Taumantis sigiana, are these parthenogenic?

[fleurdejoo]

I'm on it!!

Thanks Nick! How is this?

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Perfecto!!!

Now lets talk about to NO feeding/misting hole up top, I use a foam stopper that can be removed to add FF's and to mist through when the nymphs hatch, removing the lid entirely can be a big hassle when the babies run all over the place, or even a few deaths when you try to snap the lid back down and find a few got trapped on the lip of the deli.

At best only one nymph might get out this way, which is easy to deal with.

 

[fleurdejoo]

Thanks Nick!

Done!

 

[Assault Ferret]

Oh my goodness!!! I'm so excited! I thought my female Tau. looked gravid over the last week or so, but was thinking, "how is that possible, I know for a fact that she's never been mated?!?!" But lo and behold she was almost done laying an ooth when I left for class this morning! I'm definitely gonna have to see if I can get it mounted and incubate it!

I'll put up a picture of the ooth, soon, if I can..

Thanks for all the info, too, everyone!

 

[Mime454]

Oh my goodness!!! I'm so excited! I thought my female Tau. looked gravid over the last week or so, but was thinking, "how is that possible, I know for a fact that she's never been mated?!?!" But lo and behold she was almost done laying an ooth when I left for class this morning! I'm definitely gonna have to see if I can get it mounted and incubate it!

I'll put up a picture of the ooth, soon, if I can..

Thanks for all the info, too, everyone!

They will lay oothecae even if they are not fertilized. Some (most) species won't hatch if you don't mate them.

 

[Paradoxica]

Well, i know this doesn't prove anything one way or another, but last night I cut open my two unfertilized ooths. Both had nothing but rotting eggs in them. So my female is not parthenogenic.

 

[fleurdejoo]

Awww! Dern!

 

[Glitch]

Taumantis are my bread and butter, love the lil critters. I'd say your ooth wont be fertile due to its shape. Had 6 mated females until recently and only some of them ended up fertile. The fertile ooths always looked more rounded and plump, the non fertile looked more..angular i guess?

Be awesome if I'm prooved wrong though, the nymps are so cute!

(and they are egg laying machines, Mimsy, my first female has pumped out about 8 ooths so far!)

 

[Mime454]

Taumantis are my bread and butter, love the lil critters. I'd say your ooth wont be fertile due to its shape. Had 6 mated females until recently and only some of them ended up fertile. The fertile ooths always looked more rounded and plump, the non fertile looked more..angular i guess?

Be awesome if I'm prooved wrong though, the nymps are so cute!

(and they are egg laying machines, Mimsy, my first female has pumped out about 8 ooths so far!)

My first one was plump, the second like Jude's. third in the middle. I don't think that that has a bearing on the fertility.

 

[Glitch]

My first one was plump, the second like Jude's. third in the middle. I don't think that that has a bearing on the fertility.

Aye, i'm keeping hold of all the ooths and trying to incubate them just incase, but so far, it's only the plump or rounded ones that've hatched. Got 4 on the go at the moment, so be interesting to see.

 

[Paradoxica]

I just cut open 2 more unfertilized ooths: nothing.

However one of the two was only laid a couple days ago, so I thought why waste it...

yum

 

[Mime454]

They eat oothecae?

 

[Mime454]

Aye, i'm keeping hold of all the ooths and trying to incubate them just incase, but so far, it's only the plump or rounded ones that've hatched. Got 4 on the go at the moment, so be interesting to see.

I the second one that hatched was a jagged one, but it did take 2 more weeks to hatch than the plump one. Similar hatch rate for both.

 

[Paradoxica]

They eat oothecae?

Yeah, weird right?This girl's been eating it for the last 2 hours!

 

[Mime454]

Yeah, weird right?

This girl's been eating it for the last 2 hours!

I bet that there are a lot if calories in them. Enough to sustain those little mantids for weeks. Crazy.