When will my newborns molt?

[cdcrocks]

I've got a couple hundred 4 day old chinese nymphs that seem to be eating well. What I want to know is when they will molt, so I can stop feeding them. They don't always eat right away when I give them food, so it's going to be hard for me to tell when they're slowing down. And how often should they molt after that?

This is my first time raising mantids, so I'm pretty nervous.

 

[TheBeesKnees]

when they no longer respond to food items, and/or when their tiny little abdomens look so plump that they couldn't possibly eat more, they're probably ready to molt. It shouldn't be very long, maybe a week or so after hatching (though I've heard it can take up to around 20 days in some species!).

Mantids usually go through seven molts in their life-time. The amount of time between molts depends on their species, how much you feed them, and what stage they are at. The further along in the number of molts they've gone through, the longer the time will be between molts. But the more food you feed them, the shorter the time between molts will be. However, different species seem to produce biomass and differing speeds (is it due to metabolism? I'm not sure!) and molts occur when the mantis has built up a sufficiant amount of mass--so different species have longer time between molts than others. (at least, this has all been my understanding based on my limited observations so far).

Good luck with your babies!! I'm sure you'll do just fine with 'em

 

[cdcrocks]

They're still eating and some look rather skinny, so going by that I'm guessing it'll be a few days.

I'm just worried that when they do stop being active to molt, I'll think they're dead and toss them when cleaning out the containers! Will there be any way for me to tell? And will they be totally still for a few hours or a whole day or two? From what I've seen, they hang from their feet when molting, right? I've had so many die of cannibalism and getting stuck in water droplets that I'm not sure if I'll have any adults if molting is as dangerous as people say.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, but I'm afraid I have more questions than I know what to do with.

 

[Rick]

Generally within a week or two of hatching. Don't worry about removing all food for these as the flies shouldn't disturb them much.

 

[TheBeesKnees]

If they're not belly up or face in the dirt, don't assume them dead. they'll need to hang upside down to molt, so do make sure they'll be able to do so. According to what I have heard, it is apparently not unusual to see only 20% or so if your mantids make it past infanthood, so just keep diligent, do lots of research along the way, and things should come out just fine.

If not, there's always next time :] ♡

 

[cdcrocks]

Last night while feeding, I found 4 successfully molted babies! No mismolts so far, so I'm hopeful! Thank you guys again for the tips.

Edit: 19 succesful molts, not a single issue. I dont know why I was so worried.