Questions Regarding Tenodera Aridifolia Sinensis

[lectricblueyes]

Hey! Many of you don't know me. I'm a brand new enthusiast. I have a few questions.

I recently purchased an ootheca of Chinese Mantis. I have a 12 x 12 x 8 glass tank with a live plant inside. I used a combo of black dirt mixed with coco fiber. I've put an ExoTera heat pad on the bottom, drilled a tiny hole in the glass and was able to feed the electrical cable through the hole. (Very nice when you see ZERO cables). Anyway, that's my setup. The Chinese Mantid Ootheca came from a green nursery that sells eco-friendly pest control solutions. It came with a set of nice instructions but these seem to be different from both Pete's well-made instructions here in the forums and other sites that help with ootheca care for this specific species.

Instructions that came with the ootheca suggest I keep the ootheca at 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow up to 14 weeks for hatching. Keep the ootheca in shade until they hatch. Keep the nymphs together for up to 3 months, or until after the first molting.

I'm new with this so, be gentle . Do you (the experts) concur with these instructions? Will the 85-95 (something I CAN do with a heatlamp but only when I'm home for maybe 3-6 hours a day) cause them to hatch faster? Right now, with the Exo-Terra heat pad, the enclosure is hanging around 75-78 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the living plant actually requires more than a couple of sprays from a bottle, I am keeping the enclosure well humidified. Right now, the ootheca is resting on a fresh green tropical leaf. I'm thinking, if it can take up to 14 weeks I won't glue the ootheca to the top of the enclosure for at least another month. What will I feed the nymphs? I have fruit flies for now for my 1 other mantis.

Sorry it's such a long read, thanks for reading it though! Look forward to chatting with you guys more often!

 

[bassist]

I've gotten first instar chinese to take hydei fruit flies but mels are recommended also don't be surprised when a lot of the nymphs die it just happens. Temperature is fine, 85-95 is a bit much for chinese if it is fertile it will hatch.

 

[Katnapper]

Hi David. I wouldn't worry too much about the temp. Anything above 70 F. should be fine, although warmer temps may speed up the process. It's good you're misting the plant, as the ooth should be misted a couple times a week. You don't want to leave it constantly moist though... give it a chance to dry out between mistings. And if it were me, I would go ahead and hot glue the ooth to the top of the enclosure now. You don't know for certain when it was laid, or how long it has been out of diapause. Better to be prepared than caught thinking you have more time (don't ask me how I know this, lol).

You'll also want to be prepared with fruit flies (as you already know). Most newborn nymphs (1st instar/L1) do better with the smaller D. melanogaster species, but some will take D. hydei from the start. I can't remember if the T. sinensis newborns I hatched were too small to take D. hydei at first or not. I think I fed them melanos for the first week, then D. hydei after that. But I wouldn't go out of your way to purchase melanogasters for them for that short of a period. With this species you will likely have 150-300 nymphs. A majority will die no matter what you do. Unless you have, or are expecting to have, other ooths that will require D. melanogaster, I wouldn't bother for the Chinese. They will do fine on D. hydei (and each other ), and enough will survive to leave you with a manageable amount.

You might consider reading up and researching how to make your own fruit fly cultures. Much less expensive than buying store-bought cultures in the long run. Best of luck hatching and raising your T. sinensis young'uns! Though they aren't an exotic species, I really like them... one of my favorites!

 

[Rick]

Disregard those temps. If you have this setup ready to go attach the ooth to the top of the container and wait. Normal room temps are fine. You really don't need any heat lamps or pads or anything unless you keep the room cold. YOu need a large culture of flies (or two) going NOW. That ooth will hatch sooner than you think. These normally hatch out a lot so be prepared. Also be prepared after a couple weeks for many of the nymphs to die for no reason. That is normal. I'm assuming you are going to keep them together as your container is a decent size. After awhile they wil eat each other but that will leave you with the strongest ones which around L3 you will want to seperate.

 

[lectricblueyes]

Wow, thanks for the great advice you guys. Honestly, I was feeling SO bad about leaving ALL of them together since they might eat eachother... I thought "Man, I'll need to buy like 300 cups and lids" because I thought it was mean but then when you all said that you had done it.. lol I don't feel so bad and Rick made a VERY good point... you get the strongest/best ones if you let them do that. Thanks guys/girls!

