M. Religiosa Help!

[sinensispsyched]

Today, I went to a field stockpiled with wild m. religiosa. I came out with one female and two males. I want to breed these guys, but the males keep flying away (in my bedroom). How, then, do you get these guys to breed?

They are being kept in separate 32 oz. delis. What size food is good for them? Also, the female is plump. Since she's wild, is it likely that she's fertile, or just well fed.

 

[agent A]

put him in a net cage, let him settle, give him food, let him eat and settle, carefully toss in female and they should be fine

 

[aNisip]

Like any other mantis but the female, (I found) despite being well fed, enjoys eating the male. So be careful when you mate: get you sticks and forceps ready to pet them apart! But also VERY IMPORTANT, you do not know how long they have been adult so there sexual organs have been fully developed (they might be but I wouldn't that risk) so wait 2-3 weeks before mating them.But she is plump like you'd said so it it very probable that she is ready...The male may seem interested but the female may not be ready...so this is all my opinion and this is what I would do, you do not have to wait if you don't want. As far as mating them goes, take a look at Ricks thread http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7112

All the best,

Andrew

 

[sinensispsyched]

Thanks you guys. Are males (or females, for that matter) aggressive feeders?

 

[aNisip]

Depends on how hungry they are, but for the most part yes!

 

[Rick]

It is my observation that wild mantids often have a bit of an adjustment period getting used to captivity. These should not be too hard to mate.

 

[brancsikia339]

Could you post pics?

 

[sinensispsyched]

I don't have a camera. However, for Gmail users (that's the only place where I can download to) I could show a picture from my mom's phone.

 

[Ntsees]

Because that your female is fat, along with you saying that there were a lot in the area where you found them, there's a good chance she's already mated. But, there's not harm in mating her again. The males are very flighty, but if you give them some time, they will lessen it down. As for feeding, I sometimes find my males not hungry. The female should be an eating machine.

 

[Extrememantid]

They will eat medium crix to large grasshoppers!

 

[mantisboy]

+1 Ntsees

They are easy to mate but you have to put them in proper housings. Females are much better hunters than the males so you'll want to put them in smaller housings like a 4 x 6 x 8 tupperware. As well, the males like eating winged insects...houseflies are perfect for them. Crickets freak them out.

The males are good to go literally right after getting there wings....but the female you will have to watch. If you see the tip of her abdomen kind of open up while her antennae are freaking out...she is ready. This is how she puts out her pheromones.

Get a storage bin or a box, get a branch (I use a deer horn) and strip off the leaves, hopefully it will have a few smaller branches connected to it so you can angle it upwards. Put the female on the branch, then gently put the male in with her about 10 inches away. Take a pencil and lightly tap her on the tip of her wings...once she starts walking the male will instantly see her and approach. He might wait an hour and most likely will mount her backwards (males are idiots) but she will let him figure it out and not kill him. Most of mine stay locked for 4-5 hours.

If he hestitates, just lightly blow on him (straw) and he'll do what needs to be done. Why blowing on them works.....I don't know. I have never lost a male to mating, after they are done remove the male, put him on a houseplant and give him a good misting..he'll be thirsty. For some reason my females love a good cricket after mating....go figure.

You may be able to get a second or even third mating out of your male or he may just die. In any case, 2 males, mate her with both just to be sure the job gets done. I generally release my males after I mate them.....they did their duty and should go back into the wild.

 

[sinensispsyched]

Thanks for all the help!

Well, a day after my latest post, she laid an egg. After fattening her up a day, I mated both males with her (my first mating success). However, one flew away during the transfer from enclosure to the "love shack". The other died yesterday.

 

[womantis]

i tried mating my religiosa today. female is really plump and well fed. male had already mated with another female a few weeks before. this was my first attempt. i put them in his cage. he mounted her backwards, she freaked and i then separated them. tried again, same thing happened. he's ready, she doesn't seem receptive at all. will try again in a few days.

i agree with the other posters. male prefers flies, female devours crickets.

i don't believe that she has been mated - question - will females allow mating, if they are already gravid (pregnant)?

 

[sinensispsyched]

At a certain point they are so aggressive that they don't allow males to come near. That is what happened the day before my successful mate, the same day that she laid a fertile ooth.