# Little Mites on Mantis's - Chinese, European & Ghost dead



## aomantids (Sep 24, 2011)

Hi All,

I've recently three mantises to some kind of little mite. I'm just about finished thoroughly cleaning all enclosures which included new substrate, sticks, silk/plastic plants, etc.

As for these mites: If anyone has information about them I'd sure appreciate it.

Picture attached of the abdomen of the Adult Chinese Male which died. The mites are little translucent, whitish, blobs. I can see them moving around. A brown injured spot can be seen on the abdomen. I don't know if the mites caused this or if it was a mating injury (this male is about 10 weeks old as an adult and had mated two females) and the mites moved in on the injury.

A Europen also died and I found these little critters on her. She was a sub-adult.

Then, OMG! I lost a Ghost - L5 I think. Found these creatures on her also.

So, as stated above I am doing a very thorough cleaning / changeout of all enclosers (about 50 total which takes some time.) I inspected all live manites and not found any of these mites on them.

One thing I suspect is the crickets I've been getting. I only feed crickets to appropiately large adults so as not to risk losing mantises to crickets during molting. So, of the the three deaths only the Chinese had been fed crickets. However, the mites may have been transferred to other, non-cricket-fed mantises, because I used the same graduated cylinder to feed crickets as I use for fruit flies and other flies. (I have stopped doing this!) But, anyway, the local pet store has changed cricket suppliers. The new (black) crickets are very, and I mean VERY stinky. It makes me doubt the quality of the breedgin and wonder if they are infested?

I have not yet identified the mites on the crickets themselves but I'll let you know if I do.

Any thoughts welcome.

Al


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## gripen (Sep 24, 2011)

that doesn't sound good.


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## aomantids (Sep 24, 2011)

OK, I'll try attaching the pic again.


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## lancaster1313 (Sep 24, 2011)

That is frightening. I have never seen the likes of those mites before.

I have lost a few mantids due to feeding very foul smelling crickets, the poor mantids vomited and had liquid frass that smelled even more foul than the crickets.  I will never feed anything foul smelling to my mantids again, and always quarantine crickets for a couple of days before feeding them to anything.

It may or may not be the crickets that carry the mites, but you could try using paper towel as substrate to rule out whether that may be an issue. Maybe even boiling or baking some of the decor if it is possible without ruining it?


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## frogparty (Dec 5, 2011)

I see mites like these contaminate my fruit fly cultures from time to time. Is it possible they originated from fly cultures you were using?


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## patrickfraser (Dec 5, 2011)

If they are the grain mites like from a fruit fly culture or my dubia bin, they shouldn't "kill" the mantid. What I've seen in my dubias is when a roach dies and if I don't remove it, the mites move in for the moisture provided by the dead bug. They will get in and basically eat it from the inside out. There might be a roach that has been dead for a while and pretty dried up, but if broke open will be full of mites. The mites need the moisture to survive. Could the male have died and then the mites came for the moisture? Or did the mites arrive and the mantis died? The male being an adult 10 weeks seems like it may have just been time, but the others are questionable. Watch the moisture.


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## Rick (Dec 7, 2011)

I have never seen anything like that in this hobby, ever.


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## hibiscusmile (Dec 7, 2011)

got me on this one too, yuck!


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## hibiscusmile (Dec 7, 2011)

go to pet store and grab a cricket and ck it out.


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## ismart (Dec 7, 2011)

They look like wood mites to me? What were you using as a substrate? Grain mites are much smaller.


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## hibiscusmile (Dec 7, 2011)

Yo, no more scratching me back with a stick!


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## meaganelise9 (Dec 7, 2011)

Yikes! I wouldn't buy from there ever again.


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## Orin (Dec 7, 2011)

The normal grain mites will eat dead insects. They did not cause the problem though may be a symptom of husbandry parameters that would kill a mantis.


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## Psychobunny (Dec 8, 2011)

Yikes!! I have never seen anything like those before!!!

I would get rid of all your feeders, clean all containers with hot water and bleach, clean EVERYTHING!!

order some fresh cricks from one of the good crick farms (like Ghann's) and start over.

Never, ever buy cricks from a pet store. Always get them (and all feeders) from a online

farm who has a good reputation and specializes in feeder insects.

P.S. I know this sounds cold and mean, but I would distroy grossly infected mantids (like the one in

your pic) right away.

These parasites may also be in their gut, and they can spread it to others.

If you are not willing to do that, at least put them way away from the uninfected mantids, like in another

room!! and do not share any supplies with the others.


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