Egyptian Mantis oothecae

[Old World]

Just thought I'd share my Miomantis paykullii ooth setup. They should be hatching in the next couple weeks, where I will feed them my fruit flies. I hear they can be a communal species. Anyone with experience with these guys want to chime in? I plan on raising them up, feeding some off to my chams, and breeding some adults, if I can get that far. The excselsior will have some perching mantids soon!

2 ooths incubating


closeup


fruit flies!

 

[Old World]

Update: They are hatching! I don't know exactly when they hatched; could have been as early as yesterday. I counted about a dozen between my 2 ooths so far. I tried capturing them with my pitiful Nikon S210, but no luck. They are about 3 times as long as Melanogaster FF, but thinner. I offered them some FF, and it was a joy watching them stalk the flies and tackling prey that is barely smaller than they are! (does that make me sick? ) They're so cool, it's gonna be hard feeding off some of them to my chams.

 

[sdheli420]

Update: They are hatching! I don't know exactly when they hatched; could have been as early as yesterday. I counted about a dozen between my 2 ooths so far. I tried capturing them with my pitiful Nikon S210, but no luck. They are about 3 times as long as Melanogaster FF, but thinner. I offered them some FF, and it was a joy watching them stalk the flies and tackling prey that is barely smaller than they are! (does that make me sick? ) They're so cool, it's gonna be hard feeding off some of them to my chams.

sweet..i normally have the violin mantids(ive been liking the look of them, and the devils flower mantids) from what i know They can be kept together if you provide them with ample food and space, this species has been know to live together upto adult hood. Keep a close eye on them, if you start having problems, place them into their own living areas!

 

[Old World]

I saw the violin mantids on a website; they are crazy looking! I thought about doing ghost mantids, and other known communal species. But I picked egyptian mantids because I hear they can be communal, as adults they are only about 1.5", and they are green! I do have a bunch of 80oz. modified deli cups ready to become individual mantis homes if need be. Are mantids as easy to keep as some say they are?

 

[sdheli420]

I saw the violin mantids on a website; they are crazy looking! I thought about doing ghost mantids, and other known communal species. But I picked egyptian mantids because I hear they can be communal, as adults they are only about 1.5", and they are green! I do have a bunch of 80oz. modified deli cups ready to become individual mantis homes if need be. Are mantids as easy to keep as some say they are?

actually yes..they dont eat that much really..well the violins dont (also why i got into them, they are communal)..but just give them some humidity, and as long as they stay warm and have a big belly they will molt quickly..they slow down molting times once they are fairly big..i love mantids, and its way hard to feed them off once they grow

 

[Old World]

actually yes..they dont eat that much really..well the violins dont (also why i got into them, they are communal)..but just give them some humidity, and as long as they stay warm and have a big belly they will molt quickly..they slow down molting times once they are fairly big..i love mantids, and its way hard to feed them off once they grow

Right on! They stay in my warm humid chameleon room. If I had an exotic looking mantis, like violin, orchids, ghosts, etc...I don't think I could feed them off. Way too cool! Do you breed yours frequently? Do you ever sell their oothecae?

 

[sdheli420]

Right on! They stay in my warm humid chameleon room. If I had an exotic looking mantis, like violin, orchids, ghosts, etc...I don't think I could feed them off. Way too cool! Do you breed yours frequently? Do you ever sell their oothecae?

i have bred them a few times once put an ooth in the back yard (was orchid mantids, found a few and kept them) but the last ooth i had was of chinese mantids (female was so well fed she left the male chillen)..im still waiting on my violins..just slow growers..just had my third molt from my female..these guys are kinda weird..i keep them at cooler temps for about two weeks, then put then under the lamps and it triggers a molt with them..

 

[SSimsswiSS]

But I picked egyptian mantids because I hear they can be communal

If not kept fed, they can be very cannibalistic. I was just having this discussion with a big time mantis keeper. He called them cannibalistic bastards. I keep them seperate til adults and keep about 3 pairs to a small screen cage together. With nobody losing their life yet. Also, females with lay hatchable ooths without mating with male, but will only produce more sisters.
Their green / yellowish color make them a very attractive feeder for chameleons.

 

[clarkrw3]

where did you get yours from? Mantis Place? If you get one of these butterfly enclosures can you house a punch in that?

 

[sdheli420]

If not kept fed, they can be very cannibalistic. I was just having this discussion with a big time mantis keeper. He called them cannibalistic bastards. I keep them seperate til adults and keep about 3 pairs to a small screen cage together. With nobody losing their life yet. Also, females with lay hatchable ooths without mating with male, but will only produce more sister.
Their green / yellowish color make them a very attractive feeder for chameleons.

totally right..truthfully even the "communal" ones are still canniballistic..beeing well fed usually changes that..and the violins for some reason are afraid of larger food items and seem to only go for flying insects..weird..

 

[Old World]

Yeah, I was afraid they could turn cannibalistic. I do have 6-80oz. Insect cups and a 10 gallon aquarium with FF grade mesh screen top to house them separately as they get larger. Lots of excelsior, wood skewers, and sphagnum moss. For now, I am keeping them in their hatching container with loads of d. melanogaster FF.
This is meant to be an occasional treat for my chams. I think the cost-benefit ratio is excellent, as it costs next to nothing to make good FF media. And when they outgrow FF, hopefully they will take to b. dubia nymphs.
Thanks for the great tips guys. This will be a fun experiment!

 

[Old World]

where did you get yours from? Mantis Place? If you get one of these butterfly enclosures can you house a punch in that?

Yes, mantisplace.com. Goofy website, but great selection of stuff. Got loads of house fly pupae too, which of course my chams loved. Be warned though, you will pay more than $10 for shipping if your order is fairly large (though you wouldn't know it from their site). No idea about the butterfly enclosures, but the insect cups are cheap.