# devils flower mantis nymphs, how many flies a day?



## Johnald Chaffinch (Dec 2, 2005)

hi, i've got some Blepharopsis Mendica's (devils flower mantids), at L4/L5 and i'm wondering how many fruit flies should i be feeding them? when i first got them a few weeks ago i was giving them 3 or 4 a day but then i found they'll eat as many as i'll give them, i've gone all the way upto 10 a day. i didnt want to risk them over-eating and splitting their abdomen or anything, do these do that? what's the consequence of feeding them more, does it create a shorter time between sheds at all?

thanks


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## hortus (Dec 3, 2005)

err sounds like your ready for small cricks

i got one thats like L3 or L4 im assuming hes a killer man he will violate some crickets fast . he takes on crazier stuff than my L5 chinese will even look at


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## Johnald Chaffinch (Dec 3, 2005)

if i was feeding fruit flies though how many can i go upto a day with these mantids at this age?


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## Rick (Dec 3, 2005)

There is no set amount to feed. Personally I feed depending on the size of the mantis and how plump it's abdomen is. I feed mine every other day and only one or two appropriate sized food items. I don't know the size of your mantids at that instar but I would say feed them several flies every other day. If after doing that they are very skinny in the abdomen then you know you can feed them a little more. No need to feed them daily though. But sounds like you could feed them small crickets at this stage. Don't worry about their abdomen splitting as that's not gonna happen.


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## Jodokohajjio (Dec 3, 2005)

Hey, to help people get an idea of what size your mantids are, you can send me some pictures with some sort of reference in them (ie take a picture of them next to a quarter or next to a ruler). If you send them to me, I can put them on my website and host them for a while (I'll probably keep them until the thread dies).

check my profile for email address, and put something with "mantis" in the subject line so that I don't accidently delete it as junk mail.


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## Johnald Chaffinch (Dec 3, 2005)

they're about 2cm from head to the bend of the abdomen. over last few days i've been feeding them about 10 fruit flies each a day, they have them all within about ten minutes. the only difference i can see it's making is that they poo more. will it have any other affect on them?


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## hortus (Dec 4, 2005)

faster metabolism, grows faster.


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## Rick (Dec 4, 2005)

> they're about 2cm from head to the bend of the abdomen. over last few days i've been feeding them about 10 fruit flies each a day, they have them all within about ten minutes. the only difference i can see it's making is that they poo more. will it have any other affect on them?


Did you not read my post? Feed them what you think is appropriate. Feeding everyday you're just wasting flies and your time. Feed them every other day.


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## Johnald Chaffinch (Dec 4, 2005)

ah yeh i didnt take what you was saying in properly  

it's just it's hard to know what overfeeding is when you've just had your first mantids just a few weeks, 2 flies , 10, 20... i have no idea how big their abdomens can get. i'm after getting their metabolism going quick so i dont mind overfeeding, i might just experiment with one of them and see how much he can eat.

thank for your advice


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## Rick (Dec 4, 2005)

I think it's kinda hard to overfeed a mantis. I prefer a few appropriate sized food items every other day.


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## Ian (Dec 4, 2005)

I feed mantiss (larger ones) by the size of their abdoman.

If its really bulging, I give the food a miss, and if its looking flat, il feed em up.

Seems to work well for me  

Cheers,

Ian

(oops, just read rick put the same thing..)


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