sperm stays forever?

[SpaceWolf]

When a male mantis mates with a female mantis, does the sperm package stay within the female forever, or is it like a 1 time use. I had a female and male mantis, but yesterday the male died, they did mate a lot before. Will the ootheca still contain little mantids or will it be emty?

 

[Sarah K]

When a male mantis mates with a female mantis, does the sperm package stay within the female forever, or is it like a 1 time use. I had a female and male mantis, but yesterday the male died, they did mate a lot before. Will the ootheca still contain little mantids or will it be emty?

I have researched this topic before, and found that a mantis only has to mate once in order to produce many viable ooths. Most people recommend re-mating the female after about 6 ooths though, just to be safe and keep fertility up. 

 

[Ranitomeya]

Invertebrate sperm can often by kept alive within the female for as long as the female is able to remain healthy enough to maintain them. For example, honeybee queens only mate once and can continue producing fertilized eggs for around a decade.