# Memorable Feeder Insects/Feeding Experience Survey



## aychen222 (Mar 5, 2013)

The weather is getting warm, the grass gets greener every day, and the trees are starting to show leaves. In the spirit of spring, I started to think of all the different insects I could finally feed my mantids. And I was just wondering, after watching my creos double claw and sometimes catch bb flies with just their mouths, what are some memorable feeding experiences that you have had? More than that, what is the most interesting feeder insect/animal that your mantids have experienced?







I am hoping this will be a very picture filled topic with great suggestions on all different sorts of insects to treat my mantids to.


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## Meadow98684 (Mar 5, 2013)

Hmm...the most memorable for me is when I tried feeding a potato bug to my late Multispina...didn't get any pictures though but it was funny...she couldn't eat through the shell and it was rolled up like an armadillo, so the bug lived! I do have a picture of my late Chinese eating a moth though...


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## aychen222 (Mar 5, 2013)

Oh man I can't access that link, can you attach the pic?


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## Meadow98684 (Mar 5, 2013)

Ok, there it is


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## aychen222 (Mar 5, 2013)

Ha I just realized how small these pictures are. I changed the size of mine by inserting an image using the URL instead of doing it from "my media."


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## aychen222 (Mar 6, 2013)

Today I was lucky enough to find a spined assassin bug for my creos. I know they are dangerous but I figured that the adult creos could take it. Anyway, here are some pictures. It was pretty interesting to watch because the creo naturally kept the "beak" of the assassin bug held down and left that portion uneaten.




While she was chewing, I noticed a distinct apple smell in the room. The only source could only have been from the assassin bug. It was actually a pretty pleasant smell, and reminded me of a sour apple candle I once had.


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## Meadow98684 (Mar 6, 2013)

Nice! My Creo nymph is ignoring food right now, I hope Hydei flies aren't too big for it. Where in the world do you find assassin bugs?


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## aychen222 (Mar 6, 2013)

This one was in my house! But in South Carolina they are all over the bushes in the spring and summer.


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## Meadow98684 (Mar 6, 2013)

Oh see I live in Oregon so I'm not sure if theyre a native species or not..


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## ScienceGirl (Mar 6, 2013)

Haha! Those pictures are so funny!  

Can't wait to see other people's stories!!!


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## Paradoxica (Mar 6, 2013)

One word: BACON!


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## aychen222 (Mar 6, 2013)

now i will never be able to eat bacon the same again.


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## Paradoxica (Mar 6, 2013)

aychen222 said:


> now i will never be able to eat bacon the same again.


Yes because now you'll have to share


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## patrickfraser (Mar 6, 2013)

PASSION FRUIT! :lol:


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## aychen222 (Mar 6, 2013)

patrickfraser said:


> PASSION FRUIT! :lol:


Oh no, now we will have that crazy discussion of non-living foods that people feed mantids. NOT UP IN HERE!


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## Coneja (Mar 9, 2013)

Aychen: I've noticed that smell too, back when I was having to make an insect collection for class. I've noticed it with some other "shield" bugs as well... Great first photo, by the way... wish I could make mine that clear!


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## Coneja (Mar 9, 2013)

Well, I was going to post a thread called "Open Season" because today is the first time I've noticed bugs, but you beat me to it! Looks like you've had better weather in NJ than we've had here in Washington...  

So, this is the first warm period of weather we've had in a bit... My roommate actually opened the sliding glass door today! Siri molted to L6 yesterday, and although I have some mealworms, I'm waiting for my blue bottles to hatch and he's apparently tired of the worms. I live in apartment complex, on the third floor, so I went out onto my deck with my coffee to take a break from writing a paper and it was like a buffet out there! A bunch of fat flies, sunning themselves on my deck! I promptly got my butterfly net from my room (comes in real handy) and went back out to catch breakfast for Siri. Because of the apartment complex layout, there's decks beside and below mine, and someone's dad was sitting on the deck to the right one floor down. He's reading and ignoring me, at first, as I prance around in my pajamas with a butterfly net. I catch a few flies, mostly by slamming the net down onto the deck floor, which makes a modest "bang" each time. After one of these hunting sessions, I stand up going "hah"! with a fly between my fingers and I look over and the guy has put down his newspaper and is watching me... Luckily by that time I'd gotten five big flies so I called it a day and retreated to my room... :whistling: 

That was my funniest experience in terms of feeding... Siri loved the flies, he's munching happily away right now. I don't have any pics but I'm attaching a picture of lil' Siri eating a mealworm... I guess the only other thing he does that's funny is sometimes, when I drop a mealworm in front of him on my hand, he'll watch it until it gets too close and touches one of his feet! Then he pulls it away and shakes it and gives the worm a look like, "Eeww... A bug!" :blink: (I haven't had the heart to tell him that he's an insect too!)






Ignore the "crumbs" on my hand... it's from the mealworm container. (Those things can be tough to scoop out sometimes!) I love the way he holds these things... reminds me of a hot dog or ice cream cone!

Oh yeah... and once I saw Siri in the process of trying to eat THREE flies! One in each claw, and he had another abdomen in his mouth.  Greedy little bugger!


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## Mime454 (Mar 9, 2013)

Just found the first grasshopper of the year. Spring is here!!!


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## BugLover (Mar 9, 2013)

a little off topic, but this morning there were LOADS of ladybugs funneling out of these plants in my front yard. Too bad i don't have any mantids to feed them to :lol:


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## aychen222 (Mar 9, 2013)

Fed a yellow sac spider to my budwing Liddy tonight. It looked pretty juicy.








The spider's legs were extending when Liddy was chewing on the part of them closest to the abdomen.




"what's this piece"




"what are you lookin at"


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## Paradoxica (Mar 10, 2013)

Paradoxica said:


> One word: BACON!


