My son's 1st grade class wants to hatch these in the classroom? What do they need? We live in SoCal should we wait til spring ,when temps are a bit warmer?
1607657
Just room temperature but they have to be watched because once they hatch you have to let them out or they die. If you started to thaw them on a Thursday or Friday they should be out before the next weekend.
1607658
You can order them anytime and keep them in refrigerator. I used a plastic cup for each casing with very fine mesh-like cheesecloth or organza fabric piece over the top secured by a rubber band. As long as it is cold, they will not hatch. Check with a good garden shop to find out when they would be hatching normally then take them from the refrigerator and leave the cups (covered as I describe) out for anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks ahead (a guess...I didn't keep track of the elapsed time) Weekends you will want to take them home or have a student's family take them for once they hatch they look for food and, if not put out in the garden, eventually they will begin eating each other, I have been told. A great many hatch from each casing. They are the size of mosquitos....perfect miniature praying mantis once they emerge from the casing and shed an outer 'cocoon-like covering. You can carefully take them out by hand or shake the container around. Try to spread them around the area so that they will have room to find insects. If you are lucky, a few will live and you will see them....one or more inches long and very green...in your garden. I just thought...if you had a bunch of containers, each of your children could take some home with them and distribute in their own gardens. My grandchildren have been so excited to spot one or more of their grown up 'babies' midway through the summer. Good luck
1607659
Do wait until it is safe to released the babies outside as soon as they hatch. I used the included bag and placed it in a light window. They did not hatch until I placed the bag outside in the sun. I used just one egg and probably had around a hundred babies! They are very small! I never saw them again after I released in my garden, but they were alive and active at that point. Great project for little ones. Maybe each child could take 2 or 3 home to release in a small cup with a lid.
977039
I have hatched out 2 sets off chicken eggs and a duck egg out in mine already this spring very high hatch rate. Very happy with mine holds temp and humidity awesome only complaint is the light not working after about the first week
1884514
We've raised thousands from eggs and we put them in a small brown paper bag with a paper clip on top and put them in a window but Not in direct sun. After a few weeks (and we check every day) you will hear the babies crawling around inside so we just take the bag outside to where we want to place them..carefully rip the bag open lengthwise and lay it on the ground. By the end of the day..most have found their way out and about, and if not, scoot the remainder off of the bag. Have fun!
875799
HI there... Just drop one in warm water and wait.. It will take a day or two but the egg will crack and a baby dinosaur will hatch!
875802
Hi amanda! All you do is soak them in a glass of water. It'll take overnight, but you ll see the egg begin to hatch with a dinosaur inside. Not much to it. Its exciting for the kids to see! Good luck. kim
1620873
It took a fair amount of time for ours to hatch, maybe a week or two. And then lots and lots of tiny praying mantises began to appear in the yard. I would have been very unhappy if they somehow ended up loose in my house, but other than that it's seems like it ought to work to hatch them indoors. Remember that they're going to be tiny, so make your enclosure pretty snug.
693738
I would love to help you out with your question, but there is not enough information. It would be fine if you live in California, or if you are letting them go in a greenhouse. But I would not if you live in Colorado, or anywhere it could snow till April, and are placing them in an outside garden. Ladybugs eat aphids, and there are not a lot till the spring. Here is a site about releasing ladybugs... http://www.naturescontrol.com/ladybugs.html
1766955
Yes! There is a dish on the bottom for that, and i would look up how to hatch both types of eggs, im pretty sure they need different humidity and tempatures, so more then likely no. I would read A LOT on what the eggs will need and the hatchlings as well before starting anything, eggs are pretty complicated, and it can be heart breaking when they dont hatch.
