New Zealand Ootheca

[Greg G]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice on New Zealand Ootheca care. On Monday Nov 2, I noticed what I believe is an Ootheca on the top of my net cage,(my first Ootheca) followed by 2 more shorter dots that look like an Ootheca. (Please see attached picture).Does anyone have any advice on how to care for this Ootheca? I have heard that the Ootheca must go through a period of diapause before they hatch. Should I put it in the refrigerator untill next spring before incubating? How do I safetly remove the Ootheca from the net cage ? I suspect I will probably have to cut the net around the Ootheca. I could repair the net by patching the hole with panty hose. I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Thank you,

Greg Grimsley

 

[happy1892]

A razor might work to cut the oothecae off from the net cage without damaging the oothecae much. Did you feed the female much after the large ootheca? The smaller ootheca might be because she has not eaten enough to make big oothecae. I do not know whether they need a diapause or not. I'd guess not, but I could be wrong... Which species is it? The Orthodera novaezealandiae or Miomantis caffra? They are two common mantises of New Zealand, not certain if the first one is common, but I'm assuming it is. Mist the oothecae once every few days or less probably is good, too. Keep the oothecae in a ventilated container and don't let it get too moist just in case they can't handle it. Do you have any better pictures of the top part of the oothecae?

Edit: The nymphs you will need fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Do you have access to flightless or wingless fruit fly cultures where you are? And when they get larger you will need insects to feed them, like crickets, though crickets from some or many pet shops (Have no idea how common this is, only have gotten crickets from one pet shop and heard a few stories online) sometimes have sickly kept crickets which may kill your mantis if the mantis eats them. And the temperature maybe should be kind of warm, 68F or higher.

 

[Rick]

Can't help you with that particular species but I usually give an ooth at least a week to harden and then just carefully remove it by hand. You don't need to hack up your cage to remove an ooth. It looks like your mantis made a few deformed ooths before making the larger one. Keep those small ones as they do sometimes contain eggs.