# Which fly???



## asdsdf (Aug 15, 2007)

Okay, so recently, my two European mantids just mated, and so I'm preparing for (hopefully) nymphs. Now, there are two fruit fly types, as you already know, hydei and molanswatever. Which one would be best? Hydei is bigger, so I can continue feeding them that for a longer while than the other one. BUT, will they be too big? I have no idea how big the European hatchlings will be, so I'm not sure hydei would be the right one. Any ideas? Thanks.


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## Sparky (Aug 15, 2007)

You just answered your own question. The chinese L1's i had ate both hydei and that other one.


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## asdsdf (Aug 15, 2007)

....i just want to know which one would be suitable for hatchlings...The question is "Would they be too big?" You can see it there.


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## Sparky (Aug 15, 2007)

its up to you. I'd use the smaller ones just to be on the safe side.


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## asdsdf (Aug 15, 2007)

Thanks, but COULD they eat the bigger one? Like i said, they would be much more convenient. Also, what size would the hatchlings be?

Also, not really that much on topic, but what if the adults only mated for 3 hours? Would she be fertile? I thought they were supposed to mate longer.


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## pizzuti (Aug 16, 2007)

You may have a while before you have nymphs... they lay eggs in the fall and the nymphs hatch in the spring, around May-ish. If you've done this before and know that you can bypass the incubation period by keeping them warm, go for it. But I've been told they need a simulated winter, which takes at least several months.


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## asdsdf (Aug 16, 2007)

:shock: ......  I thought that once fertilized, the female starts getting fatter and by the end of two weeks, should have laid ooths.....Then you keep the oth in the fridge for a month, then let it in at room temp for a while(couple of weeks) :!: :!:


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## Ben.M (Aug 17, 2007)

That is what happent in the wild, not captivity :roll:


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## asdsdf (Aug 18, 2007)

:shock: ........WHAT???? what happens in captivity then?


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## Ben.M (Aug 19, 2007)

1 Month in the fridge :lol:


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## Nick Barta (Aug 19, 2007)

Back to your original question...........They will take Hydei, the larger one. But why not have both? I use both if in question, and I know everybody gets something they like for dinner!

CHEERS!!!

Nick Barta

Mantisplace.com


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## asdsdf (Aug 19, 2007)

> 1 Month in the fridge :lol:


 Isn't that what I said? lol. Anyways, how long does it take after mating that the female gets fat from ootheca?


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## asdsdf (Aug 20, 2007)

Also, back to ff, how do cultures fail? They advertise that the ff would produce for 8 weeks. Can't you just take some adults and make another one? What do they mean by fail? The flies all die, the food is gone, or the colony is overridden with mites? Or what?


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## OGIGA (Aug 20, 2007)

You can certainly take the adults over to another culture to start another colony.

The culture(s) can run out of food/medium, get too overcrowded, grow mold, dry up, accumulate too much fly waste, catch on fire, explode, or grow arms and legs and run away with your mantises.


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## Ben.M (Aug 20, 2007)

> You can certainly take the adults over to another culture to start another colony.The culture(s) can run out of food/medium, get too overcrowded, grow mold, dry up, accumulate too much fly waste, catch on fire, explode, or grow arms and legs and run away with your mantises.


And a lot of the time the person cant be bothered to take the adults over to another culture so it die and its really their fault :roll:


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## asdsdf (Aug 20, 2007)

Thanks.

Do any of you know how long it takes for a female to get fat from ootheca?


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