# Wild caught flies/insects...



## Mushi (Mar 1, 2008)

Can Mantis get parasites (internal/external) from eating wild caughts flies/insects? Due to this reason I'm worried about feeding things from the wild.


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## Malnra (Mar 1, 2008)

They eat them in the wild .... I would not have a problem feeding them to my mantis should i happen to get some this spring and summer. Availablilty of cultured ones makes it more likely I will go that way though.

To answer the question .. sure they could ....


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## Andrew (Mar 1, 2008)

What Geoff said. Variety in diet is almost always a good thing.


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## Rick (Mar 2, 2008)

In the warm months I feed mine a lot of insects from outside. Much better for them.


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## Birdfly (Mar 2, 2008)

Me too, i have plenty of cultured feeder insects but when summer comes most of my mantids eat bees, wasps, and flies coz they have a much higher nutritional value imo, and are most mantids select prey .

Must get a sweep net with a heavy batoned base for catching field plankton for my smaller nymphs.

Never had a problem with any kind of parasite but i live in the uk which is mantidless and cant really have any mantid dependant parasites


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## idolomantis (Mar 2, 2008)

so do i  i gave them grasshoppers big flies and whatever-i,ve-found(exept wasps) fun to see how my ameles fighted with some large flies


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## joossa (Mar 3, 2008)

^Ditto!


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## Malnra (Mar 4, 2008)

I was wondering about using ants though. worker ants are not quite as fierce as the warrior ants in the colony. For newborn nymphs has anyone used ants ?

I am not so worried about the ants killing my mantis as I am about them being toxic to my baby mantis. Getting the ants would be pretty easy as all you need it a container with some sugar and a while for the colony to show up to loot it.


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## idolomantis (Mar 4, 2008)

Geoff_K said:


> I was wondering about using ants though. worker ants are not quite as fierce as the warrior ants in the colony. For newborn nymphs has anyone used ants ?I am not so worried about the ants killing my mantis as I am about them being toxic to my baby mantis. Getting the ants would be pretty easy as all you need it a container with some sugar and a while for the colony to show up to loot it.


the workers arent venomous so shoulnd be an problem well some spieces are so its good to know wich ones are poisonous and wich ones are not.

altough alot of ants can(workers included) have somthing sour like to spout...wild cought ff and other smalll insect are better  

and your ants can always have a nasty bite wich possebly can rip your mantis,s leg of  (only when giving to small mantids if there 4times larger then the ants is this no problem)

just find something els


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## Mantida (Mar 4, 2008)

This ant question has been asked many, many times.

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=9612

The basics to the question is, unless you are an EXPERT in identifying ants and knowing which ones have toxins and which ones don't, do not feed your mantids ants! Ants can spray chemicals that can paralyze or kill mantid nymphs. Better safe than sorry...


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## Precious (Mar 10, 2008)

Mantids can get parasites, particularly a waterborne worm commonly called a "hair worm" I think. There's a vector between the worm in the water and the mantid but I can't remember what it is. Grasshopper maybe? Anyway, the benefit of a varied, wild diet far outweighs the risk of infestation, in my opinion.


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