 

[Rick]

Wow, thanks for the great advice you guys. Honestly, I was feeling SO bad about leaving ALL of them together since they might eat eachother... I thought "Man, I'll need to buy like 300 cups and lids" because I thought it was mean but then when you all said that you had done it.. lol I don't feel so bad and Rick made a VERY good point... you get the strongest/best ones if you let them do that. Thanks guys/girls!

And that is why I bring it up. The normal person cannot expect to care for that many nymphs in their own little containers. Now if it was an orchid ooth I could understand trying since they have lower numbers and are so valuable. Chinese also have mass die offs so that will get rid of many or you could try to release any excess. Any ooths that hatch out this many I keep them all together until I get about ten.

 

[hibiscusmile]

I don't know David, I say go for the containers at www.mantisplace.com :lol:

No you will do fine, these babies are so cute, when u take one out, they will do a little dance for you by looking around and sticking their heads up and down , I read the posts, but dont remember all that was said, so forgive me if I repeat anything.... Mist them with really warm distilled water after they dry off the first day and twice a day after that, this species likes water and all babies need it to survive. Feed them the third morning and every day after that.

 

[lectricblueyes]

I don't know David, I say go for the containers at www.mantisplace.com :lol: No you will do fine, these babies are so cute, when u take one out, they will do a little dance for you by looking around and sticking their heads up and down , I read the posts, but dont remember all that was said, so forgive me if I repeat anything.... Mist them with really warm distilled water after they dry off the first day and twice a day after that, this species likes water and all babies need it to survive. Feed them the third morning and every day after that.

Thanks for the advice. This morning I got curious and held the ootheca up to my ear. I heard some noise! Like little tiny hands scraping on paper. My eyes got big and then I realized.... when holding the ootheca up to my ear.... my hair was touching the ootheca and making little noises. No, not ear hair but the hair that gets pushed away by my glasses . Ohhh well... back to waiting! I'm so impatient, I've only had it at room temp for 4 days! lol

 

[PhilinYuma]

I agree with all of the sage advice given above, but I would like to add a word about fruit fly cultures. If your ooth yields 200 nymphs and you feed them about 200 ff's a day, that will provide one scant ff per nymph in theory. In practice, some of the flies will get trapped in the substrate and die and "lucky" nymphs will score two or three (or more!) flies in one day, leaving two or three (or more) nymphs unfed that day. Over time, some nymphs, who have grown stronger than their hapless bretheren, will out compete them to the point where the weaker nymphs will starve to death or become food themselves.

Many breeders let this attrition continue to a point where they have a population that can be conveniently raised in pots, but the early nymphal instars are often the most entertaining and it seems to me that it is better to be able to choose, say, ten healthy nymphs for culture to adulthood than to discover, some morning (often after a molt) that you can only find seven babies!

Generally, if you can't see any flies crawling or flying around the enclosure, it's time to add some more.

At 77F(25C) it takes from ten days to two weeks (depending on whom you talk to) for D. melanogaster to grow from egg to adult. The life cycle takes twice as long at 64F (18C) and if you up the temp much above 81F (27C) the life cycle will become longer, not shorter (heat stress), so keep plenty of cultures handy. And don't to forget to start some D hydei cultures while you're about it.

 

[rs4guy]

Sorry to bring back this thread, but, I want to hatch my chinese ooth like now. It was laid a few days ago, my question is this: Does the ooth need diapause, or will it hatch fine without that cold period?m I am set up toehrwise, I just wanted to make sure it will be fine without a diapause..... Thanks alot...

 

[gripen]

I will hatch without diapause. One time I had an ooth hatch withe the adult f still in the same cage!

 

[ismart]

Chinese ooths do not require a diapause. If you leave it in room temerature it will hatch in 4 to 6 weeks. Be sure to mist it every few days.,

 

[rs4guy]

Thanks i Smart, gripen, I wasn't sure, esp this being a cold climate species. I do mist every other day, and plan to do the natural route when hatched: feed them a week later, let the strongest weed out the weak. Thanks guys...