# Praying Mantis lays eggs in indoor set up



## mikeh (Oct 1, 2013)

Troubleshooting an inoperable circulation fan, I found out that a praying mantis I keep inside my closed chamber with my tort laid an egg sack inside the fan. Pretty cool.



Any input on best way to overwinter the sack for the eggs to hatch in spring so I can let them out? If I leave it in there, I assume the hundred or so will hatch in few weeks, which I don't want. 

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## wellington (Oct 1, 2013)

Wow, that is so cool. Not the best spot she picked, but really cool.


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## CourtneyG (Oct 1, 2013)

Just gently remove the sack from the surface if the egg and keep it in a area of the house that stays steadily cold over winter or put it outside where it will not be blown away or sit in water and let nature do its thing. I had one hatch in my house near the end of winter and I am sure the ones I released did not make it.


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## Yvonne G (Oct 1, 2013)

That's pretty funny! "Hm-m-m-m, I wonder why the fan isn't working"

I don't know if the eggs will make it if you detach the pod from the fan. But, I'm with you...I wouldn't want a bunch of bug babies in my house either. And those darned praying mantis look like they want to box you if you get too close to them.


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## mikeh (Oct 1, 2013)

The egg sack came off with no damage. Its actually very sturdy, looks and feels like hard foam insulation. Guess that would make sense for winter hibernation period.
I wouldn't mind them in my house, lol. But they would just eat each other.

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## Diamondbacks4Life (Oct 1, 2013)

Well looks like that computer fan has now been put through its paces lol. Now it was even used as egg laying area. Interesting!


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## TigsMom (Oct 1, 2013)

That's incredible! Keep us updated with what you do with the egg sac and how it goes.


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## Team Gomberg (Oct 1, 2013)

Cool.

But I want to know more about the mantis roommate. 

What type of tort does she live with?
How long has it been in there?
Why did you match them up?
Any benefits to this? Any problems?

I'm only a little curious...can you tell? 

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## N2TORTS (Oct 1, 2013)

Very cool .....indeed!!!! Thanks for sharing.... 


How about some mantis trivia and goes well with another recent thread .... one of their favo meals are " Black Widow Spiders"


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## mikeh (Oct 1, 2013)

*Re: RE: Praying Mantis lays eggs in indoor set up*



Team Gomberg said:


> Cool.
> 
> But I want to know more about the mantis roommate.
> 
> ...



The mantis is rooming the enclosure with two emys emys, under a year old. They don't seem to bother each other. Mantis hangs high, watches tortoises from above and vice versa. She does not appear to be stressed, she readily takes bugs out of my fingers, hunts on her own, does not panic or try to make a run for it. 

She has been in there for about two weeks. I find mantis quite fascinating and since its the end of the season with cold weather here, her life cycle outside is in its final days. Bringing her in may extend her life for few more months, help control bug population in the enclosure, (there are spiders, pill bugs, worms, and other critters I put in there) and give me chance for up close and personal observation. 

Few interesting facts I observed since I placed her in:

1) Did anyone know praying mantis eyes turn pitch black at night time? And even more interesting, once the eyes are black for the night, they stay black even when the lights are turned back on for an hour or two. Next morning mantis eyes return to the usual translucent green color.



2) Mantis will eat stink bugs, but will not eat pill bugs. Pill bugs expel sticky substance when threatened, apparently this bothers the mantis as it always shakes the pill bug off it claws after catching it. 

3) Mantis does not mind rain at all. It will calmly stay still under spray of water, not seeking any cover. 



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## jjsull33 (Oct 2, 2013)

That is really cool, that egg sack can have anywhere from 10-150 babies emerge from it, and if kept together they will start eating eachother until only the strongest are left or you separate them. 

Another interesting fact for you, did you know they have 3 smaller eyes between their 2 large compound eyes? I bet those big ones turned black so she could see better at night, kind of like how our pupils dilate. As for t rain I think it is because adults more regularly drink droplets from plants rather than from a bowl/puddle so it is probably happy to know it is getting a drink soon. 

Good to know they won't eat the pill bugs, I use pill bugs as clean up crews in my cages, so its nice to know I can use them in there too (when I get another one) 

Interesting thread, I am interested to see more about her, both here and your other one about her trying for your leopard.


I thought of another interesting fact, did you know a mantis (at least the common varieties as there are over 2000 species of mantids) will grow up the color of its environment? as in if you kept 2 from the same ootheca and kept one in an all green environment and one in an all brown environment they would grow up as those colors to help them better hunt their prey. I am not sure if you can get a colored one like red or yellow but its probably possible to an extent.


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## ILoveTortoises2 (Oct 2, 2013)

Yvonne G said:


> That's pretty funny! "Hm-m-m-m, I wonder why the fan isn't working"
> 
> I don't know if the eggs will make it if you detach the pod from the fan. But, I'm with you...I wouldn't want a bunch of bug babies in my house either. And those darned praying mantis look like they want to box you if you get too close to them.



LMBO... I think the SAME thing. They do really look like they are going to box you when you get to close LOL... I laughed when I seen you say that because I thought it was just me when I see those things. My hubby looked at me with a weird face when I laughed LOL


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## T33's Torts (Nov 10, 2013)

My mantis laid 2 egg sacks in a month..


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## Jacqui (Nov 11, 2013)

I just have a real love for mantis. I miss not seeing them any more outside.


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## Lancecham (Nov 11, 2013)

Detaching the egg sack and putting in in a cool spot for the winter is the best idea if you don't want babies right away. Detaching the egg sack does not harm the eggs. Afterall, people ship the ooths all the time to their customers.


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## CLMoss (Nov 11, 2013)

How cool! You are so lucky!


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## wellington (Nov 11, 2013)

Jacqui said:


> I just have a real love for mantis. I miss not seeing them any more outside.



I haven't seen one in the wild since I was a kid. Same with the Stick Bug. We lost a lot of species to the mosquito spray(can't remember name, DDT?) they used to spray from a plane over a lot of the areas of Michigan, years ago. Just about 5 or so years ago they started getting the Bald Eagles back. Very slowly, some species are coming back. I'm sure there will be many that never will


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## Danimal (Nov 11, 2013)

I caught a baby mantis cutting the yard this summer, he's all grown up now. Been feeding him dubia roaches and whatever we find outside. If your interested, the generic fan grills are really cheap, couple bucks, that would stop that from happening in the future.


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## Tom (Nov 11, 2013)

I love mantids too. I release a bunch around my tortoise food growing areas every year. The baby mantids control the aphids, and the bigger ones control the moths that lay eggs that hatch into leaf eating caterpillars. I hatch my egg cases inside my closed chambers in deli cups. Sometimes I'll leave a baby or two to eat the substrate flies.

Jacqui, you can buy egg cases pretty cheap and have them delivered to you. Over time they should be able to become established there.


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