Category: Mantodea

Mantis religiosa L1 Rearing Notes (5/13/17-5/??/17)

5/20/2017

Rearing notes for our first instar European mantis (Mantis religiosa) nymphs. These originated from a wild collected ootheca at Canyon Trail Park (El Cerrito, California), April 2017.

Rearing Notes 5/13/17-5/??/17:

5/20:

Not looking good - we're all of sudden down to two mantises, one of which has a twisted leg - the rest must've all died from starvation, though it seems one could've been cannabilized

5/17:

Definitely some eating the flies or aphids, as their abdomens look slightly plumper

5/16:

Several more mantises hatched from the ootheca, though a few were trapped and died
A few of the older ones clearly did not eat as they have died; we assume the rest have been eating some of the fruit flies or aphids
The new mantises are much more active compared to the old ones which have now become very tame

5/14:

Not sure if the mantises ate anything though most likely a few did, perhaps on the aphids
No new mantises hatched

5/13:

See European Mantis Ootheca Hatches

Authors
Alan Liang

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European Mantis Ootheca Hatches

5/13/2017

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The European mantis ootheca (Mantis religiosa) that we collected from Canyon Trail Park (El Cerrito, California) has begun to hatch.

On April 10th, we collected what we believed was a viable European mantis (Mantis religiosa) ootheca at Canyon Trail Park in El Cerrito, California. We had initially expected it to hatch very soon, considering the ootheca that we found last year in our backyard hatched on April 2nd, so we were a little puzzled when nothing happened after several weeks. In fact, we decided to put the ootheca into our incubator just a few days ago to try to speed things up or at least help it break diapause if it hadn't already. However, we were surprised to find that it had actually begun hatching this morning!

It was difficult to get an exact count of how many there were, but a rough estimate would be 20 or so. There should certainly be more than that many eggs in the ootheca, so we expect that it continue to hatch over the next several days.

We consolidated all of the new hatchlings into a small deli container and stuck in about a dozen melanogaster fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and a few random aphids. We just hope that the mantises are able to catch them.

Authors
Brian Liang

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Mantis religiosa Ootheca Rearing Notes (4/10/17-4/??/17)

4/11/2017

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Rearing notes for our European mantis (Mantis religiosa) ootheca collected at Canyon Trail Park (El Cerrito, California).

4/11:

Since we are almost certain this ootheca is unhatched and viable, we taped it onto the lid of a container and lined everything with paper towels for the mantises to hatch and crawl on

4/10:

See Collecting at Canyon Trail Park 4/10/17

Authors
Alan Liang

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This Year's Last Visit to Canyon Trail Park

9/25/2016

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Today we decided to visit Canyon Trail Park (El Cerrito, CA) to see if we kind find anything before the season is truly over.

No more Pipevine Swallowtails (Battus philenor hirsuta), of course, but we did find a complete Genista Broom Moth (Uresephita reversalis) infestation on some plants behind the pipevine. This common moth is a notorious pest in gardens for good reason: the eggs are laid in big clusters and the caterpillars hatch to be gregarious, easily defoliating the small weeds plants they feed on. The ones we found were mostly small ones, no more than third instar, all hiding in their silken nests.

Just walking around Caynon Trail Park, we spotted many small butterflies flying around like various skippers, Edith's Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha), and various hairstreaks. Also, huge red flame skimmer dragonflies (Libellula saturata).

In addition, we found two hatched European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) egg cases along the rim of a fence, a typical place for finding them.

Lastly, we also stepped upon a very blue pigmented Anise Swallowtail fifth instar (they are normally green with only a bit of blue lining each stripe). It was feeding on some fennel that was completely dry and brown, which could possibly explain this odd coloration. It may be hard to tell in the photo, but compared to others that we have seen it is quite blue.

- Brian

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Emerged Anise Swallowtail Chrysalises and Hatched European Mantis Egg Cases on a Fence

8/16/2016

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Today as we were on the Ohlone Greenway (Albany, CA) picking pine (Pinus), we found some emerged Anise Swallowtail chrysalises (Papilio zelicaon) and hatched European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) oothecae along a fence.

Alas, it seems more often than not we find things a season too late. Most species of any insect diapause some time in the fall to spring -- pretty much any time but June to August which is when we have the free time to search for them as we are not in school!

