two's company, three's a crowd...

[mrblue]

...four's a party!

(p.ocellata adult female with three boys on her back)

 

[MANTIS DUDE]

Wow... your gonna get a bunch of fertle ooths, lol. She didnt have all three of those males for lunch did she? Hope not, lol! :lol:

 

[idolomantis]

ROFL i did you get that did you put all males on the female?

 

[chrisboy101]

lol thats joke

 

[mrblue]

as of right now i'm not going to get any fertile ootheca from this female, they are all still riding around on her, none have connected! whilst the previous female got mounted and mated within hours (by just the one male).

@idolomantis i didnt put them on her, i put two adult females and three adult females in one container. the first female got mated and i took her out, leaving the one female alone with three boys, who all decided to hop on! neither has finished the job though <_< there is plenty of food in with them, there is no reason for her to eat any of them.

 

[hibiscusmile]

This puts a lot of stress on the female, she needs to be with just one male in their own cage. They really do much better that way, all the males will make her stressed.

 

[ABbuggin]

This puts a lot of stress on the female, she needs to be with just one male in their own cage. They really do much better that way, all the males will make her stressed.

+1 What she says is true. B)

 

[mrblue]

she didnt seem stressed at all (she wasnt running about frantically or trying to get them off, and she was still catching and eating the odd fly), but then i guess it is very hard for us to know how the mantis is actually feeling. i removed two of the males from her just in case (the two at the sides), though to be honest i think this was way more stressful than if i had just left them be, as they were so determined to hold on i had to be very rough with them (and by proxy, her) to get them off. the way they seemed to be holding on for dear life, and would be unreactive to everything, but had made no attempt at connecting with her makes me wonder if this was not some kind of defense strategy? they did not seem that keen on mating, just with staying where they were. they were all pressed flat against her, antennae bent back. it reminded me of when boxers (the sport, not the mantids) "hug" each other to avoid getting hit. maybe clinging on to the female is a way to avoid getting eaten by her?

 

[OGIGA]

Oh my goodness... Umm, yeah, you have a fertile female to look forward to.