Anyone raised mantids for release?

Vespertino · December 30, 2014

Hey fellow T'villers!

I've ordered some Carolina mantid oothecas for 2015 release, they should arrive this week then they will live in the fridge until the weather warms up.

Has anyone raised mantids before from the ootheca hatching stage?

I would like to hatch them indoors and release them into the garden (and other places, as well as backyards of friends who have pest issues). I know I could just leave the ootheca outside (properly placed, of course) and they will in theory do just fine in nature, but with the crazy thaws and hard freezes we've gotten in Texas I'm not so sure I want to do that.

Would it help their chances if I kept them indoors a few weeks in a proper enclosure with bugs to eat (so they don't cannibalize each other) and let them build up some strength before sending them on their merry way? I wouldn't plan on hatching them until temps were steadily in the 70's.

I was thinking of using large butteryfly enclosures and mason jars with a mesh cap for housing and transporting them.

Any advice?

I was lucky enough to find one, but only one, female Carolina mantis in my garden. I named her "Harvey" before I realized it was a female, but the name stuck. I haven't found any ootheca in my yard so far so I don't even know if she was able to mate. I didn't see any other mantids in the yard at all. This year I want LOTS more mantids patrolling the yard for bugs. I ordered 6 oothecas, which should get me 20-60 baby mantids per...

matereater · January 1, 2015

Yes Ive raised them before but its been a few years. They are quite interesting to watch develop.

The new born (1st instar) are quite small like the size of a mosquito so if you plan to keep indoors you'll need a small enough screen to keep them caged. I used to use a 10 gallon fish tank with regular window screen to cover the top. Be sure to place some sticks in to give them something to crawl on.

A mantis ootheca can hatch anywhere from 100 - 400 of these little buggers so be prepared. I've never heard or seen an ootheca hatch 20-60 as you stated, its typically much much more.

The best food source you can use to feed initially is the wingless fruitfly. These can be ordered in kits online and can get a bit expensive, but size wise its the best choice for the newborns as the are intimidated by anything larger.

Most mantids have voracious appetites so some cannibalism is to be expected especially if an alternate food source isnt available. Try and place them in your yard where there is an adequate food source or they will die off or move on.

Typically in the fall, especially here in Michigan the adults will die off when the weather gets cold so I would often bring them indoors in the late fall. I would usually have anywhere from 10 - 30 and would feed with crickets (this too can get expensive depending on how long they live) most would eventually die off by Jan or Feb but they're interesting to watch when theyre feeding.

Hope this helps a bit. If you have specific questions dont hesitate to ask. Just have fun with it, its pretty neat !!

Vespertino · January 2, 2015

Thanks Steve! You provided a lot of useful information. I had been wondering what type of food would work best for the newly hatched mantids, and your suggestion on the wingless flies is exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

I don't have a fish tank, but I planned on getting some monarch enclosures (large mesh cubes, collapse-able with zippered doors) like these http://www.livemonarch.com/store_enclosures.php. That way I could stash the enclosures away once the mantids were released and I could always set them up again if I wanted to hatch ootheca for the net year.

I'm hoping for as many baby Carolina mantids as I can get, I'd read somewhere that the Carolina oothecas hatch 20-60, and the chinese mantid ootheca will hatch 100-200.

I've actually ordered both carolina and chinese oothecas, the latter by accident. I bought some mantid ootheca at the garden store, but later found out they weren't the native carolina mantids. The chinese mantids are considered naturalized, but they're larger and can outcompete native mantids- which I don't want to do so I found an carolina mantid ootheca supplier and ordered some. I'm not sure what to do about the chinese mantid oothecas. I don't want to put an end to them, but I don't want to release them into the wild, and hubs is against me keeping mantids as pets (he's ok with the hatch-and-release idea at least). I'm hoping to find a local buddy that would want to raise the chinese mantids as pets, but there's still no guarantee they won't release some into the wild.

MissS · January 2, 2015

My daughter and I have raised many mantis from oothecas, both indoors and out. Outdoors you will have a better result, but it is possible with some effort to raise them indoors. We have used cages just like the one that you intend on using and they do work quite well. One of the problems that you will encounter is keeping the humidity up if you hatch them indoors. Be sure to keep them out of direct sunlight and mist the mesh netting frequently. This also is a way to supply water for the young to drink. It sounds as if you have your food source covered.

If you decide to keep the indoors for longer than the first instar (molt) then you will start to experience higher losses. The mantis are immobile for a time during molting and this is when the most damage can occur whether by predation or injury. In fact, I would suggest that you begin releasing the mantis the day that they hatch. A few her and a few there. Keep up the release each day until they are all outdoors. If you would like to try raising some indoors keep about 3-4. They are a lot of work to maintain indoors and come July each will need to have its own cage.

