Just 24 hours after my last post I found one of my male mantids dead. I am not sure whether he died of natural causes or was killed by the other male. He was for the most part intact but did have a number of chew marks on him. However, when I found him he was being eaten by a few of the crickets in the cage so I am not sure if any of the chew marks came from the other male or not. Regardless, I decided that it was time to put the last male and female together and see what would happen. I fed the female well to make her less apt to eat the male (common during mating) and transfered her to the male's cage. From what followed, I can only guess she had a raging case of Mantis PMS! The male showed immediate interest in her and she wanted NOTHING to do with him. He was acting like your average enamored teenage boy and LITERALLY throwing himself at her and she seemed quite determined to eat him if she got the chance. He kept approaching her from the front and more than once she managed to get ahold of him and seemed ready to take a bite. I would spritz a bit of water on them to separate them and then he would throw himself right back in her grip. Considering that she cannot catch a cricket due to her deformity, he sure made himself easy prey for her. After an hour of watching his clumsy attempts at mantis love I removed her from the cage and put her back on her own. I placed the two cages flush against one another so that the two could see and smell each other and gave them a few more days apart. This morning, I fed the female well and again placed her in the male's cage. Once again, within moments he would not leave her alone. I decided that I needed to throw caution to the wind and allow nature to take it's course, come what may. I placed the cage well away from movement and the daily ruckus of the household, covered it with a towel and went about my day. This evening when I peeked in on the little lovebirds I found them joined in a little mantis embrace!!! WOOHOO! I can't believe it! From what we have read during our studies, this mating session can go on for 24 hours or more. The longer they stay together the better the chances of a successful outcome. I am planning on leaving them undisturbed as much as possible for a few days and then I will again separate them. I am so excited. I will keep you updated as things progress.
For those of you interested in my children more than my insects (LOL), I will be posting a few updates on our recent activities in the next few days. We continue to be busy with school, playdates, bowling, swimming and karate. The boys are just LOVING karate and I am delighted in the skills they have learned in just a short time.
Much love to all of you and thanks for reading. Now go leave me a comment! teehee.
1 comment:
I've been learning so much about insects from you! I need to have my DS read your blog.
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