How many stages does the pray mantis have in its life cycle?

Answer 1

1. A praying mantis starts out in an egg sack with many others.

2. It hatches out and starts to search for food.

3. It molts several times in its life before it reaches maturity.

4. The praying mantis then finds a mate.

5. After mating the female praying mantis will most likely eat the male to get a boost of protein for her eggs.

6. The female will lay her eggs and then die.

7. The cycle starts over.

Answer 2

I've been told they only live for about a year. I have had 3 female manits's for a month or less (that were born in June) and have been trying like a maniac to find out the difference between male and female mantids till tonight. There is a Dramatic difference!! I finally catch a male and one of my females starts laying eggs, so I'm now trying to figure out how long after mating does it take for a female to lay eggs (hoping the male I caught and stuck with one of the females doesn't get eatten). I wish I could be more help than that, but this has been a HUGE learning experience for me!! (But fun tho!)

Good luck!! If you hear anything more let me know!

Answer 3

The natural life span of a Praying Mantis in the wild is about 10-12 months, but some have been known to live up to 14 months in captivity. In cooler areas Mantids die during the winter months. The males sometimes die suddenly 2 or 3 weeks after mating. This is normally caused by the female's urge to kill off the male once the egg pouch has been produced (this does not happen with all mantis species). The Praying Mantis lays its eggs en mass, usually in the fall, on small branches or twigs. The eggs hatch in spring or early summer when a warmer temperature triggers the birth.

Answer 4

Eggs

This stage occurs just before winter. The adult female praying mantis lays 100 to 400 eggs after fertilization. The eggs are laid safely on a firm leaf or stem with a liquid that hardens to be a protective sac structure known as ootheca. The ootheca is a protective casing (very hard and able to survive extreme weather changes) in which the eggs will stay throughout the winter. In mid-spring when the temperatures are warm, the nymphs will hatch when the egg cases crack.

Nymphs

Initially, the hatched nymphs stay around the egg casing for a while. It's during this period that the mantis try to feed on each other. After spreading out, they will begin to hunt for small insects such as fruit flies. Nymphs undergo a series of repeated stages of growth in their development known as instars. At each stage, the nymphs shed off their exoskeleton through a process called molting to allow development of body segments leading to an increase in body size. Molting takes place about six times before they can begin the next stage life. Nymphs are vulnerable as prey to other large predators such as the bats, birds and Spiders, and not all nymphs survive this stage.

Adolescents

Adolescent mantises are larger in size than nymphs. They shed their exoskeletons occasionally, a feature that differentiates them from adult mantises. Mantises tend to be sluggish before they molt and will rarely feed during this period. Molting increases their vulnerability as prey as it takes a few hours and the mantis remains at one place. The molting process ends at the beginning of summer, when it has grown to be a mature adult.

Adult

Full-grown mantises are normally between 1 to 6 inches in length, and are different in size depending on their species. Female mantises can be distinguished from males as they have heavier abdomens. In addition to small insects, mantises will prey on small nesting birds, mice, lizards and tree frogs. Praying mantises have an interesting behavior when they mate in that the female eats the head of the male mantis as it reduces his sex drive. After mating she feeds on the rest of male's body. The female mantis usually dies after laying eggs

Answer 5

like all bugs go thoughlike all bugs go though