Manits has eggs - check out pic.

KRussell

Premium Member
My manits that I have had since early December 2002 laid eggs last weekend. I know she was at the pet store for a couple of months before I bought her so that makes it at least 8 months since she has been around a male. It seems amazing to me. I always thought she was a female but now I know for sure.
 
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Yes, mantis can store sperm. I have heard of them storing sperm for 3 months. I am amazed they can go for 8.
 
Sperm storage of three or four months is common in some species and I've seen Neogonodactylus store viable sperm for six months. However, females will also lay unfertilized eggs so just because she produced a clutch does not mean that the eggs are fertile. If they have not been fertilized, she will probably eat them within a few days. If they are fertile and she takes care of them, they should hatch in about three weeks depending on water temperature.

Has this female molted since you received her. We think that most stomatopods cannot store sperm through a molt. THis is because the sperm storage organ is connected to the external cuticle and when the animal molts, the contents of the storage sac are lost. However, this has not been proven in O. scyllarus. My guess is, however, that if she has molted, the eggs will be infertile.

Roy
 
KRussell said:
Yes, mantis can store sperm. I have heard of them storing sperm for 3 months. I am amazed they can go for 8.

I once met a "lady" in Sri Lanka who could store sperm for days at a time!
 
Well, Dr. Roy is right. The eggs must not have been fertile, and they disappeared over the weekend. She must have eaten them. By the way, she has molted 3 times since I have had her, so I guess there was really no way for her to have stored the sperm.
 
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