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## Coneja (Mar 10, 2013)

Oooo... is that the cricket-flavored kind?


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## BugLover (Mar 10, 2013)

Paradoxica said:


> Paradoxica said:
> 
> 
> > One word: BACON!


LOL i gotta try that!


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## Mime454 (Mar 16, 2013)

Found 20+ moths while baby sitting my sister at my other house. Can't wait to bring them home to the hungry mantids tomorrow!


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## mantid_mike (Mar 26, 2013)

I've always found it interesting to feed a mantis to a mantis. Most memorable was feeding a large, mismolted Dessicata girl to a hungry Blepharopsis Mendica girl. She ate most it.


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## aychen222 (Mar 26, 2013)

Any pictures?


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## mantid_mike (Mar 26, 2013)




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## Reptiliatus (Mar 31, 2013)

Interesting


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## frogparty (Apr 1, 2013)

sphinx moths!!! Right now there are a ton of white lined sphinx moths out. My adult mantis love them and are fine on one a week. NO MORE FLIES!!!

Later in the year, the one eyed sphinx moths come out, albeit less abundantly, and I take advantage too. BIG moths are my favorite mantis feeder. I honestly am trying to create a situation where I wont ever need flies anymore.






Hymenopus eating a one eyed sphinx moth


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## aychen222 (Apr 1, 2013)

That looks like fun


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## Reptiliatus (Apr 1, 2013)

frogparty said:


> I honestly am trying to create a situation where I wont ever need flies anymore.


I will be posting a thread soon on breeding wax moths  . I am also trying to do the same thing.


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## mantid_mike (Apr 1, 2013)

frogparty said:


> sphinx moths!!! Right now there are a ton of white lined sphinx moths out. My adult mantis love them and are fine on one a week. NO MORE FLIES!!!
> 
> Later in the year, the one eyed sphinx moths come out, albeit less abundantly, and I take advantage too. BIG moths are my favorite mantis feeder. I honestly am trying to create a situation where I wont ever need flies anymore.
> 
> ...


I wish it was this simple for me. Every moth that I've caught out here in LA has ended up killing my mantids (including an adult hymenopus female). I'm pretty sure my situation has had something to do with pesticides.


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## frogparty (Apr 1, 2013)

Wax moths are fine for smaller instars, but for my adult females, I like a BIG moth. I mean, just check it out! One feeder, once a week! As easy and low maintenance as feeding a snake


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## sinensispsyched (Apr 2, 2013)

frogparty said:


> Wax moths are fine for smaller instars, but for my adult females, I like a BIG moth. I mean, just check it out! One feeder, once a week! As easy and low maintenance as feeding a snake


YES!! Fully agree!


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## Digger (Apr 3, 2013)

aychen222 said:


> Fed a yellow sac spider to my budwing Liddy tonight. It looked pretty juicy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yellow sac spiders have a rather potent venom for their size. But this is natural prey in the wild for mantids so I guess it's fine. Did Liddy leave the spider head and fangs behind?


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## aychen222 (Apr 3, 2013)

nope. she ate all of it.


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## aychen222 (Apr 9, 2013)

Just fed this _Orthosia revicta_ to my ghost, Haunter.






not my picture (taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2395025568)




I have a good video I will edit and put on youtube.




Super fuzzy


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## sally (Apr 9, 2013)

I can't wait to have moths... It is still freezing here in northern IL.


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## frogparty (Apr 10, 2013)

Moths are absolutely the best! Right now I can go out in the evening and collect sphinx moths feeding off geranium and other more tubular flowers.


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## aychen222 (Apr 20, 2013)

Up in Connecticut right now, tons of moths all over. Here is a sallow moth that I just fed to Haunter. Suuuper juicy, transparent yellow meat, and very active.


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## aychen222 (Apr 20, 2013)

Crane fly fed to Liddy. It was a huge meal for her, lasted well over an hour.


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## aychen222 (Apr 20, 2013)

And here's a video I made of the first post. Warning:explicit language is used in the song, but I felt the song was appropriate.


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## aNisip (Apr 20, 2013)

The younger mantises gobble up crane flies....the eat each leg one by one, like spaghetti...


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## glock34girl (Apr 23, 2013)

The Fifty had a yummy grasshopper today. I had to risk my life catching it in a bee infested tree lol

Took her about 45-60 minutes. She walked around her enclosure with it securely tucked in one raptor. When I originally gave it to her I'd opened the zipper to her house and cracked the lid if the deli... She climbed into the cup after it!


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## glock34girl (Apr 23, 2013)

AndrewNisip said:


> The younger mantises gobble up crane flies....the eat each leg one by one, like spaghetti...


Benelli, my adult orchid eats the legs and antennae off of stuff like spaghetti it's sooo adorable.


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## yen_saw (May 1, 2013)

A large katydid for the female D lobata.... I love summer, it's easy to find mantis food.


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## aychen222 (May 1, 2013)

Wow that is big. Good looking meal.


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## mantid_mike (May 1, 2013)

That lobata is awesome. She's almost white.


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## Digger (May 1, 2013)

Captured two Deidamia inscripta this afternoon. They're almost too beautiful to put on the dinner table. But Ponder, Orion and Twitch yelled and banged on the sides of their condos. So a banquet it shall be. Ponder is just days away from her molt to adult - maybe I'll wait until then as a celebration dinner.


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## Krissim Klaw (May 2, 2013)

Stink bugs, the mantises enjoy them, me not so much. Pew


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## Domanating (May 4, 2013)

Memorable feeding times... Memorable feeding times... Well I have 3. One of them I already posted some time ago here:

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=25797&amp;hl=

Another here:

Yeah, the music on this one is intended to be seen as a joke, lol


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