Tenodera sinensis ootheca found in Cape Cod

[MantidBro]

This is the first time I've found a mantids' ootheca in the wild. For vacation, the family went to Cape Cod (MA) and right before the whale watch, I found the ootheca on the branch of a bush in the parking lot. I was shocked to have found it, thinking "What are the odds?" I don't find oothecae in the woods near my house, but they've got oothecae right on bushes in parking lots beside the ocean over in Cape Cod? Crazy. And coincidental, seeing how I love mantids. I wonder if I would have seen it if I didn't know what they looked like?

I'm not sure if it's fertile or if it's already hatched, but I'm giving it a shot and incubating it. There were no strings hanging from it so it might not have hatched yet, if it is fertile, but the strings do come off pretty easily (I took them off the T. angustipennis ootheca I hatched so it'd look nice for the show-case) so I'm not positive.

Here's the ootheca set up in a deli cup:

(I had some Boxelder bugs in the container with the ootheca but have since moved them into another container so the egg's in there alone.)

 

[jrh3]

awesome man wonder what the outcome is .

 

[MantidBro]

awesome man wonder what the outcome is .

Yeah it was awesome, thanks, and I'm wondering too hope I'll have some more nymphs.

 

[ladygigi]

That's cool. B) I've looked for them in the wild and never found anything but old ooths that had hatched years before, so that's pretty awesome to just find one sort of on accident! ^_^ I'll wish you luck and be looking forward to seeing what happens!

 

[Mvalenz]

Awesome! I found my first wild T. Sinensis ooth over the winter behind a grocery store. If yours is fertile it doesn't look like it hatched yet.

 

[ladygigi]

Awesome! I found my first wild T. Sinensis ooth over the winter behind a grocery store. If yours is fertile it doesn't look like it hatched yet.

I agree, it doesn't appear to me either to have hatched yet.

 

[Rick]

Get in the right place and you will be amazed at how many you can find. Empty lot close to my house I found about 70 in an hour this winter. I also found T. angustipennis and S. carolina in the same lot.

 

[MantidBro]

That's cool. B) I've looked for them in the wild and never found anything but old ooths that had hatched years before, so that's pretty awesome to just find one sort of on accident! ^_^ I'll wish you luck and be looking forward to seeing what happens!

Thanks! I've never found them where I live and I thought it'd be so much more likely for me to find them here than ten feet away from the ocean. Thanks for the luck and I'm looking forward to it too!

 

[MantidBro]

Awesome! I found my first wild T. Sinensis ooth over the winter behind a grocery store. If yours is fertile it doesn't look like it hatched yet.

That's crazy! I'm always in the woods walking on paths and I never find oothecae! So it was weird to me that I found it ten feet from the ocean on a bush in a parking lot lol. I hope it hasn't hatched yet and is fertile that'd be awesome.

 

[MantidBro]

I agree, it doesn't appear to me either to have hatched yet.

Hope you guys are right! That'd be great.

 

[MantidBro]

Get in the right place and you will be amazed at how many you can find. Empty lot close to my house I found about 70 in an hour this winter. I also found T. angustipennis and S. carolina in the same lot.

I walk through the woods all the time and have never seen one yet! I found it odd that I found one ten feet from the ocean in a parking lot rather than deep in the woods. I'm sure there were probably more oothecae there but I didn't have much time to check, it's amazing I was able to find just that one in the amount of time I had. But it was clearly visible.

 

[Coneja]

That's crazy, to just randomly find one in a parking lot like that! Way to go! Hope it hatches for you and you get lots of little mantis-lets!

 

[MantidBro]

That's crazy, to just randomly find one in a parking lot like that! Way to go! Hope it hatches for you and you get lots of little mantis-lets!

I know, and the first one I've ever seen, while I'm on vacation at the ocean! Crazy stuff. Thanks, and I hope so, too.

 

[Digger]

Looks like a healthy one MB. I've just hatched 3 ooths I found in the wild about a month or so ago. Estimated over 600 babies. You'll have a blast ! Make sure you have a full-blown melano culture for their burgeoning appetites !

 

[Coneja]

Best vacation ever! Hear that, past vacations? We had some fun times but you're not good enough anymore! Bring me an ooth or a mantis, then we'll talk...

 

[Rick]

I walk through the woods all the time and have never seen one yet! I found it odd that I found one ten feet from the ocean in a parking lot rather than deep in the woods. I'm sure there were probably more oothecae there but I didn't have much time to check, it's amazing I was able to find just that one in the amount of time I had. But it was clearly visible.

Deep in the woods is the last place you want to look. Weedy meadows, overgrown lots and fencelines, field edges, etc are the places to look.

 

[MantidBro]

Looks like a healthy one MB. I've just hatched 3 ooths I found in the wild about a month or so ago. Estimated over 600 babies. You'll have a blast ! Make sure you have a full-blown melano culture for their burgeoning appetites !

Yeah it was, ended up hatching this morning (Sunday). That was exactly a week since I found it. Got about 100 nymphs. I've had oothecae before and it is a great experience having nymphs to care for and watch them reach adulthood.

 

[MantidBro]

Best vacation ever! Hear that, past vacations? We had some fun times but you're not good enough anymore! Bring me an ooth or a mantis, then we'll talk...

For real lol. And I found it right on my birthday! Nice gift!

 

[MantidBro]

Deep in the woods is the last place you want to look. Weedy meadows, overgrown lots and fencelines, field edges, etc are the places to look.

Oh interesting. Thanks for the info! Some people do find them in the woods too though.