# Mantis definitions



## Sirvincent (Jul 16, 2008)

I've recently got 2 Giant Asian 's from shep and they are doing well. But I've been looking on here and various encyclopedic sites for help with the mantis lifecycle and I'm having a little trouble finding any information.

I'd love to know loads - such as

What does l2/l3/l4 mean?
How long is the mantis class as a nymph?
When do they become sub adult?
How often will they shed?
Do they eat eachother?
Could they be housed together?
What is a ooth?
How old are they before they can breed?
What if they're not eating?

Sorry if this sounds completely stupid - but if I don't ask I won't find out & I'm sure there are other new mantis owners who will be unsure of these things too. The questions are not relavent to my current circumstances - obviously I'm not looking to breed mine lol I've only had them a few days lol but these would be good things to know for future ref. 

Hope anyone can help - and maybe give more good information that I've forgot to ask :blush:

Cheers


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## daz30347 (Aug 30, 2007)

Sirvincent said:


> I've recently got 2 Giant Asian 's from shep and they are doing well. But I've been looking on here and various encyclopedic sites for help with the mantis lifecycle and I'm having a little trouble finding any information.
> 
> I'd love to know loads - such as
> 
> ...


1 it indicates the amount of shed and the stage in the mantids life
2 until its sub-adult
3 1-2 sheds before adult which i think is about l5/l6
4 not entirely sure
5 a female will almost all of the time eat its mate after they have bred, and if kept together it is most likely, and not recommended
6 no, as above
7 an Oothica is layed by a female after it has mated, its a sack of eggs effectively
8 they have to be adult so after around 6/7 sheds
9 they could be near a shed or just full

HTH, John


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

ok i can't answer all but i can do a few..

1) Ok the L is how many times it has shedded it;s skin. I'm not exactly sure if a newborn counts as L1 though or if it is L1 after it's first shed, it;s assume after though so L6 would be six times it's shedded. Someone can correct me if i'm wrong here.

2) It's a nymph until it's a sub-adult( one before adult), how many sheds this takes depends on the mantid

3) Kinda answered that above

4) I think it probably depends on the mantid but my giant asian sheds once every 2-3 weeks

5) YES THEY EAT EACH OTHER! I think there are a small numer of communal species, can't remember the name but they look like ants kind of. But generally no they can't be housed together

6) Like i said no way after their first few sheds your going to see them killing each other, if not before

7) An Ooth, short for Otheca, is what the mantids eggs are laid in, here's a pic of one: They'll be up to hundreds of eggs in there










8) They will only breed when adult, some species of mantid can produce offspring without a male, so by asexual reproduction/ parthenogenesis. Offspring will be all female as they are clones of adult

9) Well generally a mantid won't be interested in food because it's full or going to moult soon. It probably wont want to eat for 2-3 days before it moults and a day after. You can tell if it's full because pretty simply it's abdomen will be inflated, when it becomes flaccid again you can feed it. I generally feed my giant asain every two days, sometimes three if it isn't interested on the second day. Right now i can feed it two small locusts in one sitting( let it eat the first one, wait like 10 mins for it to settle down, drop another one near it). Also if it's too cold it's not going to be as active so may not be interested in food.


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

i thought it was a nymph for longer then just it's first shed, I'm sure you buy it as say an L3 nymph.. don't you? lol i'm a newbie so i'm probably wrong.


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## Sirvincent (Jul 16, 2008)

Thanks for the replies, that's really helped clear up some confusion:lol2: I'm sure I'll learn more as I get more involved. If anyone else has anything to add - please feel free:2thumb:


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## summershow (Jun 12, 2008)

- What does l2/l3/l4 mean?
"L2" is shorthand for saying "second larval instar". some people prefer to say "second instar", some people prefer to say "I*2" for example. they all mean the same thing. there is some debate as to whether a freshly hatched mantis is first instar/L1 or whether it is second instar/L2 (some would argue the first moult occurs as the mantis emerges from the ootheca), but deffinitely most people use "L1" to mean it is freshly hatched and has not moulted. when it moults for the first time, it is said to be L2, or second instar, and so on.

- How long is the mantis class as a nymph?
it is a nymph until it becomes an adult. the last larval instar before adulthood can be said to be "subadult", then then again the instar before that can be called "pre subadult". you could go as far as to say a hatchling is pre pre pre pre pre (or however many) subadult for example, but no matter what you call them, they are nymphs until they moult to adulthood.

- How often will they shed?
this is too variable to give a proper answer. it depends on things like how much you feed the mantis, and the temperature it is kept at. kept at higher temperatures, they will metabolise faster, and will need to be fed more, and will grow faster and moult sooner (generally). also, even if you keep the mantis at a constant temperature and similar food supply (relative to its size) all its life, you will find the later instars last longer than the earlier ones. to give you an idea, hatchlings usually moult around a week after hatching. i have a mantis that moulted to adult a few days ago, it spent 32 days at subadult. somebody else keeping the same species had one spend just 16 days as subadult. so it can vary alot. a good idea is to keep a record of when your mantis moults, that way you can eventually predict the general time it is "due" the next moult. this will not be concrete, but it may help to give you an idea of when to expect a moult.

- Do they eat eachother?
yes, all species will eat each other. some species will do it less readily than others, so some people keep them together (such as p.paradoxa, g.gongylodes and i.diabolica). in these species, if enough space and food is provided you may never encounter cannibalism. likewise, if there is not enough food or space provided, they will eat each other just like any other species. it is not true that the female usually eats the male after mating. it may happen if she is not very well fed.

- How old are they before they can breed?
mantids mature sexually some time after moulting to adulthood. when depends on the species. some smaller species can mate successfuly mere days after becoming adult, some take up to a month. most are somewhere inbetween. males usually take less time to be ready for mating after becoming adults (as opposed to females).


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