Orchid Mantis lifespan

[Ebichua]

Hi y'all,

I have a quick question in regards to the orchid mantids. How long is their average lifespan? I've read various care sheets about them and I'm not really sure which one is accurate and at what part do people call it their lifespan?

In example, the dedicated care sheet post on the forums indicate that they live 3-6 months once they are adults. Another website states that they live for around 8 months. Is this 8 months AFTER they get their wings and are considered adults? Or 8 months from nymph to adulthood? I assume they meant 8 months from L1 to adulthood, but my mantids seem to molt every 1.5-2 weeks, in which case, the numbers don't seem to add up properly if it's 8 months from L1-death. Is it normal to measure lifespan, starting from adulthood or is their lifespan measured (in the hobby) from L1 till death?

I know temperature plays a role in how fast our pets develop, so I'm not looking for an exact number as I'm sure it varies. Just trying to gauge an average to get a better idea about my pets.

 

[CosbyArt]

@Ebichua 8 months is for their entire lifespan, but is rather short and would likely only apply to males of the species (or individuals in the wild). 3-6 months is once they molt to an adult, with typically 4-6 months spent as a nymph beforehand.

Most captive raised mantid species live about 12 months from hatching to death on average for females, and males typically live shorter lifespans by usually 2-3 months (for a total of 9-10 months). With proper care some mantid individuals can live to about 18 months - my longest lived mantid so far was 15 months old.

 

[Ebichua]

@CosbyArt That was the kind of answer I was looking for. Many, many thanks  

 

[CosbyArt]

@CosbyArt That was the kind of answer I was looking for. Many, many thanks

Your welcome.

I did take a look at the care sheets and see what you mean. I do agree though the care sheets can vary too much in details (or even how they are written/explained), which causes consistency issues for the readers. Realistically I do not think there is a easy solution for it, beyond asking questions like you did.