As a general rule, 2-3 weeks after their final moult, your
mantis will be ready to mate. Different breeders have different
preferences, some wait up to 4, or even 5 weeks before intorducing
the male and female, but 2-3 weeks works well. Breeding
can be carried out either in an enclosure, or out the encolsure;
I find out of the enclosure much easier. You will have much
more control over the mantids, and will increase chances
of being able to separate the 2 if the female turns on the
male. The female must be well fed, so she will be less inclined
to munch on the male, before, during or after mating. The
best thing to place the 2 on before mating, is a house plant.
Place the female near the top of the plant, so she hasn't
got far to crawl away, and above the female so she will
be in prime view. Place the make around 5 ot 6 inces behind
the female, this will give him enough space and comfort
to sit, but at the same time a short enough distance to
be drawn in by the female. After about a minute, the male
will usually gain interest in the female, and his antennae
will start twitching. He will slowly crawl up towards the
female, and hop onto her back. When this occurs, just leave
the 2, and the mating process will take place. You will
notice the male bending his abdomen around to connect with
the female. You must make sure that at some point the male
and female do connect, which usually implies the spermatophore
(male sperm sack) has been transferred. They can spend up
to 24 hours mating, although sometimes longer. Leave them
for as long as they desire; interrupting the mating process
can end in an unferilised female.
When the pair have finished, the male will usually hop off
to another part of the plant, or fly around the room for
a few minutes, and settle in another spot. The female is
now fertile, and will start producing ootheca in around
2 weeks, sometimes less.
Troubleshooting
when mating:
> The male is not interested in the female, what do I do?
Sometimes,
the male will be a little hesitant to mate. The mating process isn't
always instant, and may take them up to 2 days or more to engage in
eachother, and for the male to gain interest in the female. The female
must be of an appropriate age before the male will mate. At around 3
weeks, she will starts relseaing pheramones (chemicals) which attracts
the male to mate. If she has not yet started relseaing these, the male
may not show interest in her. Slightly nudging or gently blowing the
female to make her move slightly can also grab the males attnetion,
if there is other movmenet in the room distracting him.
>
The male has hopped on the female the wrong way round, is this bad?
This
is quite a common occurance when mating, for the male to get overly
excitied, and hop on back to front. Ususally he will right himself,
and twist back around, but sometimes this can irritate the female, and
she will try to strike at him. What one can do, is using a pencil, or
another thin object, help to nudge the male into the correct position
for mating.
>
The male is on the females back, but they are not mating. Will she still
be fertile?
The
answer to this, is no. Unless the male connects to the female, she will
no be fertile after mating. Sometimes the male will sit for long periods
of time on the females back without connecting his abdomen to hers.
Again, this is quite common when mating, and usually if the pair are
left, they will eventually connect. If not, then this can mean that
the male is not quite ready for mating. Leave it about a week, and try
mating the pair again.
>
My mantis has produced an ootheca, but the female was not mated. Will
it hatch?
Depending on the species, no the ootheca will not hatch.
There are a couple of species which are parthenogenetic, so they will
produce fertile ootheca without mating. The only known species kept
in captivity that can produce ootheca this way is the Brunerria species.
Otherwise, any other species, infertile ootheca will not hatch.
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