Today, without any intention of finding them, we stepped upon five emerged Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) chrysalises attached along a wooden fence that stretched along the path of the Ohlone Greenway. Near the fence, there are various landscaping trees growing such as pine (Pinus), though there were some native growing American Plum (Prunus americana) trees mixed in. We had previously found Western Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio rutulus) chrysalises attached on a wooden fence in a similar location along the rim of the fence. So perhaps it wasn't too much of a surprise that we found the five emerged Anise chrysalises on the Ohlone Greenway fence, though it was puzzling to us that they were located in a place without any potential host nearby. Of course, the caterpillars sometimes wander quite a distance from their host tree in order to find a suitable location to pupate, but all five of the chrysalises were located very close to each other (some were right next to each other, in fact) which can hardly be a coincidence. We searched for some time our the area, but found no other chrysalises except these. Most likely, we predict that there used to be sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) growing along the path at some point, but they were removed.

Along the same fence, though maybe a block away from the chrysalises, we found four European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) egg cases distanced a few feet from each other. If we were to guess, we'd probably say they came from only two or three females since it is hard to imagine how so many of them found this one spot! Like the chrysalises, two were attached in the corner near the top of the fence formed by the rim; the other two were in a crack formed by two parallel rims.

Both the chrysalises and egg cases were located in the same kind of location as the chrysalises and egg cases that we found on our own fence at home and as the fence at Albany Middle School, clearly indicating some sort of preference. If we were to look for their live counterparts later this year, perhaps in September or October, we will certainly keep this in mind and look at these places.

Update 8/18: We found a ton of emerged cocoons of some tiger moth (Arctia) on the fence behind a plum tree. At least two were parasitized with the emerged tachinid fly puparium still there!

- Brian

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M. religiosa L5 Rearing Notes (6/29/16)

6/29/2016

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The last installment of rearing notes for our European Mantis (M. religiosa) in the fifth instar . . . Rest in peace.

Rearing Notes 6/29:

6/29

Seemed very weak in the morning and was struggling to cling on to the top of the enclosure; would violently refuse food
Began molting into fifth instar around noon, 26 days after the last molt, but half way through the process was unable to drag the upper body (head and raptorial arms) apart from the lower and was stuck in the position for a while before falling to the bottom of the enclosure
Attempted to subdue the inevitable mismolt by assissting in pulling off the exoskeleton; was more or less successful in dragging the last bit of loose skin off at the abdomen but the skin on the head and raptorial arms were still firmly attached and would not come off
Eventually removed all skin on the head and raptorial arms but the damage had been done -- the arms were barely functional and "compact" because it was unable to pump air and blood into them like it would have had it removed the exosleleton by itself and the head was injured in multiple areas (both eyes busted, antennae broken, and mouth-parts completely disfigured)
Seemed extremely weak and could not stand properly; would only make movements when violently prompted (such as firmly poking near the head); by the end of the night it had perished
Though mismolted, the appearance was still very clear and parts distinguishable: the fifth instar is dramatically larger than the fourth (more so than the difference in size between third to fourth) as it had reached the subadult "teenage" instars; wings buds had developed, genitalia much more pronounced (it is now clearly identifiable as a female), and overall body shape is more similar to that of the adult (proportionally longer and larger abdomen and thorax); secondary sex characteristics are also more evident such as the widening of the abdomen and the small (and thin) antennae; black eyespots (characteristic of M. religiosa) on the undersides of raptorial arms are now present; still a light tan color but in some areas it is now a darker pinkish brown (underside of abdomen) and characteristic pinkish brown stripes have developed along the thorax and the eyes

It was certainly a notable feat to be the last survivor of the wild-caught newborns. It was a very long run. Farewell and rest in peace, old friend.

- Brian

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M. religiosa L4 Rearing Notes (6/3/16-6/28/16)

6/28/2016

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Rearing notes for our European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) in the fourth instar, the last survivor from our wild-caught newborns.

