have enough patience to read so "многа букв" (as being told in Russia).
The shot of my female is being attached.
)
However I hope for your help and there is my story.
My mantid is Hierodula transcaucasica. She was given to me on 26 August, a week after the last molt.
I've read many times that female mantids produce oothecae even if they are not mated. Mine's not, for sure.
I tried to mate her 2 weeks ago. The male was not much interested in her, though. He climbed at her, back to front, and remained there for 4 hours without any movement, until the female began to show signs of disturbance (later I was told that he rejected all the females he was introduced to, perhaps on account of his venerable age). I separated them and repeated again in 2 days. This was even poorer attempt. I gave a cockroach to the female to get her claws busy... and he tried to take it away! She got angry at that and... although I had tweezers nearby and separated them, it was too late, male's head had been bitten off.
I was very disappointed at that (it was the only chance to mate the female, this species is rare in aviculture and run out in the wild for this year), put male's body and the female in the container and withdrew not to see horrible scenes of male being eaten. After 2 hours or so I looked into the container and couldn't believe my eyes! Injured male was still alive, tried to connect to female's abdomen and finally succeded!
It was deep night, they began mating and I left them. Next morning wings were all that had remained from the male.
And now I can't wait to see her laying oothecae. She seems very bulk (actually, she had already been before meeting a male), she's voracious and eats much, however she doesn't want to produce any.
Questions:
1) She's an adult since mid-August, was mated once and still produced no oothecae. Is it normal? If not, what are the reasons? Humidity? OK, central heating makes air dry (and temperature high), but I spray her enclosure several times a day.
2) Is there any probability of her possible ootheca to be fertile? What's the deadline for a female after mating to lay a fertile ootheca?
Thanks a lot, if you have enough patience to read so "многа букв" (as being told in Russia).
The shot of my female is being attached.
)
