Hi everyone
I am VERY new to hatching and raising mantids.
I bought an unknown type of mantis egg case from a local (N. California)garden store (actually there were two cases) and it said to hang from a tree outside at least a foot from the ground and they would just hatch in a few weeks. It's almost fall and the temperatures here are lowering. I remembered that my mom had a couple egg cases that didnt hatch last year around this time of year. Thus, I kept the cases in a small aquarium with plant clippings for humidity and a lamp on them for heat. Its been about 5 weeks and the cases have gained no mass (I've been weighing them carefully every few days on a sensitiive balance). Being of a scientific mind, i dissected one (I can feel mantis people cringing right now). I found what looked like dried brown mantids about 1-2mm long in the egg case. No moisture, no sqirmy larvae, just dry bodies.
SO... were they dead and dried? If so, might they have been dead before i got them or did my lamp cause this? Any comments or suggestions for next time? Much appreciated!
--fumantis
I am VERY new to hatching and raising mantids.
I bought an unknown type of mantis egg case from a local (N. California)garden store (actually there were two cases) and it said to hang from a tree outside at least a foot from the ground and they would just hatch in a few weeks. It's almost fall and the temperatures here are lowering. I remembered that my mom had a couple egg cases that didnt hatch last year around this time of year. Thus, I kept the cases in a small aquarium with plant clippings for humidity and a lamp on them for heat. Its been about 5 weeks and the cases have gained no mass (I've been weighing them carefully every few days on a sensitiive balance). Being of a scientific mind, i dissected one (I can feel mantis people cringing right now). I found what looked like dried brown mantids about 1-2mm long in the egg case. No moisture, no sqirmy larvae, just dry bodies.
SO... were they dead and dried? If so, might they have been dead before i got them or did my lamp cause this? Any comments or suggestions for next time? Much appreciated!
--fumantis