Breeding

Getting your mantis to adult and successfully breeding is one of the most rewarding aspects of mantis keeping. Its not always an easy task to accomplish.

Breeding can be a challenge depending on the species. Some can be very cabalistic while others need special care to ensure they reach maturity at the same time. Males and females from the same ootheca often will mature at different rates in the wild so that siblings don’t interbreed. Having young nymphs the same age might mean you will need to speed up growth of the female or slow down growth of the male. Females will often have one or more molt than males.

Once they have both reached maturity they will typically be ready to mate in 3-4 weeks. Feed your female well before attempting mating so she will be less inclined to make a snack out of the male. Some people say to put the male into the female enclosure or vise versa but I have seen it work both ways.

I usually set the female up in a large glass or mesh terrarium, around 10 gallons or so, with plenty of branches and silk plants. This is so the male has enough room to escape if needed. I leave her in there for a few days before so she becomes more comfortable with her new area and less inclined to wander around.

When ready to breed, place plenty of feeders in with her, wait for her to eat most of them, and then add in the male. Usually when he sees her, he will start trying to approach. If she shows aggression, I remove the male and try again in a few days.

It can take several hours for the male to even mount the female and even more for actual copulation to take place. Its best to keep an eye on them until they start to mate. Mating can take hours so its best to leave them be.

Once done, the male will jump off. When this happens go ahead and remove him back to his enclosure. Sometimes the female will eat the male during mating. The male will still continue even while he is being consumed. Nothing can be done at that point so just leave her to finish her meal.