Seperating Lineola nymphs....HELP!!!!!

[Psychobunny]

I have over 50 L2 lineola still in their hatching jar with some rattia.

It's time to transfer them to nymph cups but when I open the lid, they all rush up at me!!!!!

What's the best way to do this?? Is there a trick to it?

I can see that some of them are not going to make it, but most look and act healthy.

I have lots of nymph cups and lids, I just have to figure out how to get them in there w/o having

a kitchen table full of mantis babies running in all directions :blink:

Also, is it safe to put more then one nymph per cup?

 

[hibiscusmile]

U can do it, one way is to put all in bigger cont, and just dump them in. or always keep cup they are in, on its side and use your bamboo skewer to get the with.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Cut a small hole on top so they can come out one at a time, and block it with a piece of foam when you want a break, next hatching container maybe put a stopper(bung hole) on it so you can do this the easy way.

 

[jrh3]

turn the cup upside down they will leave the lid, then open it, and use a bamboo skewer to grab a few then put lid back on, turn upside down and repeat.

 

[Psychobunny]

The container does have a hole on top with a foam plug (which they love to hang upside down on).

I guess I could remove the plug and let them climb out and get them on my chop sticks.

Only thing is, several may want to come running out at the same time. Since they are still small enough

to climb glass, I cant just put the container in a large glass baking dish with tall side to contain any

run aways! But it would slow them down I guess.

It's not a task I look forward to with giddy glee!!

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Yeah, I hear you on that, I usually try and get some help from my family if needed, I'm sitting there saying "you little *#%*&%*# " and they are just having fun and laughing telling me oh there goes another one you gottem or you want me to gettem, and thats with the use of a plug. If I had to take to whole top off I'd probably just sell all my ooths before they hatched, lol.

 

[PhilinYuma]

And I aways think of this as one of the fun jobs (it's gotta beat cleaning deli cups that have been used to raise FFs)! Here are a cuppla tricks that might help, though Rebecca's answer about the large container -- I have an old clock dome -- might solve yr problem right off:

Get a second mesh lid. When there are a a few nymphs on the lid, flick the top sides of the cup with yr finmger to remove any nymphs hanging there, and remove the lid and put it over an empty cup. Put the new lid on the old cup, and you have a manageable number of nymphs in the new one.

Herd the nymphs with a large, fluffy artist's paintbrush. The nymphs will often jump onto this for easy trasportation, or they can be swept from one area to another.At a pinch, you can spit on the brush and the nymph will stick to yr saliva, or so I have read.

Glad I wrote this. Now I'll know how to handle the hundred or so L1s that I have to sort today!

 

[hibiscusmile]

haha, aw nuts! Best way is with the plug open as long as u have one with it, then just grab them as them come out, easy as pie! usually they will just run around the ring and not go anywhere and they are able to be caught then!

 

[Psychobunny]

I just did the "remove plug and let them come out" trick.

That was working okay until several came out at once and while one was running up my

arm, the others were running in other directions. Only one stayed on the rim of the lid.

As I was trying to catch the run-aways, I forgot to put the plug back on, and more ran

out!!.

They are lineola, so they run and jump.

I use the paint brush trick as well. I use it to get them off the foam plug at feeding time.

Works great!!

Anyway, I havent lost any nymphs yet. I managed to find them all

 

[lancaster1313]

I like to use some of the methods, previously posted and do it in a place that is all white, I have a white sheet that I have spread, but now I just use the laundry room with the white floor. It seems that once a nymph ends up in a place with any color, they almost disappear they can be so hard to see.

I also wear white when I want to separate nymphs, and have my helpers do the same(if I can talk them into it). It is usually not that bad, but sometimes when we are turning around and checking eachother's backs, there is a nymph there when we thought we got them all. h34r:

I don't think that it will work well with white or transparent nymphs, but I haven't had any of those yet.

I finally stopped being stubborn and got some reading glasses at the dollar store. I guess I am getting to that age where I just can't see tiny things as well anymore. :wheelchair: It was like I woke up one morning and I couldn't see my babies as well. :mellow:

I have recently been keeping some creatures that have babies that are much tinier than mantids do, and the glasses really help when I am working with them and their eggs.

I guess I will have to see the eye doctor soon to see about some real glasses, cause the reading ones only work for close inspection.

 

[Psychobunny]

LOL!! I have been wearing reading glasses for many years!! I am also near sighted in one eye,

but not bad enough to really bother me.

I like the all white idea.

The linola's got seperated some time ago, but now I have a jar full of blue flash nymphs to seperate

when they get to L3.

I keep them well fed, but a few of them fight and do not get along.

It looks like they are boxing! using their little raptorial arms to punch each other in the face!!

I'ts very funny to watch, but I am sure they are not the least bit amused!! h34r:

 

[meaganelise9]

We have a laundry tub in our laundry room that has really tall sides. I always transfer my crickets in that because they can't jump high enough to get out of it if they escape my clutches.. Running, jumping nymphs are probably a whole other challenge though.