Rearing Notes 6/3-6/28:

6/28:

Was not able to get it to eat anything today; seems noticeably weaker than before and has a hard time clinging on to the top of the enclosure without falling; hopefully these are just symptoms of nearing molting

6/27:

Appetite is almost completely gone (won't even eat a single fruitfly) and we suspect that it really is nearing molting time this time (24 days), especially since it has been so long since the last molt; we expect it to molt by the end of this week

6/26:

Appetite has diminished and is reluctant to eat very much
Attempted to hand feed a wild caught Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata) but only ate a small portion of it

6/22-25:

Appetite still has not diminished and eats at least 1-2 fruitflies a day

6/21:

Appetite has dramatically increased as compared to before as it ate another three flies today and is clearly more plump than it has ever been
Due to plumpness, abdomen has become very healthy, creamy white look (exoskeleton is thin and stretched out) and is significantly wider than before and more characteristic of an adult than it was in L3
Seems difficult for it to stand properly with such a bloated abdomen and a missing leg though we are just glad that it seems to be making a recovery (hopefully it does not fall during molting though)

6/20:

Clearly not going to molt as feeding resumed today
Hand fed three whole fruitflies which is more than it has ever eaten at once

6/18-19:

Still seems reluctant to eat and is becoming thinner; it is either too full or may molt soon since it seemed to have reached peak plumpness earlier and has been over two weeks since the last molt date

6/17:

Seems incredibly full from yesterday's katydid and is refusing to eat

6/16:

Slowly becoming used to getting around with a missing leg; has adapted an adjusted position of the middle leg on the side of the missing leg to help with balance but grip is evidently worse than before (falls easily and has a hard time getting up)
Attempted to hand feed a mismolted Mediterranean Katydid from our trip today; was very successful at feeding the legs and antennae but not so much with the body

6/15:

Attempted to feed the legs of a dead Anise Swallowtail butterfly since it enjoys eating fruitfly legs but was unsuccessful since they are too large to handle
During feeding, it fell and damaged a hind leg in the process; in a wild attempt to attack the hypothetical aggressor (predator) by violently clawing near the damage leg, the entire leg was ripped of by the mantis itself where it had been bent
Seems in "shock" from having lost a leg and refuses to cooperate to feeding (much more likely to attack at prey or run) and was unable to get it to eat anything today
Below, it is posing on Apple (Malus domestica) before the leg was broken

6/13-14:

Abdomen is beginning to get a healthy, "round" look; seems quite full and is reluctant to eat fruitflies

6/12:

Attempted to feed a small colony of wild-caught aphids on rose (Macrosiphum rosae?); seemed to enjoy the larger one but the immatures were too inconvenient to feed; unfortunately we could not find any more
Previously, seemed to be most responsive to eating the liquid portions of flies but now also likes to eat the thin legs and wings when fed vertically (it is now possible to feed these parts conveniently because the mantis' mandibles are much larger)

6/11: Nothing significant worth noting.

6/10:

Attempted to hand feed a newly-molted fifth instar Anise Swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio zelicaon) that had escaped from our enclosure outside and must have been squashed by something; was not very successful in initiating feeding likely due to the pungent aroma of the caterpillars osmeterium and the stored (mild) plant toxins associated with it; there was also not very much flesh to eat as the gut of the caterpillar also seemed to make up an alarming proportion of the body and is filled with undigested plant matter

6/6-6/9:

Starting to eat more, but has a very limited appetite even for such small fruitflies; now moderately plump and clearly not showing any sign of becoming green
D. hydei flies seem, perhaps, too small to hold properly now that the raptorial arms are so large; seems to either hold the fly with only one arm or simply by the mouth

6/5:

Looks very thin but still will not eat a lot (we believe this is normal though, soon after a molt)

6/4:

Still a very light white-tannish color; still a chance it might turn a little more green after being fully fed
Still using hand-feeding method instead of live prey (started this in L3) for convenience and to ensure that it is eating enough; also reduces the stress of having live prey crawling everywhere in the enclosure, especially near molting time
Tried to hand feed Drosophila hydei fruitflies but will only nibble; still seems largely uninterested in food

6/3:

Molted into fourth instar (teneral form shown below); still looks very light in color (almost white) but could possibly show signs of turning green when fully tanned
Noticeably larger, but not by much, though raptorial arms seem capable of catching much larger prey now
Still very difficult to sex using segment counting method; hard to say with certainty what gender due to the convuluted last segment
Physical appearance is still very juvenille and is similar to L3 though proportionally the abdomen is clearly larger and wider
Refuses to eat just after molting (internal organs/exoskeleton have not dried yet); will try to feed tomorrow