Praying Mantis hatching tips and tricks

Your baby mantises will emerge from their ootheca within 12 weeks. Here's how to help ensure you have a successful egg case. 

• Suspend the egg case in the Hatching Plant Egg case holder. If you do not have a Hatching plant, you can suspend the egg case with a stick with a fork in it like this. 
• Maintain the egg case at room temperature. 
• Do not expose it to sunlight or drafts.
• Provide humidity by misting the enclosure (do not mist the egg case directly) dehydration is one of the main reasons an egg case will fail.
• Do not jostle the ootheca.
• Be patient! We know it's tough to wait but sometimes it takes a while for the nymphs to emerge. It can take up to 12 weeks for the ootheca to hatch. 
• When your nymphs are emerging from the egg case, do not disturb the habitat. 
• Do not touch the hatchlings when they are emerging as they are very fragile at this time.
• Once the baby mantids have emerged, release them into your garden.