Help with Mantis

[Normski2020uk]

Hello all, i just want some help, reasurance with my Mantis.:worship: I have an Adult Male, African Mantis. He usualy eats well, but has not eaten for the last 4 weeks. I have tryed changing the feeders, ive tryed Locust, Black crickets, and brown, even tryed a pinky. He is not interested. Is it normal for them to fast? Or is something wrong with him.:?

 

[Mr. Mordax]

He may be reaching the end of his life cycle, and just waiting for a female. Did he eat much after his final molt?

 

[scorpio scorp]

Hope This Helps

Feeding a Praying Mantis: A variety of feeder insects should be provided for your praying mantis. The best way to make sure nutritional needs are met is to feed a number of different kinds of prey (fruit flies and aphids for nymphs, instars and smaller mantids, and a variety of flying insects such as moths, fruit flies, and house flies along with an occasional cricket or mealworm for larger ones). Make sure the prey has been gut loaded (feed a vitamin enriched food to the prey, which will be passed on to the mantis).

all mantids are carnivores, feeding mainly on other insects and spiders (some of the larger mantids may even eat small amphibians and reptiles).

 

[scorpio scorp]

Expected Life Span of a Praying Mantis: The expected life span of a praying mantis depends on the species, but tmaximum is about a year for the entire life cycle. However, most will only live as adults for about 6 months (less for some species of praying mantis).

 

[Normski2020uk]

Thanks all, i have to say i have been miss lead, i was informed the Giant African that i hav (well my son has) has i life span of 10 Years, clearly this is not true, gutted. and feelin a little stupid.

 

[P.jasonius]

There's a book by Prete, Wells, and Hurd: "The Praying Mantids", that is around 300 pp long, probably the most comprehensive on the subject. Its spendy, though, I think I paid around 90$US for my copy.
Apparently there isn't much information about the lifespan of mantids, and what information is available only covers a 'handful' of around 2000 species. I didn't read anything about any mantid living more than 300 days(an African spp), where the shortest lived around 80. Sorry brother, I love mantids, but if you keep them be prepared to preserve them, 'cause they won't last long. What species was it?

 

[Mr. Mordax]

My H. grandis is on her way out, and she's the Methusala of mantids, compared to the local species. I got her as a 1st or 2nd instar at the very end of February, so she's almost 9 months old. She's not very responsive anymore and has a hard time hanging onto her palm tree with more than four or five legs.

 

[LayneNugget]

my chinese mantid barely eats anymore too....i'm just kinda waiting for her to lay her ootheca and die.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I don't think I'll get an ootheca from mine . . . she's never mated. That's the sad part about mantids; there's no 20-year lifespans.

 

[Normski2020uk]

My one is a S.Viridis, u think next time i will get a batch, and breed them. Feel a little guilty that this one has not had the opertunity to breed. Any one have any good ideas on how best to preserve them, other than sealing in silicon

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I've heard posing them and then soaking overnight in acetone should work. You have to pose first 'cause acetone dries them out a lot. There's also rubbing alcohol and a glass jar. I'd recommend enthanol, not methanol. It smells better and it's what the bug-people I know use to preserve their specimens.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Well, my Giant Indian died last night. I preserved her with alcohol, but Fred Meyer only had isopropanol (which is what I meant to say in my last post instead of methanol). She was about nine months old, so I'd tag her lifespan at 270 days, give or take. Pretty good for a mantis.

 

[LayneNugget]

yeah mine died the other night too. it's such a shame that they dont last the winter when kept indoors. mine never laid her ootheca, i'm almost positive she's female because she only has 6 abd. segments. oh well.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I never count the segments to sex them. Females are larger than the males, have broader abdomens, and shorter antennae. Males are more spindly and have long antennae.

Female European mantis:

Male European mantis: