How Do Mantises Reproduce? A Detailed Explanation of the Reproductive Process and Methods
The mantis is a natural enemy of agricultural pests and a beneficial insect, and many people have seen mantises. So do you know how mantises reproduce? Let's take a look together below.
1. How do mantises reproduce?
The male mantis finds the female mantis and begins mating. After mating is complete, the male will look for a new mate. If the female mantis is hungry, she will eat the male mantis. After successful mating, she will lay eggs on tree branches or walls, and die after laying the eggs. The following year, when the temperature reaches 25 degrees, the young mantises will hatch.
Mantises are dioecious insects. After mantises finish mating, if the female mantis is in a hungry state, the female mantis will eat the male mantis to supplement her nutrition, and then the female mantis lays eggs and wraps the egg mass with a foam-like substance to prevent the eggs from losing water and drying out.
2. How are mantises raised?
1. Storage of egg cases: According to indoor and outdoor observations, mantis egg cases generally begin to hatch when the temperature stabilizes at 20°C. Therefore, egg cases collected from November to December can be stored at room temperature until April, but they must be kept dry, protected from moisture and rats. After May, depending on the temperature and the needs of use, store them in a refrigerator.
2. Outdoor large-cage rearing: In late May, move the mantis eggs awaiting hatching into the cage. After hatching, release them at 50 per sq m. Plant various low-growing trees and isolation materials such as cotton inside the cage to establish an environment similar to nature and reduce cannibalism. Cover with reed mats on sunny and rainy days. Before the 3rd instar, make the substitute feed for nymphs into a paste; after the 4th instar, steam the substitute feed into a sponge-cake-like form. Place the paste feed on the branches and leaves of the isolation materials, and place the cake-like feed in small rubber bottle stoppers. Remove moldy residue in time to keep the feed fresh.
The mantis is a very common beneficial insect. In ancient Greece, people regarded the mantis as a prophet, because the way the mantis holds up its front legs looks like a praying young woman.