# Are there any bugs I should NOT feed to Mantids?



## Meadow98684 (Jun 28, 2012)

Just wondering. Because my mantids seem to like variety. I caught a Damselfly or a Dragonfly today, and my Multispina grabbed it right out of my hand. He really liked it. The fly that was already in there he seemed to be not as interested in.

Are there any bugs that I should steer clear of?


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## whatislove (Jun 28, 2012)

The only things you should avoid are ants and really venomous spiders (and even the spiders is usually fine but you do run the risk of it getting a good shot in and killing your mantis), ants are small and call reinforcements.

Other than that just avoid any bugs that have been near pesticides.

I'm sure there are a few more rare/obscure species of 1 type of bug that you shouldn't feed them but in general, catching bugs from outside your house isn't going to harm your mantis.


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## Paradoxica (Jun 28, 2012)

I have seen footage of a dragonfly taking a mantis befor but it was outside and the dragonfly had the benefit of surprise, not like when you drop something into the mantis tank and they are instantly aware of it. Also I have read on the forum that Superworms have a nasty bite and are able to hurt a mantis.


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## gripen (Jun 29, 2012)

Paradoxica said:


> I have seen footage of a dragonfly taking a mantis befor but it was outside and the dragonfly had the benefit of surprise, not like when you drop something into the mantis tank and they are instantly aware of it. Also I have read on the forum that Superworms have a nasty bite and are able to hurt a mantis.


Superworms are fine if you feed them to an appropriately sized nymph. I steer away from wasps because of there bight and stick but I know many people use them.


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## eyes (Jun 29, 2012)

I have found that anything that you don't want in your house is bad. Roaches seem to escape no matter what you do or how careful you are. Assassin bugs are just bad news as I found out today (put one in cage and more appeared in the room somehow).


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 29, 2012)

I smash mouths of dangerous feeders , then feed, also what not to feed a mantis! MINE! TEE HEE!

PS on another note, I have a hard time feeding dragon and damsels because their eyes are like the mantis and it bothers me..... :hammer:


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## wrenae (Jul 3, 2012)

I thought I read somewhere not to feed beetles to mantids. Can anyone confirm or rule this out?


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## eyes (Jul 3, 2012)

I'm no expert but I think the thing with beetles is that they tend to have a thick tough shell and often have powerful dangerous mouth parts.

Depends on the beetle though. I have caught many that weren't much tougher than a cricket and they seemed to be fine (eg.Neoclytus). I have avoided the big mean looking beetles though.


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## agent A (Jul 3, 2012)

I can think of a few

Wheel bugs

Assassin bugs

Stinkbugs

Bedbugs

Water boatmen

Backswimmers


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## mutrok4040 (Jul 4, 2012)

I guess you could feed assassin bugs to your praying mantis if they are a lot smaller than the mantis. If they are any bigger, say good-bye to your mantis lol


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## eyes (Jul 4, 2012)

Not stink bugs? My Chinese love those things. Might depend on what type of stink bug you're talking about though. I haven't tried Chinese stink bugs yet because for whatever reason their population has been decimated the last few years (so much for the "invasion" everyone was worried about; or maybe someone did something about it). There have been a bunch of these smallish brown ones and some grey ones that are much fatter than the Chinese stink bug, my mantises love them. There is some type of black stink bug that the mantises wouldn't touch, I put one in a venus flytrap and it turned the leaf completely black within hours (some kind of toxic bug there).

There are many assassin bugs that don't feed on insects so in theory they would be safe. However, like I said, you don't want the other kind in your house because they will be feeding on YOU (possibly giving you parasites in the process). After bringing that one single insect into the house I have been finding more every once in a while (never had them before), what a mistake that was.


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## mykey14 (Jul 8, 2012)

I would avoid feeding your mantis wasps,bees,millipedes,centipedes,caterpillars, and children.

Wasps and bees can sting and kill your mantis, millepedes emit a bad tasting stinky fluid that may or may not be poisonous(same goes for caterpillars).

Parents get mad after they realize you just feed their child to a large radiated budwing.

Also, I personally dont feed my mantids spiders, but if the spider is substancially smaller and not venomous you can give to your mantises, just be careful.


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## womantis (Jul 20, 2012)

every year we have these swarming beetles here in nothern california - i "think" they are june bugs - not very big, very active...can i feed them to my tenodera?


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## ismart (Jul 20, 2012)

agent A said:


> I can think of a few
> 
> Wheel bugs
> 
> ...


What! As far as i'm concerned your whole list is on my mantis menu.  I was told all these bugs taste like coookie! :lol: 

The botom line is common sense. If your feeding a predator to another predator. Make sure there is substantial size difference between them. Trial, and error. If your mantis grabs a bug and decides to toss it aside? This would mean it's not on the menu.


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## ismart (Jul 20, 2012)

womantis said:


> every year we have these swarming beetles here in nothern california - i "think" they are june bugs - not very big, very active...can i feed them to my tenodera?


Try them. If your mantis tosses it aside then you have your answer.


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Jul 20, 2012)

mykey14 said:


> I would avoid feeding your mantis wasps,bees,millipedes,centipedes,caterpillars, and children.
> 
> Wasps and bees can sting and kill your mantis, millepedes emit a bad tasting stinky fluid that may or may not be poisonous(same goes for caterpillars).
> 
> ...


I had an L5 female tenodera, which was bit in the eye by a spider ( i witnessed it all go down in my garage.

I thought she would survive if i hand fed her, so i took her into my care. She then became sluggish, blackish, and then died.

So really, i would avoid spiders if you do not know what it is


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## MantidDan (Jul 23, 2012)

For some reason my Tenodera do not like house flies.


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## nebrakacinese (Jul 23, 2012)

I got in to the hobby in early Sept. some years ago,I had bred a pair of chinese I had caught.Sometime after she layed a few ooths I fed her a black wasp,with a very teeny waistline.My mantis chucked up her meal,and layed a very deformed ooth in the subsrate,she layed no more ooths.They seem to like bee's,but their having problems and we rely on them for many things,from food to cosmetics so that's my opinion.


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## mantidsaresweet (Jul 23, 2012)

womantis said:


> every year we have these swarming beetles here in nothern california - i "think" they are june bugs - not very big, very active...can i feed them to my tenodera?


Oh yeah! Mine love June bugs as soon as they figure out how to get past their hard exoskeleton lol.


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