# Bees?



## buddhistsoldier88

Anybody know how to catch wild honey bees and _*NOT GET KILLED*_ in the process? Thanks mates!


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## colddigger

jar and tweezer


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## Rick

Jar and a lid.


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## colddigger

:lol: well yes the lid i guess is important in it's own way


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## hibiscusmile

:lol: jAR AND LID AND SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT!


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## Asa

Thick gloves. Thats it.


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## robo mantis

You can buy from local breeders


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## Asa

Yeah, but catching them isn't much of a problem.


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## buddhistsoldier88

do u guys see ANY benfits feeding your mantids wild caught bees?


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## OGIGA

Put a drop of honey into a dry, empty water bottle and just put the mouth over the bee. After it flies up and finds the honey, it'll probably stop trying to escape. This worked very well with flies for me.


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## Asa

> do u guys see ANY benfits feeding your mantids wild caught bees?


Of course! One, they're huge and will provide a lot of food, two, they are covered in pollen. You're not having to do any of the honey dustiong of the fruit flies. Plus, you only need one or two of them.


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## colddigger

> do u guys see ANY benfits feeding your mantids wild caught bees?


bacteria of course


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## Asa

Cynical today, are we?


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## buddhistsoldier88

> do u guys see ANY benfits feeding your mantids wild caught bees?
> 
> 
> 
> bacteria of course
Click to expand...

how does bacteria benefit a mantid other than digestion?


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## colddigger

well, bacteria will free it of its limbs thus making it l_lighter_ of course!


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## Morpheus uk

Is it safe to feed some bees from my garden to my Idolo`s?

I just dont see it as working, i usally get the end of everything so im worried they`ll sting my mantids, and dont they have poison sacs for the sting? what happens if they eat that?


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## Asa

That's ridiculous. Bees do not have 'poison sacs'. There is not much chance of them being stung, because well, the mantis is holding it.


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## Morpheus uk

Not what i ment, they obviously have some sort of poison or toxin other wise thier sting wouldnt hurt?


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## Asa

> Not what i ment, they obviously have some sort of poison or toxin other wise thier sting wouldnt hurt?


No, the only reason it hurts is because it pricks. There are some who spit and bite, but it has nothing to do with toxin.


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## colddigger

bees have poison sacks, that's why some people are allergic, the mantis might just eat around it you have to remember that bees are like soft wasps...


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## Asa

> bees have poison sacks, that's why some people are allergic, the mantis might just eat around it you have to remember that bees are like soft wasps...


All right, there are three types of bees that have 'poison sacs'. That's not a lot. A mantid will not get hurt by it, even if you manage to find one.


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## Rob Byatt

> bees have poison sacks, that's why some people are allergic, the mantis might just eat around it you have to remember that bees are like soft wasps...
> 
> 
> 
> All right, there are three types of bees that have 'poison sacs'. That's not a lot. A mantid will not get hurt by it, even if you manage to find one.
Click to expand...

What do you mean there are three types (spesies ?) of bee that have poison sacks ? As far as I know most bee species are have venom sacks. Oh by the way, a venom can be ingested without harm - it has to enter the blood strean directly to cause harm.


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## Birdfly

I have been feeding bees to mantids for a few decades, and wasps, and i've never yet had even a remotely scary moment. Not all mantids will want them but the larger species and some quite small flower type mantids will take them with ease.

Bees are particularily good because of the pollen laden baskets they usually carry not to mention variety.

As Rob says the venom/poison sack is eaten with no danger of affecting the mantids.


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## Asa

> bees have poison sacks, that's why some people are allergic, the mantis might just eat around it you have to remember that bees are like soft wasps...
> 
> 
> 
> All right, there are three types of bees that have 'poison sacs'. That's not a lot. A mantid will not get hurt by it, even if you manage to find one.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> What do you mean there are three types (spesies ?) of bee that have poison sacks ? As far as I know most bee species are have venom sacks. Oh by the way, a venom can be ingested without harm - it has to enter the blood strean directly to cause harm.
Click to expand...

3 species. Many bees only bite, despite them having stingers. Venom enters the blood stream, through the Lymphus (forget how to spell  ) So in order to poison anything to induce allergies, then it would have to enter through the upper and lower part of arms and legs.


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## Birdfly

Asa, are you saying that these "many bees that bite" introduce venom through their biting??

There are many more than 3 species of bee.

I can only decifer from the allergie bit that you mean anaphaleptic shock [spelling] which is induced by the injected venom only if you are allergic to it, if not then you just have an annoying sting. :lol:


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## Asa

> Asa, are you saying that these "many bees that bite" introduce venom through their biting??There are many more than 3 species of bee.
> 
> I can only decifer from the allergie bit that you mean anaphaleptic shock [spelling] which is induced by the injected venom only if you are allergic to it, if not then you just have an annoying sting. :lol:


No, bees that sting produce venom. Many bees do not sting though.


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## Birdfly

Ah ok, i expect there are a few species that dont sting knowing how diverse nature is, in which case there is even less threat to a mantis.

I use just honey bees, and when really desperate i've taken the odd bumble, these do have stings and venom sacs but are still no threat to a creature thats evolved to eat them.

Wasps are more capable at defending themselves than bees, are also a successful predator, taking many types of smaller insects for there larvae, but again i've never had a scary moment.

Usa bees and wasps may be totally different bigger, more aggressive etc but i've seen the humble _Tenodera a sinensis_ destroy a chinese hornet.

Some wasps [more solitary types] have evolved into top insect predator specialists, some specialize in caterpillars, spiders, orthopterans etc and i expect there might be a type or two in the world that specialize in mantids, we all know about the parasitic wasps  

2nd edit, answer to original question: can i feed bees to my _I diabolica_ ?

When your _I diabolica_ reach a safe size they can take even the largest bees with ease and usual wasps, they seem particularily effective wasp and bee predators, jostling them around quite a lot, their large mandibles doing a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

But it would be wiser to get a good fly hatchery going as you cannot rely on bees and/or wasps.


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## colddigger

the ending of this is probably what's going to happen if you bother bees

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/joeybee


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## robo mantis

What?? lol That was long but thats what happens at the end


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## colddigger

yeah, credits appear


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## Asa

I don't like credits.


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