Andredesz
Well-known member
Greetings Everyone!
This is what I woke up to this morning, the tap tap tap of my daughters feet running across the house and her little voice shouting, "She's laying a baby, MOMMY, she's laying a baby!"
It was like 6am so it took me a few seconds to figure out what she was talking about. But then I realized she must be talking about the mantis and I stumbled to her enclosure. And sure enough our Chinese mantis, one we found outside (thank Goodness for mild California Decembers), and she was in fact going to work making her egg case. We watched without speaking for several minutes while she spun her foamy creation. I was so grateful for the time we'd put into making her enclosure, in caring for her. We had both seen a complete ooth, a hardened one, but to watch one being created, by our very pet was fantastic indeed. Just the night before we had been marveling at her round belly, wondering if we had been allowing her too many crickets. Still,she hadn't eaten all day so we toothpick fed her a drop of honey. Later my daughter noticed our mantid was "really shaking her booty" and I saw too that some interesting gyrations were going on there. So I guess this is what it had all been about. Awesome.
Now, we found her outside about 4 days ago, so I suppose there is a chance that the ooth may be fertile. But since our pet is a Chinese mantis, the ooth might be subject to diapause, is this correct?
We recently applied a small heat lamp to the enclosure, I wonder if this may have accelerated our mantid's decision to lay her ootheca? hm.
Carol A
Manti's Ooth
This is what I woke up to this morning, the tap tap tap of my daughters feet running across the house and her little voice shouting, "She's laying a baby, MOMMY, she's laying a baby!"
It was like 6am so it took me a few seconds to figure out what she was talking about. But then I realized she must be talking about the mantis and I stumbled to her enclosure. And sure enough our Chinese mantis, one we found outside (thank Goodness for mild California Decembers), and she was in fact going to work making her egg case. We watched without speaking for several minutes while she spun her foamy creation. I was so grateful for the time we'd put into making her enclosure, in caring for her. We had both seen a complete ooth, a hardened one, but to watch one being created, by our very pet was fantastic indeed. Just the night before we had been marveling at her round belly, wondering if we had been allowing her too many crickets. Still,she hadn't eaten all day so we toothpick fed her a drop of honey. Later my daughter noticed our mantid was "really shaking her booty" and I saw too that some interesting gyrations were going on there. So I guess this is what it had all been about. Awesome.
Now, we found her outside about 4 days ago, so I suppose there is a chance that the ooth may be fertile. But since our pet is a Chinese mantis, the ooth might be subject to diapause, is this correct?
We recently applied a small heat lamp to the enclosure, I wonder if this may have accelerated our mantid's decision to lay her ootheca? hm.
Carol A
Manti's Ooth
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It is amazing when you see them spinning their ootheca for the first time (and the second, and the third... ) 
