# Wahlbergii Questions



## Mantis Dictator (May 21, 2008)

Hey guys. This is my Second post on these forums and i have a question. Are D. hydei suitable for L1 Wahlbergii nymphs? Also, will they survive iin room temps (75f). I dont mind if they grow realy slow due to temps.

thanks peoples


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## Kruszakus (May 21, 2008)

Mantis dictator said:


> Hey guys. This is my Second post on these forums and i have a question. Are D. hydei suitable for L1 Wahlbergii nymphs? Also, will they survive iin room temps (75f). I dont mind if they grow realy slow due to temps.thanks peoples


This is a tricky species - I would say that the temperature you want to keep them in is way too low - 28C is more suitable, of course during the night the temperature should be lower - about 23C.

I'd stick to D. melanogaster - you will make it easier for the nymphs to feed.


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## Mantis Dictator (May 21, 2008)

> This is a tricky species - I would say that the temperature you want to keep them in is way too low - 28C is more suitable, of course during the night the temperature should be lower - about 23C. I'd stick to D. melanogaster - you will make it easier for the nymphs to feed.


Thanks Kruszakus. They are a pretty communal Species right? All i need is to make sure they are well fed?


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## mrblue (May 22, 2008)

i would not go so far as to use the word communal, but _Pseudocreobotra_ in my experience is far less cannibalistic than many others. I have kept both _P.wahlbergii _and _P.ocellata_ at L1 and both have fed well on _D.hydeii _but of course if you have _D.melanogaster_ than this may be useful for the few weaker ones that may not be so bold as to grab _D.hydeii_. as long as they are well fed and the container is not too cramped then they should be ok together, at least for a while.


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## Kruszakus (Jun 2, 2008)

You know... they are not so cannibalistic if you provide a lot of food - but you will have to "upgrade" the food quite often - from L3 I swithed from fruit flies to small wax moths and blue bottles - from L4 they were fed mostly with big house flies - to my surprise they had no problems with grabbing those.

But I did it only because it was easier to provide water for 40+ nymphs - since I was misting them 2-3 times a day, keeping them in separate containers would be a bit too much of a hassle.


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## mrblue (Jun 2, 2008)

Kruszakus said:


> You know... they are not so cannibalistic if you provide a lot of food - but you will have to "upgrade" the food quite often - from L3 I swithed from fruit flies to small wax moths and blue bottles - from L4 they were fed mostly with big house flies - to my surprise they had no problems with grabbing those. But I did it only because it was easier to provide water for 40+ nymphs - since I was misting them 2-3 times a day, keeping them in separate containers would be a bit too much of a hassle.


i agree it is much easier to keep them together. and i agree that if you provide alot of food, they are not as cannibalistic as other species. i just think the only species i have kept that i would be comfortable describing as "communal" is g.gongylodes. but right now, i have a small group of 7 p.ocellata living together, but i have plenty of fruit flies for them (i wish i had bigger flies  it would be alot easier).


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## Kruszakus (Jun 3, 2008)

mrblue said:


> i agree it is much easier to keep them together. and i agree that if you provide alot of food, they are not as cannibalistic as other species. i just think the only species i have kept that i would be comfortable describing as "communal" is g.gongylodes. but right now, i have a small group of 7 p.ocellata living together, but i have plenty of fruit flies for them (i wish i had bigger flies  it would be alot easier).


Yeah, but it's vital to separate them after they turn L5 - from that point on it's not a good idea to keep them together, since their cannibalistic nature comes to surface and less and less nymphs may be found in the enclosure  

I found Idolomorpha and Phyllovates very communal - although Phyllovates females tend to be brutal towards the males...


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