1281199
It's still early enough to plant. Make sure you use a good fertilized soil and mulch a few inches deep out to about six inches past the root ball diameter. Water every day until the cold comes. I live in MA and put in 1 gallon plants 4 years ago. They are taller than me and almost 3 feet across at the root ball. 5-6 at the widest point of branch swell. Great plants. I have some 4 inch also and they lag about 1-2 years behind the 1 gallon starters. I get them as Xmas gifts and keep inside until spring. Leave in the pot, use a drip tray and water well. These are amazing to watch grow and very beautiful. And they will get big. Figure 5-6 feet for the mature root ball and up to 10 feet tall. I planted tight for dense screening, but could have gone 5-7 feet apart instead of 3. It's all what you want it to do. Look at pics on the web for scale and plant for maturity, not youth. They grow so fast! Enjoy.
1334735
I wouldnt release them all indoors if its your home. Indoors is fine if you have a grow room or greenhouse. Outdoors, mist the plants with water and wait till evening when the sun is going down. They will disperse looking for food and water. If the plants are wet, they will stick around and lay eggs, but if not, they will fly off looking for water and food. Best investment I've made in my aquaponic garden yet!
682076
I never put my eggs in the refrigerator, however, when the eggs hatched there were hundreds and only a small amount of food. they do not tell you to wait until warm weather after insects arrive so that you might turn them out almost as soon as they hatch. My experience was disastrous as they ate each other or starved to death. Only maybe 1/2 dozen survived until we let them out, but I never saw a large one in the yard.
450214
Marilyn, I purchased five praying mantis egg cases a few weeks ago, and I placed them in my vegetable gardens. They all hatched and there for a while I had zillions. (One case hatched on my dining room table overnight. I was sitting at the table and saw probably a couple hundred on my shirt, arms and plate! It was funny. I gathered them up on a sheet of paper best I could.) They are wonderful to watch. You might keep some in a terrarium, but the little guys start eating each other pretty soon. So after they hatch in the terrarium, take ' em outside and remove the lid. All mine are outside now, and occaisionally, one will stop by and say "hello"., a little bigger than before. Have fun!Tom Marilyn, I purchased five praying mantis egg cases a few weeks ago, and I placed them in my vegetable gardens. They all hatched and there for a while I had zillions. (One case hatched on my dining room table overnight. I was sitting at the table and saw probably a couple hundred on my shirt, arms and plate! It was funny. I gathered them up on a sheet of paper best I could.) They are wonderful to watch. You might keep some in a terrarium, but the little guys start eating each other pretty soon. So after they hatch in the terrarium, take ' em outside and remove the lid. All mine are... » Read More Marilyn, I purchased five praying mantis egg cases a few weeks ago, and I placed them in my vegetable gardens. They all hatched and there for a while I had zillions. (One case hatched on my dining room table overnight. I was sitting at the table and saw probably a couple hundred on my shirt, arms and plate! It was funny. I gathered them up on a sheet of paper best I could.) They are wonderful to watch. You might keep some in a terrarium, but the little guys start eating each other pretty soon. So after they hatch in the terrarium, take ' em outside and remove the lid. All mine are outside now, and occaisionally, one will stop by and say "hello"., a little bigger than before. Have fun!Tom « Show Less
2238259
Yes that's what I hatched last spring. I put 5 in and 3 of them hatched. I love that incubator and my first graders were amazed!
315756
It's a gamble. I know they like warm weather to hatch, it all depends on your location and how long of a summer you have left where you are. Hope this helps.
667838
I live in Texas, I hatched mine in the house. Th trouble I had, we could not find food they could eat. Every thing was too large. I hatched many many, could find o food in the wild or in the pet stores. Better have insects on your plants or they will eat each other. No poison on plants.
1563467
The first thing I ask us what is the room temp at? I had each pod in a mason jars with a vented lid. It was about 2 to 4 weeks for all the pods to hatch.they like it on the warm side- mid 70's Good luck
1481974
I did't hang them anywhere, I followed the instructions only, and put both egg cases into the 'habitat' sack. I placed them on a sunny window sill and let nature take its course. About the time I began worrying nothing was happening, I found oodles of baby mantis' staring back at me through their 'window'. GOOD LUCK