# How many flies should I feed my ghost mantis?



## ChitandChat (Oct 3, 2020)

Greetings everyone! My ghost mantis nymph is arriving this Wednesday most likely and I have its d. hydei flies ready but I have a question. I've been looking around and I can't find any care sheet that specifies how many flies I should feed it and how often. I see some that warn not to overfeed, as well as that they can go a while without eating, but nothing about how many flies to feed my mantis. Any help would be appreciated!


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 3, 2020)

What instar is it? The general rule is to feed every few days, or whenever the mantid's abdomen isn't full. 

- MantisGirl13


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 3, 2020)

I feed mine every day. Three to five flies typical of its size on what type to feed. For instance for 1/2 instar ghost 4/5 hydei. 3rd to 4th house flies. Beyond that, 4blue bottle flies are sufficient. Now male adult feed every other day 2/3 bb . Female adult 5to 6 each day. Ghost love water give them all they want.  They can have waxworm and mealworms couple times a week. But not every day.


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## ChitandChat (Oct 4, 2020)

MantisGirl13 said:


> What instar is it? The general rule is to feed every few days, or whenever the mantid's abdomen isn't full.
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Supplier says it should be L3-L4 upon arrival. So then its abdomen should give me an idea of its full or not. Would it be safe to give it one fly and then leave another fly for when it finishes the first fly?

EDIT: Actually I just realized that a multiple flies a day probably isn't needed considering the size proportions between mantis and a fly. It would be like a human eating a whole chicken I guess.


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## ChitandChat (Oct 4, 2020)

hibiscusmile said:


> I feed mine every day. Three to five flies typical of its size on what type to feed. For instance for 1/2 instar ghost 4/5 hydei. 3rd to 4th house flies. Beyond that, 4blue bottle flies are sufficient. Now male adult feed every other day 2/3 bb . Female adult 5to 6 each day. Ghost love water give them all they want.  They can have waxworm and mealworms couple times a week. But not every day.


So to to make sure I understood:

On average: 3-5 each feeding

For adult males: 2-3 BBs every other day

For adult females: 5 to 6 BBs daily


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 4, 2020)

ChitandChat said:


> Supplier says it should be L3-L4 upon arrival. So then its abdomen should give me an idea of its full or not. Would it be safe to give it one fly and then leave another fly for when it finishes the first fly?
> 
> EDIT: Actually I just realized that a multiple flies a day probably isn't needed considering the size proportions between mantis and a fly. It would be like a human eating a whole chicken I guess.


If you're just feeding fruit flies you'll need more than just a few for an L4 ghost. 

- MantisGirl13


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