Nymphs slowly dropping dead

[Aldebaran]

Hello everyone,  I bought 10 c. Gemmatus 2 months ago. Lost 2 initially to mismolts, then all was well.  Recently they are dying one by one. They die while hanging upside down.  They are in 16oz cups with screen lids, one screen hole on the bottom side and another screen hole on the opposite top side.  Coco fiber for substrate, fine misted everyday, fiber moistened when dry.  
 

tried to follow the care sheets as best as possible, I dont know what to do to save the remaining 4. Any insight would be very much appreciated.

thank you

 

[MantisMart]

what are u feeding, and what temps?

 

[Aldebaran]

Mostly fruit flies, temps around 75.f

 

[Ax55]

So lets see here- You are using screen lids? Like the metal ones? And a screen hole on the side?

 

[Ax55]

It seems you may have a little too much ventilation, to where all of your humidity is instantly leaving the cup. Additionally, if you are using metal screen, nymphs may have a hard time gripping to it. In my experience normal deli cups with cloth-ventilated lids are sufficient, just make sure you know you're misting properly. Your setup may have worked if you had a specialized setup (I'll send a link to it) and maybe use a cloth alternative for the lid (mine were cheesecloth with a rubber band).

Regarding the random death, is there anything in maybe the substrate (mold or toxic plastics) or in the air where they are kept that may harm the mantis (i.e. smoke, aerosol)?

In my experience, contaminated feeders was a big killer in my collection. So make sure that there isn't anything like mold in your containers; I would suggest you buy a new fruit fly culture.

I'm assuming you use a spray bottle for misting - clean it out, dry it, and then clean it again. 

Although the chance is VERY SLIM, you may have just received genetically weak and/or overly- inbred mantises.

 

[Ax55]

In my setup, I created a controlled environment; I had thermostats and humidity controllers regulating the humidity and temperature within a 20 gallon long tank, which had the mantises inside it. Each mantis was in a deli-cup with a piece of cheesecloth (allows humidity in the cups), closed with a rubber band. This setup is very extra, and not really required. Raising mantises in regular deli cups with cloth-vented lids work just fine.

 

[Aldebaran]

Thank you for your reply Ax55.

the lids have a plastic screen and the side vent holes have a finer mesh like fabric, the substate is coco fiber ecoearth.  The fiber Stays moist, I can see when it’s getting dry. Could it be too much humidity??

The fruit flies are from various cultures that I grow myself. Mold is always a possibility, I don’t see any but do you use a substrate or find it better with something disposable? 
I like your set up idea, it seems much more stable of an environment.  Pickings are slim as far as feeders goes, it’s very limited where I live and I do my best with what I can get.  I haven’t tried weevils yet but I read that they are ‘too hard’ for the mantids so I’m not sure if I should try them at all. Toxic plastic, maybe from the sprayer, but the cups are food grade so should be okay...all really great ideas you mentioned, good way to tighten the ship. 

sorry about the delay in my reply, I did not receive a notification of your msg...new to the forum.  Thank you again.

 

[Ax55]

Your welcome! Regarding your question of humidity, it’s hard to calculate the humidity by guessing, but what you can do is buy hygrometer, which will tell you the humidity. They go for around 13$.

 

[MantisGirl13]

Sounds like too much humidity to me

- MantisGirl13