Male has no clue

[dmina]

I have 3 calling and ready Miomantis paykullii – Egyptian Mantis females and 1 male... who is so excited to get in with the female (little does he know the danger he is in) hehe He mounts the female within seconds.. and then rides on her for hours.. but.... I think... he thinks he is doing things right,,, but for some reason his abdomen and breeding parts are curling backwards under his own wings... I have tried him different days with different females with the same results... he has not connected with any of the females yet... we have been on this same course for 10 days now... still no connection... at night I keep him in another room... and the next day wetry again.. with the same results.. here is a pic of him... doing it his way...



Any ideas? Has this happened to anyone else?

I don't have another male... and it is just a shame to let 3 females go to waste...

Any suggestions?

Thanks for taking time to look in..

Denise

 

[Rick]

I've seen this more times than I can remember. They eventually get it right. You might be able to use a toothpick or a skewer to try and get his abdomen into the right area.

 

[Bloodtkr]

Oh my ! a three way ; x

 

[bonsaimaster1]

Oh my Bloodtkr!

 

[CosbyArt]

Hopefully he figures it out, or does will help of a skewer or something. If not maybe you should get another male just in case.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I was going to suggest like Rick you might try gently guiding his abdomen down. The little buggar hasn't figured out he has to reach down below her before curling up to connect. Flipping the cage once he is ontop so she is on ground might allow gravity to help him along. You could also try gently blowing on him (I just realized that sounds so wrong in this context) Blowing as in blowing some air gently at him from a distance lol. Often that will get the boys moving their bums again and they will try repositioning.

Finally, if he is a very hearty eater you can try cutting back on his food for mating purposes. Some of the boys can really chunk up and then can have a hard time reaching. Admittedly though he doesn't look like he is having a problem bending himself into a pretzel.