Matilda's Many Returns: How Many Babies Can Be Produced by One Praying Mantis?

Overview

Objectives/Goals This study follows the egg laying of a praying mantis (Iris oratoria). Over the course of 212 days she laid eggs 18 times. Last year (and completed this year) I studied how food intake effected egg laying. The literature and entomologists I talked to suggested that babies would hatch from the first 7 egg cases. Was Matilda just laying eggs for fun? This year I followed the hatchings from 18 layings and my hypothesis was that babies would hatch from egg cases 1 through 7. Methods/Materials Materials- 18 layings from one wild caught praying mantis, in separate hatching cups (if possible) - kept in a 10 gallon fish tank. Methods- record feedings to complete food intake data: record observations, laying dates and daily hatchings: recount hatching apertures, candle for un-hatched embryos. Use computer to make tables and graph. Results Surprisingly babies hatched from egg cases 1 through 16. The average hatching from egg cases 1 through 15 was 92.3%. Egg case #15 which was laid at 180 days (almost one month beyond expected time limits) hatched to 87%. Over 5 monthes an estimated 1216 babies hatched from a food intake equivalent to 1252 flies. Conclusions/Discussion The number of hatchings far exceeded expectations. My hypothesis was short by 9 egg cases. This mantis was not just laying eggs for fun and is an example of why this species, Iris oratoria, has been so successful in spreading through California.

Competition history

• CSEF 2003 Zoology · Entry J1913

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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