I would like to thank Evan for his wonderful caresheet. You can
checkout his website at www.mantisphotos.com
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Stagmomantis Carolina - Carolina Mantis Caresheet
Appearance:
this medium size mantis is indigenous to the southern US and
can vary greatly in color. Adults from the same ootheca have
been known to turn out from gray to brown to green. They are
not very aggressive when it comes to feeding. They'd rather
let go of a fussy meal than fighting it.
Sexing:
they are a medium sized species. Females grow up to 7 cm long
while males peak at 5 cm long. After the 3rd molt, 8 segments
can be counted on the male's abdomen while 6 on the females.
Females have small bud wings that cover only half her abdomen
while the smaller males have full usable wings.
Accommodation:
this species of mantis relatively resistant to all kinds of
conditions, although it is best to keep them in a moderate
atmosphere. Keep these at 25-30 C (77-86 F)…room temperature
will be just fine. Cooler temperature will slow the mantids'
metabolism and give them a bit of a longer lifespan. Keep
their humidity maintained at around 60%.
Caging:
their cage should be well ventilated with lots of twigs and
branches. They are relatively small so a sufficient tank is
enough. The general rule for caging is 3x the mantis' length
for the height and 2x for the width and length dimensions.
They are very aggressive towards each other so nymphs must
be separated as soon as possible.
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Feeding:
this species is a generalist feeder. Start out with fruit flies
for nymphs and move to small crickets, house flies, moths, and larger
crickets for larger nymphs and adults. These do not need any further
coaxing to eat. If they are hungry and they see something crawling
around, they will pursue it and catch it themselves. Feed them as
much as it will eat in one day and do not feed it for another 2
days. Watch their abdomen, if it is hugely inflated, then stop feeding
them. As for watering, mist nymphs lightly everyday and two to three
times a week for adults.
Molting:
a mantis will stop eating a few days prior to its molt.
Mantises molt about every 2 weeks as babies and the time in between
each molt increases as they get older…so their last molt into
adulthood can sometimes take as long as 3-4 weeks. It takes about
8 molts for females and about 7 for males. That's why males tend
to mature earlier than females and they also die faster. To pair
up a pair of male and female, speed up the growth rate of the females
while slowing down the males' with cooler temperature and less feedings…once
the female has molted, speed up the male's growth to molt him out.
During molting, it is vital that you do not disturb them and also
make sure that the humidity is at a safe level…the suggested
level is fine. The mantis will hang upside down from a branch or
the screen lid and will sometimes shake or spasm violently. Then
after a while, it worms out of its old skin and will hang out to
dry. Once it's dried, it will resume eating and being its normal
self.
Reproduction:
this species can be easy to breed. After 2 weeks since
their last molt, introduce the female into the male's enclosure
near him. A mature male will respond quickly. It could take hours
before the male does anything though. He will jump on her back and
hold on for dear life. The female can be distracted with food prior
to this to make it easier on the male. While she is busy eating,
she wont be able to grab him as he mounts her. After a while of
holding on (this could take from hours to days), the male will bend
his abdomen down to connect with hers and mating will commence.
Ootheca:
after two weeks or so, the females will be laying her oothecae (plural
for ootheca). This species can lay around 5-10 oothecae. Remove
the females from the oothecae or the oothecae from the females afterward.
After 6 weeks or so of incubation at 30 C (86 F) and 70% humidity,
20-60 nymphs will hatch out. These can be fed on fruit flies a day
or two after hatching. Then continue to care for them as this care
sheet suggests.
Additional
Notes: the hatchlings are very timid and eat very little.
They move around a lot and are quite jumpy. After 16 days or so,
they molt their first molt. They increased their size only slightly
and still hold the same banded leg pattern.
After several molts, the mantids have become more increasingly cannibalistic
and I've had to resort to separating them into different containers.
The females have developed the wide abdomen while the males' remain
long and thin.
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