slowing down male, speeding up female

[Ricardo]

So I want to breed clover and godfrey, two egyptian mios ( miomantis paykullii )but I understand that I need to slow down the male.

I feed them both small crickets, and I'm just wondering how frequently to feed them and how much.

clover

 

[LauraMG]

Keep him at cooler temperatures and feed him every third day or so. Don't let his belly flatten out too much. On the flip side, warm up the female and feed feed feed!

 

[Ricardo]

Keep him at cooler temperatures and feed him every third day or so. Don't let his belly flatten out too much. On the flip side, warm up the female and feed feed feed!

so two crickets every third day?

and a cricket a day for the female?

 

[kitkat39]

I don't think you need to worry too much about Egyptians. They get to adult at roughly the same time. They are also perhaps the easiest/fastest mantis for me to breed so far..... 30 seconds FLAT! Male saw female, mounted, and CONNECTED almost immediately! Blew my mind! I may be exaggerating, more like 45 seconds. lol!

The male will still live long enough to mate with female (assuming they were about the same age when you got them), but if you are truly worried, then just feed the male 1/2 - 2/3 of what you feed the female and that should be alright.

 

[Ricardo]

I don't think you need to worry too much about Egyptians. They get to adult at roughly the same time. They are also perhaps the easiest/fastest mantis for me to breed so far..... 30 seconds FLAT! Male saw female, mounted, and CONNECTED almost immediately! Blew my mind! I may be exaggerating, more like 45 seconds. lol!

The male will still live long enough to mate with female (assuming they were about the same age when you got them), but if you are truly worried, then just feed the male 1/2 - 2/3 of what you feed the female and that should be alright.

both hatched in august so should I worry about it? or treat them both like kings?

 

[kitkat39]

If you're sure both hatched in August, then there's nothing you'll really need to worry about with this species. I've kept this species as if they were garbage before and they still miraculously give me more generations, which made me respect them more. These are true survivors and you'll see what I'm talking about later when they give you so many babies that you don't know what to do with them. ;-)

 

[Ricardo]

If you're sure both hatched in August, then there's nothing you'll really need to worry about with this species. I've kept this species as if they were garbage before and they still miraculously give me more generations, which made me respect them more. These are true survivors and you'll see what I'm talking about later when they give you so many babies that you don't know what to do with them. ;-)

is there such thing as inbreeding when it comes to mantids?

like, I can breed the offspring right?

also how many nymphs do you think I can expect out of the pair?

I want to be able to afford to keep em.

 

[kitkat39]

Certain other species you might have to worry, but I don't think you have to worry too much about inbreeding these guys. They keep mating and laying babies anyways.

Expect at least 200 babies. Babies that don't die... unless you starve them to death. :lol:

 

[PhilinYuma]

is there such thing as inbreeding when it comes to mantids?

like, I can breed the offspring right?

also how many nymphs do you think I can expect out of the pair?

I want to be able to afford to keep em.

Another interesting topic which doesn't seem to have a clear cut answer. An entomologist on this forum once stated that interbreeding is not an issue but also claimed that he had the only strain of a particular species that had been bred through a number of generations. The mantids seem to prefer not to interbreed, which is why the males tend to mature ahead of their female siblings and fly off to find mature females of other lines.

 

[PeterF]

Expect at least 200 babies. Babies that don't die...

Man, this is the second post about zombie mantid nymphs today. Sweet!

 

[kitkat39]

Another interesting topic which doesn't seem to have a clear cut answer. An entomologist on this forum once stated that interbreeding is not an issue but also claimed that he had the only strain of a particular species that had been bred through a number of generations. The mantids seem to prefer not to interbreed, which is why the males tend to mature ahead of their female siblings and fly off to find mature females of other lines.

That last sentence makes perfectly good sense! I am wondering if it is helpful to mate males and females from different ooths (but from the same parents) or if it's just better all around to find them from different parents.

 

[Ricardo]

Certain other species you might have to worry, but I don't think you have to worry too much about inbreeding these guys. They keep mating and laying babies anyways.

Expect at least 200 babies. Babies that don't die... unless you starve them to death. :lol:

sounds expensive. 200 enclosures!

food for all the cute little mouths!

I will have to start a fund just for this

 

[kitkat39]

sounds expensive. 200 enclosures!

food for all the cute little mouths!

I will have to start a fund just for this

That's over time. Each ooth only has between 20 to 60 or so of them. What you might want to do is just let the older ones eat the younger ones from the new ooths. It will save you some grey hairs. Maybe you could even sell off some ooths here on the forum. ;-)

 

[Ricardo]

That's over time. Each ooth only has between 20 to 60 or so of them. What you might want to do is just let the older ones eat the younger ones from the new ooths. It will save you some grey hairs. Maybe you could even sell off some ooths here on the forum. ;-)

so if you breed them once, does it only fertilize one ooth?

 

[kitkat39]

so if you breed them once, does it only fertilize one ooth?

Nope, the ones after are still fertilized

 

[sporeworld]

Yeah - pace yourself. I am almost litterally swimming in nymphs and subadults. And mine are communal. I would not look forward to maintaining 200 deli cups filled with adult mantids!

 

[Ricardo]

Yeah - pace yourself. I am almost litterally swimming in nymphs and subadults. And mine are communal. I would not look forward to maintaining 200 deli cups filled with adult mantids!

I'm having second thoughts

The reason I wanted to breed in the first place was just to be able to have my own personal supply instead of spending 13 dollars on a mio.

But it would be cheaper not to breed them and just buy them.

To expensive to feed that many mantids, and I think it would be alot of work.

 

[sporeworld]

I agree. Besides, take your time and experiment with a few mantid species and keep it interesting. I think the "collect them all" is a better and more rewarding hobby than "feed them all".

I'd say spend a few rounds on the big hunters - the agrressive "oh sh&t! Did you SEE that!?!" species. Stick to simple (if stinky) crickets as feeders(easy to get) and get a good feel. Chinese and some of the Giants (asian/african) are strong, hardy and less likely to mismolt. Pick up the exotics later. And watch the classifieds for blow-out sales and people overwhelmed with nymphs.

That's just my humble opinion....

 

[Rick]

There is no reason to slow down the male. If your female is much younger then yes, maybe. This slowing down the male business is rarely needed. Males are supposed to mature faster. They live plenty long enough to mate with the female when she matures.