male and female chinese
- Thread starter womantis
- Start date
Help Support Mantidforum:
My wild caught Chinese mantid pair I kept for myself are nearly the same length. The male comes in slightly smaller in length than the female, close to 3 3/4" and the female is about 4". The male though is much smaller in width and girth than the female for sure though. 
Not sure I'd try breeding a huge male with a petite girl though, but let us know what you do. I'm curious if it would work out fine, as it likely would.
Not sure I'd try breeding a huge male with a petite girl though, but let us know what you do. I'm curious if it would work out fine, as it likely would.
LAME
Tenodera sinensis (the one and only)
My opinion:
If it were me... I'd go for it. Lets face it, female's tend to be the aggressors especially when theyre ready for breeding. Most male's I've ever had, regardless of the size... Tend to be skittish and prone to either continuously running /flying away or ending in death.
Personally I don't think I'd be to concerned with him eating her... But probably the other way around. Once he senses her... His instincts will take over and he'll try to breed. But I'd still feed him prior juuuust as a safty precaution...
... But that's me.
If it were me... I'd go for it. Lets face it, female's tend to be the aggressors especially when theyre ready for breeding. Most male's I've ever had, regardless of the size... Tend to be skittish and prone to either continuously running /flying away or ending in death.
Personally I don't think I'd be to concerned with him eating her... But probably the other way around. Once he senses her... His instincts will take over and he'll try to breed. But I'd still feed him prior juuuust as a safty precaution...
... But that's me.
Last edited by a moderator:
I also wouldnt worry so much about the male eating her. Especially if hes well fed. Like LAME said, males tend to be skittish, while females are more aggressive. My main concern would be, whether or not he would be able to penetrate! Im not sure just how flexible their abdomens are. Hed have to bend it quite a bit to reach, considering the size difference. I wouldnt say its IMPOSSIBLE for them to breed. Id say its wort a shot too. You never know!My opinion:
If it were me... I'd go for it. Lets face it, female's tend to be the aggressors especially when theyre ready for breeding. Most male's I've ever had, regardless of the size... Tend to be skittish and prone to either continuously running /flying away or ending in death.
Personally I don't think I'd be to concerned with him eating her... But probably the other way around. Once he senses her... His instincts will take over and he'll try to breed. But I'd still feed him prior juuuust as a safty precaution...
... But that's me.
Last edited by a moderator:
Mantis Man13
Well-known member
Not true MantidBro :stuart: . I once had a male and female Chinese and when the male went onto the female's back I thought he was going to mate with her but instead he slowly lowered his head and started to nibble on the female!!! inch: . Thankfully, I was able to gently pry him off before he got the chompers out. Anyone ever notice this odd behavior before? By the way I stuffed him with food before hand and he still did this so yah... VERY strange behavior.
inch: . Thankfully, I was able to gently pry him off before he got the chompers out. Anyone ever notice this odd behavior before? By the way I stuffed him with food before hand and he still did this so yah... VERY strange behavior.
LAME
Tenodera sinensis (the one and only)
I've seen that before... With my first budwing males. I never got mate's for them... But both would constantly try to have at my finger...lol.
But anyway everytime I'd try to move him/them... Theyd lower their head and kinda pinch me with both the raptorial claws and mouth.. Not so much to eat.. More like a submissive maneuver
But with a female... I haven't seen it yet. I try not to involve myself once they start the session... Whatever happens, happens. As it would naturally.
But anyway everytime I'd try to move him/them... Theyd lower their head and kinda pinch me with both the raptorial claws and mouth.. Not so much to eat.. More like a submissive maneuver
But with a female... I haven't seen it yet. I try not to involve myself once they start the session... Whatever happens, happens. As it would naturally.
I wouldnt worry SO MUCH. Like i mean, it wouldnt be my main concern. it had happened to me only twice, where the male tried to nibble on a female. but its rare ya know? Only happened for me twice in the past four years. I think theyre just getting confused and not realizing its a female to mate with, and they just think shes a regular insect to eat. I honestly dont think the female would allow him to do enough damage before she destroyed him lol.Not true MantidBro :stuart: . I once had a male and female Chinese and when the male went onto the female's back I thought he was going to mate with her but instead he slowly lowered his head and started to nibble on the female!!!
my small tenodera female is receptive, she doesn't even move when he approaches her and calls continuously. i put him both behind and then on her - he just kept moving. even when he settled, i put her in front. she wiggled a bit and he just turned away...will keep trying.
Good luck!Sometimes the male doesnt even know the female is there, you can help by blowing on the female or pointing a fan at her to cause her to move around. The movement usually makes the male realize she is there, if hes a good distance behind her. Not too close but not too far
Last edited by a moderator:
Mantis Man13
Well-known member
I see stories all the time about how their male gets eaten. The problem? They keep their male in a captive cage alone with a vicious cannabilistic female! I have never had one of my males been killed because I control the entire operation. I watch the mantises for 2-3 hours and then carefully and gently pry the male loose. There IS definite reason to worry about a cannibilistic insect like lol guys why wouldn't there be. I have seen more cannibalistic cases than ever on this forum XD.
minomantis
Well-known member
This was all very interesting to read, especially about the oxygen comment.
Just curious, has anyone done a test of how food affects growth. For example, a mantis that eats crickets his/her whole life vs. a mantis that eats outside bugs? I think that would be very interesting to see. Personally, when I raise my T. sins, even though they are being raised inside, I go outside and catch flies, moths, really what ever I could find everyday. I'm not certain what affects size more. The amount of consumption or the types of food it eats. My female that I raised this year ate everything under the sun and I was very happy with her size as an adult.
When it came time to mate her, I had her call in a male from the outdoors instead of the male that I raised for the sake of different genes, and the male outdoors was actually smaller then the male that I raised. The outdoor male was all sorts of colors though and seemed more with it, but I think it's safe to say that even though there is a general size, every mantis is different. 2 years ago I had two females molt to adulthood within a day of each other and one was noticeably bigger than the other.
But also when comparing mantises, I think we have to break the definition of what captivity means. Does it mean in a cage for the majority of it's life eating crickets or does it mean in the care of someone else. Because although I raised my mantids, I try to resemble the outdoors as much as possible, I'm just fascinated by how they grow. I let them walk around on house plants and catch different insects for them. Really only in cage for feeding and sleeping. Now would a mantis that grew like that be fair to compare to a mantis that spent most of it's life growing in a container? (Not that there is anything wrong with that, just different scenarios). Just trying to get some discussion.
Just curious, has anyone done a test of how food affects growth. For example, a mantis that eats crickets his/her whole life vs. a mantis that eats outside bugs? I think that would be very interesting to see. Personally, when I raise my T. sins, even though they are being raised inside, I go outside and catch flies, moths, really what ever I could find everyday. I'm not certain what affects size more. The amount of consumption or the types of food it eats. My female that I raised this year ate everything under the sun and I was very happy with her size as an adult.
When it came time to mate her, I had her call in a male from the outdoors instead of the male that I raised for the sake of different genes, and the male outdoors was actually smaller then the male that I raised. The outdoor male was all sorts of colors though and seemed more with it, but I think it's safe to say that even though there is a general size, every mantis is different. 2 years ago I had two females molt to adulthood within a day of each other and one was noticeably bigger than the other.
But also when comparing mantises, I think we have to break the definition of what captivity means. Does it mean in a cage for the majority of it's life eating crickets or does it mean in the care of someone else. Because although I raised my mantids, I try to resemble the outdoors as much as possible, I'm just fascinated by how they grow. I let them walk around on house plants and catch different insects for them. Really only in cage for feeding and sleeping. Now would a mantis that grew like that be fair to compare to a mantis that spent most of it's life growing in a container? (Not that there is anything wrong with that, just different scenarios). Just trying to get some discussion.
If you interested in the more oxygen equals larger insect comment, yes it appears to be true and here is one scientific experiment that showed it. Seems to have shown that yes insects can grow larger, and that the atmosphere had more oxygen at one point. There is more data/experiments out there about it as well that seem to prove the hypothesis is correct.
In regards to what mantids eat affecting their size I haven't seen any hard data about it.
I know any mantids I raised from ootheca to adults fed on my cultured crickets and cultured wax moths have been about the same size compared to wild caught ones of the same species (Stagmomantis carolina). Out of the nearly 2 dozen wild Carolina mantids I captured this year alone there is no remarkable size difference (or even noticeable) between wild or captive mantids. I've seen smaller and larger ones in each group (wild and captive raised) when compared to each other.
In absolutely controlled scientific experiments there might be a result; however, in real world results I don't think it exists - as any changes seem to average out to no difference. This summer I've been feeding my mantids wild captured GB/BB flies, moths, and other insects - I have only seen one detectable change and that is to my wallet as they were free feeders I didn't have to buy or culture.
they are mating or at least trying. the issue that i see is that because his abdomen is so much longer and she is so much shorter, he can't position himself to connect. she is very receptive but i don't think she will have a fertile ooth.
Last edited by a moderator:
see new topic with image (couldn't upload image on this post)
Last edited by a moderator:
