Male eating females wings???

[dldy]

I finally found 2 female chinese Mantis. I put one in with my male and they mated and he survived. After a few days I put the other female in and all he does is chase her and eat her wings. He's eaten so much of ther wings she cannot fly. He doesn't seem to be interested in mating with her at all! I seperate them and try over and over. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Is it possible she may have layed an ooth b4 I caught her and she's just old and he sees her as food?

The other female is big and preg and fine.

 

[Rob Byatt]

Have you tried feeding the male ?

 

[The_Asa]

Yea, if a male's desperate enough to go chasing after the wings of a female, he needs to be fed. :lol:

 

[dldy]

I feed all of the mantis' ! LOL His only "food" interest is her. In his cage there are 3 large crickets, 2 large grasshoppers, and a butterfly that he actually ate yesterday. His is the one cage that I refill the least with bugs cause they aren' eaten. If the bug crosses his path, he goes into a defensive pose and avoids it, the female who's wings are being eaten does it too, I even tried to feed her off of tweezers and she just hits it.. I feed the same bugs (all wild caught) to the preg female and she devours them all in minutes.

I feel bad for the female cause I caught her and now she can't fly so I can't let her go and he wont mate with her.

 

[Rick]

Never heard of that.

 

[sidewinder]

Are you sure the male is also a Tenodera sinensis?

S-

 

[dldy]

Are you sure the male is also a Tenodera sinensis?S-

Yes he is. They have been seperate for 2 days, and she did eat some crickets. I just put them together again to see what happens. I heard that if a male survives a mating he can mate with another female, that's why I'm trying with a new female. Do the males need time to "recuperate" after mating? He did mate for over 6 hrs. I was also thinking if the female I caught, that he doesn't like, may have laid an ooth already and maybe she smells funny to him???

 

[idolomantis]

Somehow i find this funny...

Reading mantis info for 6 years and they keep suprise me :mellow:

 

[kamakiri]

Feed the male smaller food. If the size of the food you provide is threatening to him, he wont eat!

 

[dldy]

Know what, he never does eat the large crickets or grasshoppers...I will give him smaller food. Thank you.

He did try to "mount" the female today but never got up high enough, she just kinda dragged him around, lol.

 

[Orin]

If the females were caught as adults there's no need to put the male in with them; they've already mated.

 

[Peter Clausen]

I had a male Phyllovates chlorophaea (TX Unicorn) that was like this. He died this morning. I had two mature females and he wouldn't mate with them. One was very tolerant of his strange antics. He would get on her back and often grab one of her arms. She was usually eating during the mating attempts. He would change positions frequently, making small adjustments for unknown reasons. She was VERY eager to mate, but he just wouldn't hook up. He lived for 3 months and I attempted matings just after his feedings. He never seemed to bite at her, but he would just thrash on her and even grab her head sometimes. I left them together overnight once when I was just frustrated with him. He was on the other side of the cage in the morning. I'm very skeptical they ever mated. I couldn't believe she never ate him just out of spite.

The other female had no tolerance for him and tried to attack him a few times.

It seemed like he tried to hook up a few times. Between the familiar movements of his antennae and the circular motions of his abdomen, it appeared he wanted to, but was suffering from some kind of "performance anxiety".

This is the only time I've ever seen a male this confused (and a female this tolerant). He showed so much interest in being on her back, but never completed the act.

 

[Peter Clausen]

By the way, even if your other female has already laid an ootheca (in the wild), she is still capable of laying more. And the male should still be interested in being a genetic factor in the next ootheca!

 

[Rick]

I had a male Phyllovates chlorophaea (TX Unicorn) that was like this. He died this morning. I had two mature females and he wouldn't mate with them. One was very tolerant of his strange antics. He would get on her back and often grab one of her arms. She was usually eating during the mating attempts. He would change positions frequently, making small adjustments for unknown reasons. She was VERY eager to mate, but he just wouldn't hook up. He lived for 3 months and I attempted matings just after his feedings. He never seemed to bite at her, but he would just thrash on her and even grab her head sometimes. I left them together overnight once when I was just frustrated with him. He was on the other side of the cage in the morning. I'm very skeptical they ever mated. I couldn't believe she never ate him just out of spite.The other female had no tolerance for him and tried to attack him a few times.

It seemed like he tried to hook up a few times. Between the familiar movements of his antennae and the circular motions of his abdomen, it appeared he wanted to, but was suffering from some kind of "performance anxiety".

This is the only time I've ever seen a male this confused (and a female this tolerant). He showed so much interest in being on her back, but never completed the act.

Had one that was the exact same way.

 

[Peter Clausen]

Hi Rick,

It was a TX Unicorn?

Had one that was the exact same way.

 

[sidewinder]

Peter,

Maybe you would have had better luck snipping off his head after he got on her back. Maybe the subesophageal ganglion was getting in the way of the mating process which is likely controlled by an abdominal ganglion. It sounds funny, but I am a little more than halfway serious.

Scott

 

[Peter Clausen]

I'm not opposed to trying things like that. I've experimented with binding the forelegs of female mantises in the past (didn't work out well).

Ideas like this are sometimes unpopular, but anybody that has emotional concerns for organisms will stop brushing their teeth and wearing deodorant, taking antibiotics, etc. etc.

 

[dldy]

Just a follow up...

He never did mate with her. She lost all of her outer wings and then after a while she stopped eating, probably old age and she died.

He mated with a female I caught outside and she laid 3 ooths. I put 2 outside and kept one. She died naturally from old age. It's been about 5 weeks, just watching and waiting. Spraying cage every week for moisture. I hope I get some babies.

I let him go in November, he was very anxious and wiley. Figured he could find a girl friend outside and spread the love.

 

[Katnapper]

Yes he is. They have been seperate for 2 days, and she did eat some crickets. I just put them together again to see what happens. I heard that if a male survives a mating he can mate with another female, that's why I'm trying with a new female. Do the males need time to "recuperate" after mating? He did mate for over 6 hrs. I was also thinking if the female I caught, that he doesn't like, may have laid an ooth already and maybe she smells funny to him???

Hey didy,

Just thought you might find this thread interesting. I was wondering the same thing myself a while back.

How long for male to "rejuvinate" between matings?