Mass Praying Mantis hatching

[GL3NE]

About 2 and a half months ago, I had acquired a very large Chinese Mantis from my back yard. I kept it in a medium size kritter keeper and fed it large crickets and it even ate a pinky mouse once (When nothing else would eat it! :} ). It layed an ootheca in the corner of its cage then died a week or so later...
Today just after getting home, I was sitting at my computer and heard a "crackling" noise. I look over my shoulder and see a flurry of activity in the Mantis's old cage...I take a closer look and... BABIES GALORE!! I quickly grabbed as many vials as I could find, lined the bottom with damp paper towels, and put around 6 in each vial (the vials are about 40 drams). I used 38 vials (Total of 204 nymphs approximately), and there are so MANY MORE to go! I put the remaining mantises (the amount of remaining mantises is larger than the amount in the vials) in a medium kritter keeper. They have not been able to escape from this container.
Do these guys have to shed before they start eating? Is it abnormal for a mantis egg case to hatch so early, even if it is warmer?

Yeah, this totally caught me off guard! :wall:

-- Glen

Edit: $p3L!nG

 

[Silver.x]

I layed an ootheca in the corner of its cage then died a week or so later...

Must of hurt laying an ootheca all by yourself. Not sure how you're writing this if you died, maybe some pre-teens with a Ouija board?


I believe they will shed once before feeding, and when they do feed, it'll be pinheads or fruitflies.



Aidan

 

[Vanan]

LOL! Think you're funny huh Aidan. Well you are. lmao!

You'll end up with a bunch of die-off anyways so why not do it the easier way and keep em all together. They'll reduce themselves to a manageable number.

 

[Jesse607]

They do not need to molt before they start feeding, they should start 1-3 days after hatching. I prefer to separate 10-20 nymphs and concentrate my rearing efforts on them, so that I at least have that many to work with. It is amazing how fast T. sinensis can go from 300+ to 3 when kept together, unless you fill their cage with fruit flies 2 or 3 times a day (that is a lot of fruit flies).

 

[GL3NE]

Well, here's an update on the mantises....

Most of them died off. I simply could not keep up with their varacious appetites. There are about 15 left but I am taking care of them very well. They are feeding on fruit flies and are also drinking quite a bit. I will post pictures once I get my camera back.

I gave around 20 or so nymphs to a biology teacher at my mom's school and she was fascinated. In return, I got a fruit fly culture (flying) and a bottle of ether to knock them out. All of a sudden I am not intimidated with feeding and maintaining extremely small specimens.


-- Glen

 

[Scylla]

Next time....

Why not release the excess back outside where you found the mother? Sort of re-seeding.

I once found an egg case. Left it on the window sill and forgot about it.

Uh huh, I had a living window curtain of tiny mantis' (manti?) I brushed them all up and put them out in the yard.

 

[Jesse607]

Why not release the excess back outside where you found the mother? Sort of re-seeding.

I once found an egg case. Left it on the window sill and forgot about it.

Uh huh, I had a living window curtain of tiny mantis' (manti?) I brushed them all up and put them out in the yard.

The releasing would be a good idea except that it is fall and they would all die (they normally hatch out in the spring after the danger of frost is over).

You can pluralize mantis by saying mantids.

 

[guesskatiejules]

You can pluralize mantis by saying mantids.

Oh, I didn't know that! Mantid...cool.

That is unusual for them to hatch now... What temperature was it inside the critter keeper?

 

[Jesse607]

That is unusual for them to hatch now... What temperature was it inside the critter keeper?

If kept at room temperature or higher chinese mantid oothecae will hatch in 4-8 weeks (usually around 6). The cool fall weather and cold winter prevents most of the ooths outdoors from hatching until spring.

 

[guesskatiejules]

Oh, ok. I don't know too much about mantids, so forgive me if I sound silly at times. What does an ootheca look like? Like a little egg?

 

[sydster]

as soon as the mantisis hatch they float to the grond on somthing like spider web as soon as they touch th grond they molt . the molt last a couple seconds since they are so small and dont ahve much skin to shed