jseng
Well-known member
I'm sure it's no big deal to the OGs on the forum, but I'm super excited and wanted to share that I just completed my first successful pairing (see pic). The mantids were Double Shields (Pnigomantis medioconstricta). I was worried at first, because I've heard that females of this species are super aggressive, plus the male's atenmae were previously damaged and are basically just nubs at this point. However, the big, beautiful female pictured here was as docile and receptive as could be, and the male noticed her quickly with little help from me at all. In fact, the male mistimed his initial attempt to hop on her back and he landed right in front of her face. She was munching on a roach at the time, so she may have been preoccupied, but basically she just took a brief look at the him and then continued to feed. He eventually got it right and did his thing while the female ate (and ate and ate). They ended up being connected for an hour and a half, at which point she flicked her wings and he jumped off, then flew across the room. I'm happy things worked out, but I had a few questions for the more experienced folks on the forum: specifically, was 1.5 hours long enough for her to have been fertilized? If not, how long should I wait before I attempt to mate them again? Thanks for any and all input!
