Synchronization!

[PhilinYuma]

Now here's a strange phenomenon that I and probably many members have seen before, but this is an extreme case. In her Email this evening, Frey was catching up on mantis stuff and asked me if my "spiny"(Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii) ooths had hatched yet since a bunch of hers had all hatched at once. I was a bit envious, because I am very fond of this mantis and when I cleaned out my hatching chamber this afternoon, they didn't look even slightly interested in entering the world. After reading the email, I did my routine check of the hatchery and found that all three ooths had popped and that there were babies everywhere!

Now these are WC ooths so they had probably been laid over a period of weeks, at least. In addition, mine had travelled several thousand miles, and yet each group hatched simultaneosly and the two groups had hatched within 24 hours of each other! We hatch our ooths under similar but obviously not identical conditions, so this is not consistent with the theory that says that butterflies, for example eclose simultaneously in response to some particular, preestablished climatic condition. On the other hand, in the wild,the mass hatching affords the nymphs with the same improved survival rate from predators that usually obtains with mass hatchings, from insects to turtles.

Is there any research on this that I have missed?

 

[Rick]

Interesting observation Phil. I am sure there is something out there on the subject.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Must of all been laid the same day, not that unusual I would venture to say, as when a group is hatched, they reach adulthood at same time as siblings, and as such would most probably lay the same day or close to it, as I have noticed with the amount I have had.

 

[Malti]

where they caught from the same area?

 

[patrickfraser]

Wahlbegii like cookie. I want! I need!

 

[sporeworld]

I know with silkmoths that overwinter, it doesn't matter when the cocoon or when I put them in the fridge. All that matters is when I take them out. Might be the same for ooths traveling, or in improper conditions. The "timer" doesn't start til conditions are right. Arriving in Yuma after a week in a dark, dry box, restarts the timer.

That's one possible way to explain it...

 

[Malti]

I know with silkmoths that overwinter, it doesn't matter when the cocoon or when I put them in the fridge. All that matters is when I take them out. Might be the same for ooths traveling, or in improper conditions. The "timer" doesn't start til conditions are right. Arriving in Yuma after a week in a dark, dry box, restarts the timer.

That's one possible way to explain it...

but the other's in poland hatched almost same time?

 

[sporeworld]

Ah. Maybe the "timer" was set when they arrived in Poland...?

 

[PhilinYuma]

Ah. Maybe the "timer" was set when they arrived in Poland...?

Could be! When the Customs Inspector smiled at them and said, "Witamy w Polsce!"

("Welcome to Poland!") perhaps it reset and activated some kind of "biological clock", like the one that some women can hear as they approach thirty! :lol:

 

[sporeworld]

 

[psyconiko]

This is just crazy....I was reading the thread and I just remembered that my Pseudocreo w. WC from Africa also hatched on the 20th... :blink:

 

[psyconiko]

And another this morning.....

 

[PhilinYuma]

This is just crazy....I was reading the thread and I just remembered that my Pseudocreo w. WC from Africa also hatched on the 20th... :blink:

Yep, this really is awesome! I seriously doubt that all of those wild ooths were laid on the same day! We all have had a number of ooths in proximity hatch at the same time and because it confers a survival advantage, it is easy to hypothesize that they emit some kind of hatching pheromone (hey! I said "hypothesize" ) or are triggered by some climatic condition, but this suggests something else.

I know someone (not Frey) who knows someone who imported these ooths into Europe, so maybe I can find out if they had a massive (obviously not exclusive) hatch on the 20th. Stay tuned to this channel!

P.S. What temp/RH are you hatching them at, Nikko.

 

[MantidLord]

I've had ooths laid by the same female (so with a gap of about a week) hatch on the same day or a day or two apart. So maybe there is some synchronization.

 

[psyconiko]

Yep, this really is awesome! I seriously doubt that all of those wild ooths were laid on the same day! We all have had a number of ooths in proximity hatch at the same time and because it confers a survival advantage, it is easy to hypothesize that they emit some kind of hatching pheromone (hey! I said "hypothesize" ) or are triggered by some climatic condition, but this suggests something else.

I know someone (not Frey) who knows someone who imported these ooths into Europe, so maybe I can find out if they had a massive (obviously not exclusive) hatch on the 20th. Stay tuned to this channel!

P.S. What temp/RH are you hatching them at, Nikko.

70% humidity.wet substrate.But forgot to mist them.Another hatched 2-3 days ago.

All the nymphs that hatched are alive untill now.