I work in a pet store. A few weeks ago, a woman came in with a Praying Mantis in a cage. She said she found it where she lives and didn't want it to get stepped on so she brought it in to the store. I took it from there and have been keeping it since.
It looks to be an adult Chinese Mantis and she was pregnant (at least I believe the eggs to have been fertilized). What I need to know are the following:
1. She isn't going to live much longer. From what I read, Mantids don't live long (A year or so?) and become sexually mature late in their life cycle so there really isn't anything I can do there.
2. I should take the Ootheca out of the cage in a few days when the foam case hardens enough to be moved (she laid the one last night and I assume more are to come) and place it in it's own tank since they need a different climate to survive.
3. It's going to be winter here in New York soon. However. this species of Mantis has a cycle where it lays it's eggs in the early-mid fall and then the eggs inside basically hibernate until it warms enough for them to hatch. So, if I keep them cold (I'm not sure how cold but I read a refrigerator would be fine) then they wouldn't die and I could prevent them from hatching until it's warm enough.
4. I plan to release them back into the wild when spring comes around (I originally planned to do that with the adult until I read about their short life span). So, do I just leave the egg sack(s) outside and let nature take its course or would I be better off hatching them in captivity and then releasing them?
Thank you for the help.
It looks to be an adult Chinese Mantis and she was pregnant (at least I believe the eggs to have been fertilized). What I need to know are the following:
1. She isn't going to live much longer. From what I read, Mantids don't live long (A year or so?) and become sexually mature late in their life cycle so there really isn't anything I can do there.
2. I should take the Ootheca out of the cage in a few days when the foam case hardens enough to be moved (she laid the one last night and I assume more are to come) and place it in it's own tank since they need a different climate to survive.
3. It's going to be winter here in New York soon. However. this species of Mantis has a cycle where it lays it's eggs in the early-mid fall and then the eggs inside basically hibernate until it warms enough for them to hatch. So, if I keep them cold (I'm not sure how cold but I read a refrigerator would be fine) then they wouldn't die and I could prevent them from hatching until it's warm enough.
4. I plan to release them back into the wild when spring comes around (I originally planned to do that with the adult until I read about their short life span). So, do I just leave the egg sack(s) outside and let nature take its course or would I be better off hatching them in captivity and then releasing them?
Thank you for the help.