(UPDATED WITH PICS!!)New to MantidForum.com (Many Questions)

[Clobro]

Alright Here's my story... A few days ago after coming back from playing soccer.. (I was talking to my friend on my balcony).. from the corner of my eye I noticed a bright green object moving on my redish door.. and yeha it ends up being a Praying Mantis! so i observe it for abit and notice its friendly as it gently reached out for my hand and walked up along it.. so I decided to keep the little guy.. as its starting to get cold up here in canada.. and im sure S/HE wouldnt do so well and last too long in this weather.. ok.. so here's there thing I would like to know what sepcies it is.. if its a female.. and its life span.. I took pics of it.. but dont know how to post the pics... S/HE has been doing VERY well.. eating like a little pig.. my mantis jsut tday ate 2 large grasshoppers... a Moth.. a few crickets and a small silkworm!.. i've even set up a nice aquarium with branches.. plants an other things to mimic the outide world.. anyway help would be appreciated.. heh.. just think.. a little thing like finding a mantis gets me into this hobby (I already own many leopard geckos by the way)... and now im very interested in Mantis'!

(Here's pics of the mantis Hunting a Cricket.. and pics of it's enclosure)

-PXFL- :!:

 

[danswan]

Clobro, you've come to the right place.

Being a fellow Canuck, I'll hazard a guess that you've got a Tenodera Sinensis: Chinese Mantis - Common in central Canada.

You've done well so far. Keep feeding your little friend a varied diet. Take it out for a walk once in a while, but don't pick it up - Let it step onto your hand. Mist the cage every couple of days.

Don't hesitate to post any and all Questions you may have.

Congrats.

 

[Rick]

Welcome. We have an introductions forum to intro yourself. To post pics they have to be hosted somewhere like photobucket.com. Then just copy and paste the URL over here into the message field.

 

[Ian]

Hi Clobro,

Welcome to the forum! Photos would be great, and will answer pretty much all of these questions you want to know.

 

[yen_saw]

HI CLobro, i know european mantis (Mantis Religiosa) has a huge appetite and can be found in your area too. If you see two black dots inside the mantis forearm it should be one of them. Relax you are doing alright most mantis in the wild are adult by now and will live for another 2-3 months.

 

[Clobro]

yup my mantis has 2 black dots on the inside of its arm..I would say armpit area theyre more of a swirly black dot.. with abit of white.. and a yellow mdot in the middle of it... I'm uploading pics to a hosting site now.. and read on how to post pics.. I'll get some posted within a few mins!

 

[Clobro]

soooo.. Can anyone tell which species my mantis is.. and its sex now that i provided pics of it?

 

[wuwu]

it's definitely a female. males never have such large abdomens.

 

[Clobro]

she's wild caught.. is there any way of telling if she has been mated?... and also... what species is she?.. and if she isnt mated.. where can i purchase a male for her?

 

[Rick]

Since shes wild caught she is most likely mated. She appears close to laying an ooth too. I'm thinking it's a European mantis and she looks a bit different than a chinese. The pics are kinda small for me to really tell.

 

[Clobro]

^^ I'll get back to you guys with more pics!

 

[yen_saw]

I am almost certain that she is a very pregnant mantis religiosa, although it is not easy to identify from your pics, your description fits this species. She is most likely mated as Rick mentioned. Good luck!

 

[Veggie]

Hey Clobro, Indeed you do have a mantis religiosa (European mantis)

She will start laying ooth any day now if she didn't already from your last post. (I'm betting she has)

whether they will be fertile or not-is impossible to know at this point

Once you have a ooth or two (egg case) from her, place them in a ventilated case date them/put them in the fridge (not freezer) wait four weeks and then start to incubate them under summer conditions...if you want them..if not just place them outside in a safe spot.

(some say this species ooth has to go through a cold period)

and I've always had my hands full with no hurry to get them hatching so I've always followed that rule. maybe they don't need the cold period....

PS...don't be too surprised when she passes away...and don't feed her anything real BIG

 

[Clobro]

^^ She hasnt laid the ooth yet.. lol.. dont feed her anything too big?.. ahah she's an eating machine.. took out grasshoppers more then half her size.. large moths... and jsut yesterday a bee!.. anyway I'll update you guys when she lays an ooth!... It'll be a sad day for me when she passes away.. she's so friendly ...

-PXFL-

 

[clemsonfight]

^^ She hasnt laid the ooth yet.. lol.. dont feed her anything too big?.. ahah she's an eating machine.. took out grasshoppers more then half her size.. large moths... and jsut yesterday a bee!.. anyway I'll update you guys when she lays an ooth!... It'll be a sad day for me when she passes away.. she's so friendly ...-PXFL-

but once she lays an ooth, if its fertile, you may be able to care for her offspring

 

[Veggie]

Clobro, it can only take one katydid to end her life...I'm sure you had the fun seeing her eat bigger things but one of these times you'll see the unexpected

PS she I'm sure already laid a few ooth in the wild..lets just hope she lays a few for you before passing.