Some Praying Mantis questions from a noob!

[awilliams]

I am 60 and remember finding a praying mantis egg case in a field near my house as a kid. Left it in an enclosed screened porch and they started hatching : )

Got them outside after that.

Over the years, we've bought some egg cases to help with bugs in the yard. Once in a while over the years, we would see one and hold it / feed it a mealworm

Not sure why with all the walking in parks / hiking we do, I never thought to look for cases in the fields.

Anyway, we walked in the marshy right of way of power lines that they are replacing near us. - they laid a boardwalk for the machinery for a couple miles! We found a bunch of egg cases.

1) Any idea if they were 'laid' last year? I know they don't look different after the mantis come out. Do they break down over that summer? Or could it hang around a couple years with no change in appearance? ie do they likely have eggs in them?

2) We are in central NJ. Any idea when they usually start hatching? I want to set up a web cam so I don't miss them coming out.

3) I had already bought some online this year. The instructions said to keep them inside a garage / shed in a paper bag or similar to hatch then move them soon after outside. Seems they would hatch too soon for the weather outside potentially? but their argument is that animals can't get to them in the garage. Any thoughts? I do realize they can eat each other if too close together without food.

4) Would you mist the egg cases when in the garage? They won't be getting rained on in the garage.

5) the ones we bought weren't on sticks. Would you just lay it on its side in the bag? or try to keep it off the bottom of bag / vertical?

6) Does anyone keep them as pets? 1 per cage / fish tank? we have several 10 gal aquariums from the kids growing up. Is mealworms enough food for them? Put some branches in the aquarium? Mist the aquarum once in a while?

THANKS!

 

[hibiscusmile]

I keep them year round. the eggs will be a bit heavy if there are eggs inside, I can tell by feeling them if they are good or hatched.
You will need to mist them a couple times a week as otherwise they will dry out. you can put some outside and watch for a hatching. you can also
put one in a butterfly net cage outside and keep an eye on it so when they hatch the birds dont eat them all. Then release them after a couple days to get food.

 

[paumotu]

In reference to question 6, depending on the species, you may be able to get away with communal housing. A ten gallon should be sufficient for less voracious species such as Phyllocrania or Heterochaeta. I’ve even had success reading Deroplatys in groups. However, the vast majority of species are best kept separately.

Mealworms are good as a supplement to the mantis’ diet, but as a staple they really aren’t the most nutritious. I suggest mixing in some flying prey like moths/bees, and feeding gutloaded roaches.

Branches and other decor can be useful as molting surfaces, but try not to clutter the tank; mantids need sufficient space to molt.

Misting requirements vary from species to species, but generally I like to provide my specimens with water at least once a day. Your egg case is likely of Tenodera sinensis, the nymphs of which can be a little fragile early on. I recommend providing them with water at all times, though not in puddles or a bowl which may drown hatchlings.