#eggcase

EGGS!!!!

HOLY SHIT GUYS!! ( TW BUGS INSECTS EGG SACS )
So. This is Motaro. Motaro (F, L8, Chinese Mantis) has never met an adult male in his life. Motaro has been looking exceptionally bodacious over the past 2 weeks.
And I’m so dumb.
I really was out here thinking Motaro was pigging out on all the isopods in his tank, when it waS THE EGGS IN HIS ABDOMEN HE NEEDED TO LAY AND I FEEL CRUEL FOR NOT GIVING HIM BIGGER MEALS NOW WHEN HE COULD HAVE USED THE EXTRA ENERGY.
I went to give him a snack, and saw some white stuff poking out of the lid and my heart dropped, I thought it was like death-vomit or something terrible, then I look closer and, no, it’s EGGS.
EGGS FROM MY VIRGIN MANTIS. IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE. ((Also, a nightmare because I do not want to struggle with caring for delicate babies over winter.))
But I’m even dumber cuz, turns out, it’s quite common for female mantises to lay an ootheca, or even a few oothecae. Whether they found a mate or not, their body still makes the egg material, and they need to get rid of it somehow. Like menstruation, I guess. And as miraculous as I thought it might be, there’s like a 99.9% chance they won’t hatch anything (at least not that will survive past a day), since Chinese Mantises don’t need to survive through self-cloning/parthenogenesis. (PHEW!)
Still, this was a huge surprise to find IN PROGRESS. But also a little heartbreaking because Motaro and Goro are definitely getting old. And I will miss them when they pass this winter. For now, I’m gonna assume they’re not eating the unpalatable isopods, and make the effort to get them full meals (and probably give Motaro one of the mealworms/now adult Darkling Beetles). I just now managed to find and catch an easy-to-eat caterpillar for him, so that’ll hold him over till morning when I can find more goodies.

#mantis #mantises #mantids #prayingmantis #preyingmantis #chinesemantis #tenoderasinensis #mantidsofinstagram #bug #bugs #insect #insects #insectkeeping #insectpets #bugkeeping #ootheca #egglaying #eggcase
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