Many babies comming soon?

Mantis_M · Jan 19, 2017

Hey everyone,

Please bare with me as this is my first real post on any forum asking for advice.

I raised two, L3 Madagascan marbled mantis - and they became fully grown, healthy adults. (male & female)

The female seemed like she could have been ready to lay for a while before I mated the pair.

A few days after they mated I saw the first oothe in the tank, and because of an amateur mistake, I never wrote the date down. Since then she has laid two more oothe (which I cant see being more than 8 weeks ago. I mated the pair again last night with intent on letting the male go and live the rest of his life.. and to my surprise there is now a 4th oothe!! She JUST laid one few days ago... && The last two oothes are extremely tiny.

This is my first go at raising and reproducing mantids, and I'm afraid none of the 4 oothes will hatch (maybe paranoia lol.)

The first two look Fat and healthy ...

if anyone has any input as to why the last two oothes would be super tiny, or if they may be infertile, ect. That would be great.

I have them in a net I got from bugsincyberspace, and have been misting and have proper ventilation.

Please excuse my grammar.

Thanks -

Michael

Sticky · Jan 20, 2017

To be safe, count on them hatching. If they dont hatch for awhile, say this out loud: "Oh well, I guess they aren't any good. Too bad!"

That will make them hatch. Its a great trick, it works like magic for me!

Good luck.

CosbyArt · Jan 21, 2017

Mantis_M said:
if anyone has any input as to why the last two oothes would be super tiny, or if they may be infertile, ect. That would be great.

The latter the ooth is laid in a mantids life, the smaller they tend to be. Although, if they are super tiny it is a sign she is not eating enough or had a issue where she laid two ooths quickly rather than one larger one (perhaps due to stress, a fall, or unknown factor - depends on how soon apart those were laid compared to her normal ooth schedule to know for sure).