Have fun with this. They are truly amazing creatures.

NatureRevering_TreeHugger · January 2, 2015

I have not raised them but did hatch several egg sacs. Used the brown paper bag method inside and just checked them everyday. Bit of a warning if you use the bag method, since it takes forever for them to hatch, you will become accustomed to checking the bags everyday and seeing nothing in there that when they do finally hatch it may scare you. The day they hatched I nonchalantly opened one of the bags to see hundreds of itty bitty alien looking faces staring at me. Squealed like a little girl and almost threw the bag from being so startled. lol

Oh and don't be a dummy like me when releasing them. Because of the stories of mantids' cannibalism I thought it would be safest to sprinkle them all over in different areas of the garden so they could have their own little sections. Instead what happened was a rapid genocide. Every gosh darnoodley bird in the neighborhood thought I was sprinkling crunching live treats out for them. If my shame and guilt can teach any lesson it is, for the love of god, release those poor babies in bushes or some kind of cover.

Good luck and have fun.

~Hugs and Smooches~

austinnhanasmom · January 2, 2015

I have done this many times.

I placed the egg sack in a butterfly habitat. When the indoor temp reaches the proper temp for hatching, they will emerge. I bought fruit flies (reptile shop). I would tap flies into the habitat daily or whenever the flies were all gone. My climate is very dry, so I also had to mist the habitat.

I would talk to the babies constantly before release. One year, I found quite a few of the adults in my yard and they LOVED for me to hold them, and chatter at them. They would turn their heads like a dog

Eventually, I had so many egg cases on my brick and in the yard, I just let them hatch naturally. The "wild" ones won't let me hold them, and could care less what I say.

I have noticed that sometimes we have such a mild spring, they naturally hatch too early. A late storm kills them all.

One issue with my house is I keep it cold and after they would hatch inside, I had to keep it warmer - for the bugs...

Vespertino · January 11, 2015

Thanks for all the advice! I've joined a mantis forum and discovered that I need to carefully mist the ootheca while they're in the fridge (2-3 times per week) in a breathable container so they don't dry out, but to take care so they don't mold over.

I'm on the lookout for a good home for the Chinese mantid ootheca, I wouldn't want them released into the wild so as not to compete with the native varieties. So I'm hoping to find someone who would like to hatch them and keep them as pets. The Chinese mantis is considered "naturalized" because it's was brought to the USA back in the late 1800's, but read that they do out-compete other native species because they're larger in size and their ootheca produce many many more babies than the other species. I was very fond of my little Carolina mantis and I wouldn't want to make things more difficult for them by releasing Chinese mantids around here.

So if there are any takers let me know, I have 2 Chinese ooths, free to a good home as long as they won't be released into the wild

MissS · January 11, 2015

If you do not find any takers for the Chinese ootheca's, there is a wonderful site called insectnet.com. I am sure that you would easily find a good home for them there you might even find someone willing to trade varieties with you.

You will also find a wealth of information on how to care for your buggy friends.

matereater · January 12, 2015

I will gladly take them off your hands for you, but I wouldn't raise them I would release them around my yard.

December 30, 2014	#1
Vespertino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Southlake, TX Posts: 743	Anyone raised mantids for release? Hey fellow T'villers! I've ordered some Carolina mantid oothecas for 2015 release, they should arrive this week then they will live in the fridge until the weather warms up. Has anyone raised mantids before from the ootheca hatching stage? I would like to hatch them indoors and release them into the garden (and other places, as well as backyards of friends who have pest issues). I know I could just leave the ootheca outside (properly placed, of course) and they will in theory do just fine in nature, but with the crazy thaws and hard freezes we've gotten in Texas I'm not so sure I want to do that. Would it help their chances if I kept them indoors a few weeks in a proper enclosure with bugs to eat (so they don't cannibalize each other) and let them build up some strength before sending them on their merry way? I wouldn't plan on hatching them until temps were steadily in the 70's. I was thinking of using large butteryfly enclosures and mason jars with a mesh cap for housing and transporting them. Any advice? I was lucky enough to find one, but only one, female Carolina mantis in my garden. I named her "Harvey" before I realized it was a female, but the name stuck. I haven't found any ootheca in my yard so far so I don't even know if she was able to mate. I didn't see any other mantids in the yard at all. This year I want LOTS more mantids patrolling the yard for bugs. I ordered 6 oothecas, which should get me 20-60 baby mantids per...

