My Chinese Mantids have entered their L3 stage. They are getting quite large. I would say around an inch to an inch and a half. They are developing their beautiful green coloration. They are still housed together in a 10 gallon tank. To my surprise I still have about 100 of them left. Canabilism is accuring but not at the rate that I suspected. They are still on fruit flies, (D. melanogaster), but are out growing these quickly. I am going to try some 1/4 inch crickets in a few days. I had 3 other Chinese Mantid oothecae available and they started to hatch. There was no way I could house and feed another 600 or so mantids, so I placed the ootheca into the L3 mantis's aquarium. They provided a larger food source. I was amazed at how big the L3s were compaired to the L1. They have been together about a week. The L3's are certainly preying on the L1s. But not as fast as I thought they would. I am hoping the preying on the L1s will cut down on the canibalism of the L3s.
The European Mantid nymphs are almost 2 weeks old now. They are really tiny compared to the Chinese nymphs of the same age. A tragic thing has happened. All but 4 of these nymphs has died. I really don't know why. I was thinking that I didn't mist them enough. That's just a guess. They are in a 1 gallon jar and will be placed in individual jars in a couple of days. I am worried about these because they don't seem to be agressivly feeding on the flies. They actually run away when the flies come near. LOL If anyone has raised these European Mantids I sure could use some advise.
The European Mantid nymphs are almost 2 weeks old now. They are really tiny compared to the Chinese nymphs of the same age. A tragic thing has happened. All but 4 of these nymphs has died. I really don't know why. I was thinking that I didn't mist them enough. That's just a guess. They are in a 1 gallon jar and will be placed in individual jars in a couple of days. I am worried about these because they don't seem to be agressivly feeding on the flies. They actually run away when the flies come near. LOL If anyone has raised these European Mantids I sure could use some advise.