Look What I Found :)

sgtkeens · Mar 10, 2015

DETHCHEEZ said:
PS: Has anyone else in the SoCal area noticed any Mio mantids hanging around

Have seen 2

The one I caught & another one the was hanging out on a fence

But couldn't to that one / It was in some ones yard

&

Now the ooth

Just wondering if they're starting to get established around here

Saw one at school today.

mantiseater · Mar 10, 2015

sgtkeens said:
Saw one at school today.

A miomantis?

DETHCHEEZ · Mar 10, 2015

Offering a few for sale

Please See ~ http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=34965

sgtkeens · Mar 10, 2015

mantiseater said:
A miomantis?

Yup. I'm guessing it was around L3.

Aryia · Mar 10, 2015

It would be easy for M. caffra to establish itself in most States. They've become established in New Zealand already and are outcompeting native mantids there. M. caffra is very interesting since they're different than most mantis species. Their hatching is un-synchronized occasionally, so if there were a predator near the ootheca while they hatched, only a couple would get eaten at a time. Females can and do reproduce by parthenogenesis, I've witnessed it in my own collection. Their ootheca survive temperatures of low 40s at least, I haven't particularly tested this but an ootheca sent to me with very light insulation and no heatpack during the winter months made it through just fine.

I do hope that this wasn't the result of the hobby but the hobby will always be the first to take blame. So please make sure people know these are exotics and should be rehomed or euthanized instead of released into the wild. It is cruel, but it's also necessary for very hardy species such as these. With 99% of exotic species, release into the wild is a cruel and slow death sentence to begin with.

MantidLord · Mar 12, 2015

So basically, M. caffra is like I. oratoria (which has already been established in a sizable part of the country. It has post-annum hatching as Aryia described and parthenogenesis as well as sexual reproduction. If I. oratoria can spread, I would imagine that M. caffra could as well.