January 1, 2015	#2
matereater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: S.E. Michigan (Livonia) Posts: 1,264	Yes Ive raised them before but its been a few years. They are quite interesting to watch develop. The new born (1st instar) are quite small like the size of a mosquito so if you plan to keep indoors you'll need a small enough screen to keep them caged. I used to use a 10 gallon fish tank with regular window screen to cover the top. Be sure to place some sticks in to give them something to crawl on. A mantis ootheca can hatch anywhere from 100 - 400 of these little buggers so be prepared. I've never heard or seen an ootheca hatch 20-60 as you stated, its typically much much more. The best food source you can use to feed initially is the wingless fruitfly. These can be ordered in kits online and can get a bit expensive, but size wise its the best choice for the newborns as the are intimidated by anything larger. Most mantids have voracious appetites so some cannibalism is to be expected especially if an alternate food source isnt available. Try and place them in your yard where there is an adequate food source or they will die off or move on. Typically in the fall, especially here in Michigan the adults will die off when the weather gets cold so I would often bring them indoors in the late fall. I would usually have anywhere from 10 - 30 and would feed with crickets (this too can get expensive depending on how long they live) most would eventually die off by Jan or Feb but they're interesting to watch when theyre feeding. Hope this helps a bit. If you have specific questions dont hesitate to ask. Just have fun with it, its pretty neat !! __________________ Steve Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult Last edited by matereater; January 1, 2015 at 09:23 AM.

January 2, 2015	#4
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,146	My daughter and I have raised many mantis from oothecas, both indoors and out. Outdoors you will have a better result, but it is possible with some effort to raise them indoors. We have used cages just like the one that you intend on using and they do work quite well. One of the problems that you will encounter is keeping the humidity up if you hatch them indoors. Be sure to keep them out of direct sunlight and mist the mesh netting frequently. This also is a way to supply water for the young to drink. It sounds as if you have your food source covered. If you decide to keep the indoors for longer than the first instar (molt) then you will start to experience higher losses. The mantis are immobile for a time during molting and this is when the most damage can occur whether by predation or injury. In fact, I would suggest that you begin releasing the mantis the day that they hatch. A few her and a few there. Keep up the release each day until they are all outdoors. If you would like to try raising some indoors keep about 3-4. They are a lot of work to maintain indoors and come July each will need to have its own cage. Have fun with this. They are truly amazing creatures. __________________ ~ Patti ~

January 2, 2015	#5
NatureRevering_TreeHugger Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dry Ridge; Northern Kentucky Posts: 15	I have not raised them but did hatch several egg sacs. Used the brown paper bag method inside and just checked them everyday. Bit of a warning if you use the bag method, since it takes forever for them to hatch, you will become accustomed to checking the bags everyday and seeing nothing in there that when they do finally hatch it may scare you. The day they hatched I nonchalantly opened one of the bags to see hundreds of itty bitty alien looking faces staring at me. Squealed like a little girl and almost threw the bag from being so startled. lol Oh and don't be a dummy like me when releasing them. Because of the stories of mantids' cannibalism I thought it would be safest to sprinkle them all over in different areas of the garden so they could have their own little sections. Instead what happened was a rapid genocide. Every gosh darnoodley bird in the neighborhood thought I was sprinkling crunching live treats out for them. If my shame and guilt can teach any lesson it is, for the love of god, release those poor babies in bushes or some kind of cover. Good luck and have fun. ~Hugs and Smooches~ Last edited by NatureRevering_TreeHugger; January 2, 2015 at 07:10 PM. Reason: Was going to correct the autocorrected "darnnoodley" but decided not to becasue it is funny. :)

January 11, 2015	#8
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,146	If you do not find any takers for the Chinese ootheca's, there is a wonderful site called insectnet.com. I am sure that you would easily find a good home for them there you might even find someone willing to trade varieties with you. You will also find a wealth of information on how to care for your buggy friends. __________________ ~ Patti ~

January 2, 2015	#6
austinnhanasmom Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Z5, CO near Denver Posts: 225	I have done this many times. I placed the egg sack in a butterfly habitat. When the indoor temp reaches the proper temp for hatching, they will emerge. I bought fruit flies (reptile shop). I would tap flies into the habitat daily or whenever the flies were all gone. My climate is very dry, so I also had to mist the habitat. I would talk to the babies constantly before release. One year, I found quite a few of the adults in my yard and they LOVED for me to hold them, and chatter at them. They would turn their heads like a dog Eventually, I had so many egg cases on my brick and in the yard, I just let them hatch naturally. The "wild" ones won't let me hold them, and could care less what I say. I have noticed that sometimes we have such a mild spring, they naturally hatch too early. A late storm kills them all. One issue with my house is I keep it cold and after they would hatch inside, I had to keep it warmer - for the bugs...

January 12, 2015	#9
matereater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: S.E. Michigan (Livonia) Posts: 1,264	I will gladly take them off your hands for you, but I wouldn't raise them I would release them around my yard. __________________ Steve Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult