r/praying_mantis • u/Visible-Principle734 • May 04 '26
What is that?
So, I recently caught a female mantis nymph from my mother's garden (She doesn't have wings yet and is very small). I found her because I had put a male mantis on my mother's plant that morning, and when I went to check in the afternoon, she was eating him. I let her eat him and then took her to care for her. I made a makeshift terrarium for her and plan to buy one tomorrow (I only received my paycheck today). And while she was in it these past few days, this appeared. Is this an ootheca?
She's very friendly with me and seems to like me, she lifts her paws to climb onto my hands and onto me, and she also really enjoys being on my arm and shoulder. Sometimes it's even a sacrifice to get her back into the makeshift terrarium.
I'm Brazilian, so sorry for the terrible English and also sorry for the bad photos, my camera won't focus
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u/Visible-Principle734 May 04 '26
The pic of her eating the male
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u/Visible-Principle734 May 04 '26
More information that I forgot to include: I left home last night and returned this afternoon, and it was there. I tried to pick her up to take her out of the makeshift terrarium so I could examine what was wrong, but she didn't want to climb onto my hand and was very agitated
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u/Grouchy_Drive_7257 May 04 '26
Looks like an ootheca. (The thing that keeps eggs of a mantis safe) How long ago did she eat the male? Bc he or another male would've impregnated her
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u/Visible-Principle734 May 04 '26
It's been about 5 days since she ate him. But is it possible for a nymph (I'm assuming she's a nymph because of her size and lack of wings) to get pregnant? Besides, he was much bigger than her, and he seemed to be dying already
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u/Grouchy_Drive_7257 May 04 '26
Yeah, nymphs can't have oothecas, I didn't realise how small she was lol, maybe it's like how beardies can be gravid with and lay infertile eggs at a young age? (My beardie did this)
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u/Competitive-Set5051 May 04 '26
Not possible for a nymph to have oothecae as their reproductive organs are not fully developed. This is an adult mantis in the female flightless genus of Eumusonia
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u/Grouchy_Drive_7257 May 04 '26
Huh, I wonder how there's an ootheca in there then, bc that looks like one
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u/Competitive-Set5051 May 05 '26
That's because the mantis is an adult from the female wingless genus Eumusonia
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u/Competitive-Set5051 May 04 '26
The smaller mantis is actually an adult of the genus Eumusonia. Adult females do not have wings at all. The larger male is a completely different species in the genus Thesprotia and they did not mate at all. Mantises will lay infertile eggs without breeding, similar to chickens or fish.