Mantid help pls!

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apora090

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Hey just got a few questions to ask. I found a mantid near my front door the other day and decided to take it in as a pet. I am quite inexperienced with them so i have been doing quite a bit of research. One thing that really confuses me is that they seem to be a summer insect, however i am in Melbourne Australia and at the moment we are in winter with nights dropping to about 5-6 degrees. How could it possibly have survived??

Second, i want to know how old my Mantid is. It is a beautiful leaf green color, and its body length is about 6 cm. Its a female mantid. I heard they only live for a year so im hoping its not nearing death or anything. If someone can help with a guesstimate that would be a help. Remember its winter so that might be factored into your guess.

Also i have about 50 smallish crickets. Should i pop a few in to its tank? one a day? two a day?

Lastly it has small wings on its back. If i take the lid off the tank is there any chance of it leaping away or flying away in front of me?

I have a few more questions but i might leave them for another post...

Thanks

 
It probably will die soon, but you might get eggs from it. A cricket or 2 a day is fine. Females don't fly, and she probably won't jump too much. Now was this degrees farenhiet or celsius?

 
agent A said:
It probably will die soon, but you might get eggs from it. A cricket or 2 a day is fine. Females don't fly, and she probably won't jump too much. Now was this degrees farenhiet or celsius?
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Celcius...

Is there any way to know if i will get eggs from it?

 
Hi Apora

Welcome to the forums.

There mantids that do survive the cold, like Empusa pennata.

You say she has wings right? If she has wings she is adult.

Unless they are still small wingbuds.

But i can't tell how it's been adult since i don't know when it last molted.

You can try to feed it a cricket, if it eats you can start feeding it a bit.

I would feed every day since they are small crickets.

But females don't fly, they can only run for it.

EDIT: she can lay eggs, but she has to be well fed in order to do so.

Don't forget to mist ;)

 
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Thanks idol0mantis,

I really hope its pregnant, but looking at her tummy, it doesnt seem disproportionally larger than any other in photos i have seen. I have been in my house for ten years and this is the first time i have seen a Mantid in my garden. Do you think if i go looking, im likely to find that when theres one there is many? Its a shame that Mantids have such short life cycles.

 
agent A said:
There is a good chance she has been mated, only mated females are able to survive those temperatures (ask me how I know).
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The first part of your statement is correct however not the second.

 
apora090 said:
Thanks idol0mantis,I really hope its pregnant, but looking at her tummy, it doesnt seem disproportionally larger than any other in photos i have seen. I have been in my house for ten years and this is the first time i have seen a Mantid in my garden. Do you think if i go looking, im likely to find that when theres one there is many? Its a shame that Mantids have such short life cycles.
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She may not be fat as being winter her food supply has likely dwindled to nothing outside. Put a cricket in, if she eats it, put in another one. If she eats that try a third. Do this every day for the next couple of days, maybe longer and she may fatten up.

A picture would be nice, and very helpful.

She needs surfaces to lay her eggs on. Once we ID her, we can ID the egg case and give good ideas about those surfaces, but I would put a twig or two in, maybe one with old leaves (not too many) on it, and a piece of bark in the bottom.

Also, misting was referred to earlier, but you didn't say f you were misting her. One squirt a day into her habitat would be good, she's likely thirsty. She'll drink from the droplets if she is.

Once we ID her we can give more info, temperature, misting and humidity requirements, other food options, egg case needs etc.

Also, where there is one mantis it is likely there are many. They are excellent at blending in with their environment, you'll need to look really close come summer. We can also give you info on what the egg cases will look like and you could hunt for them outside now. Depending on the species people on this board may wish to buy egg cases from you to get the species into culture (basically captive bred for pets/hobbyists, other breeders, and to ensure the species is maintained)

Enjoy!

 
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Ouch! Melbourne is about the coldest big city in oz at this time of year, right?

The only way to find out if there are more mantises out there is to go look! If she still has an ooth lefty, she will lay it and if it's fertile it will hatch!

Our Australian mantis expert, Superfreak, and her BF James are on self imposed exile from the forum until they do their assessments at the end of this month. Click on her profile and send her a p.m., but don't tell her I suggested it!

Since you live in Melbourne, you might want to give the Hendersons a call at Minibeast Wildlife (0434 998 263). They're not very big on mantids, but they might help.

Welcome to the forum, and good luck!

 
I put two small crickets in yesterday and she ate them both. IS it possible to over feed her or should i just keep putting them in if she keeps eating them.

Thanks for all the tips above as well. I will try and put a photo up soon

 
apora090 said:
I put two small crickets in yesterday and she ate them both. IS it possible to over feed her or should i just keep putting them in if she keeps eating them.Thanks for all the tips above as well. I will try and put a photo up soon
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No. When she's full she'll stop eating. She probably has some catching up to do!

Looking forward to the pix!

 
its a false garden mantid. Pseudomantis albofimbriata. It might live another month or two. its likely shes mated and will lay an ooth or two with feeding. good luck!

 
My sister live in Melbourne. I am going to ask her to look around more often! What other species of mantis can you find in Melbourne Superfreak?

 

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