nymph deaths - cause???

[Schloaty]

Howdy,

I have 3 of Brunners stick mantids in individual cages, and HAD 8 housed together in a larger case (they're a mix of L1 and L2).

The individually housed ones are pretty much fine.

However, I woke up this morning and there were only TWO left alive in the larger cage. It was not canibalism, as the floor of the cage was littered with complete corpses.

Any idea what could have striken them down?

 

[hibiscusmile]

Beats me, u just never know why they die like that. When u can tell they were eaten, that's understandable, but just to drop over :blink:

 

[Katnapper]

That sounds very odd... sorry to hear about that. Give us some more info... like what were you feeding them, were there feeders in with them when they died (and if so, how many), how often do you mist (maybe they needed a drink?). Give us a clue! lol May not help, but can't hurt at this point.

 

[agent A]

Did it get cold that night?

 

[Schloaty]

Let's see....They were inside, so it wasn't the cold.

I had JUST misted them, so they didn't dehydrate.

I was feeding them gnats & other gnat-sized bugs from around the porch light.

There were some in there last night....may have been a mosquito in there, too.

The remaining two nyphms seemed healthy & happy this morning. It was just odd.

 

[Giosan]

Brunneria borealis have special needs... I noticed.

I keep them like this:

- Individually

- Enclosure has a lot of ventilation and grip on all sides

- Mist 1 or 2 times a day. (mornig and evening)

- Keep above 35 degrees celsius (95 F)

You need to get to know them... their a bit tricky especially as nymphs.

Oh and before i forget: As they get older, you can decrease the heat and less misting. Much more less misting!

 

[Rick]

Mantid nymphs die for no reason all the time hence the reason they females lay so many eggs. Nobody is going to be able to give you an answer on why they died.

 

[ismart]

I would seperate the remaining two that are together. That seems to be the only link to the unexplained deaths.

Have they sprayed for mosquitos by you? Are insecticides used by you at all? Maybe the gnats are poisoned?

 

[Schloaty]

Hi all,

the remaining two died, also. However, the ones that were separated did not, and are doing fine.

I moved the ooth to a new container, and out popped another nymph, so all is not lost.

I don't think it was poinsoned food, or my chinese mantids, and the other four Brunners I had separate, would have also perrished.

I mist them, but not nearly as often as Glosan sugested. It's fairly humid by me right now, so I didn't feel the need.

Perhaps Rick is right, and we'll never know....but I just found it odd that the blight struck only that jar, and no where else (guess I should be thankfull for that).

 

[jameslongo]

I would seperate the remaining two that are together. That seems to be the only link to the unexplained deaths. Have they sprayed for mosquitos by you? Are insecticides used by you at all? Maybe the gnats are poisoned?

Poisoned mosquitoes & gnats wouldn't have killed the nymphs. The LD50 of any insecticide is very low for these insects (i.e. they are highly sensitive). If they were to come into contact with a poison & survive, the amount ingested by the nymphs would be negligible.