# Hello From Ohio!



## HighlyFocused (Sep 26, 2016)

Hello! Thank you for adding me to the group! My name is Melissa, and my sons (7 and 9 years old) and I began our mantis journey when they found 2 staple-sized mantids on our porch in mid-July of this year. We named them Zorak, and Atlantis the Mantis. I figured they would live for a few days and die like most other insects, but I was really surprised to learn that it is relatively easy to keep them alive for their natural lives! We very quickly became fascinated with capturing food for them, feeding them, and letting them crawl on us. I love how they just sit and look at you, tilting their heads from side to side, trying to figure you out. 

At the end of July, my youngest son found an adult female European mantis. Her name is Scyther, and she is a vicious killer but a very docile pet. 

In mid-August, we found a male Chinese mantis on our back door. His name is Soul Eater because he only eats the hearts of his prey and discards the rest of the carcass, still twitching on the bottom of his tank. 

Shortly after our Carolina mantids finished their final molt on 8/31, several other males landed on our porch. We have added Pansy and Flippo to our collection. Pansy is scared of his food no matter how small, and Flippo does backflips when he freaks out about his prey. Not sure how either of these mantids survived to adulthood in the wild being scared of their food. They are a very different temperament than the two we have hand-raised from babies. Maybe they just don't like being enclosed with their prey??

It is becoming difficult to find food for these 6 mantids since the weather is getting cooler. We tried mealworms and crickets, but since those don't crawl to the top of the enclosures where the mantids prefer to hang out, they don't get eaten. I have ordered some curly winged flies in hopes that I can keep these mantids alive into the winter. I've really grown attached to them, and I'm going to miss them when they're gone. I'm preparing to encase them in resin molds when the time comes. Any advice on how to do so is greatly appreciated!

Hoping to unite with some other mantis fanatics so I can feel a little more normal about being the weirdo neighbor lady that is always tapping on her porch light late at night for mantis food. ?


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## Sarah K (Sep 26, 2016)

Welcome! Lucky for you there are far worse mantis fanatics in this group, who are more than willing to geek out over mantises with you! Also there are plenty of online retailers that sell fruit fly cultures, and house fly and blue bottle fly pupae all year around for a reasonable price, so you can always have food for yor mantises all winter long!


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## Flidais (Sep 26, 2016)

Welcome!  You're already less novice than I am, very cool story/info!!

fruit flies are super-crazy easy to raise and keep with a starter kit.  I'm starting bluebottle flies now and hear those are even easier!  I have tried hornworms, but my mantids aren't fans yet, probably too little still.  But my mantids thrive on the fruit flies.  You'll find a ton of resources online. Even amazon has some, though I tend to go to the pet/insect stores because they are often less expensive and better quality.

There are also a lot of people in the mantidforum classifieds that sell them as well, and you can always ask for a mantidforum reference.


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## Rick (Sep 26, 2016)

Welcome


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## CosbyArt (Sep 26, 2016)

Hello Melissa and welcome to the forum






Sounds like you have your hands full, and saved many from the upcoming winter.  

Regarding feeder prey, fruit flies are only acceptable prey for newly hatched nymphs at instars L1 to L2 in the species you listed. Curly wing flies are nothing more than a fancy Hydei FF breed and won't be of any help as feeders. As yours are much older than the L1 or L2 instars (adults are typically L8), you need to feed them appropriate sized prey. To see the various sized instar levels, take a look at this photo.

Adult Chinese mantids (Tenodera sinensis) should be fed bottle flies or medium to large crickets (depending on what your pet store labels 1/2" to 3/4" crickets). Carolina mantids (Stagmomantis carolina) will need small to medium crickets (1/4" to 1/2"), or bottle flies. If collecting feeders outside the best feeders to use are bottle flies and moths. With cold weather bottle fly pupae can be purchased online, that hatch as flies once warmed for a few days (otherwise store the rest in the fridge).  

Not sure why your having problems with crickets, as mine have always ate them no problem - crickets will run up sticks/perches eventually and the mantids will find them even if the mantid refuses to move from their lid. Are you by chance using vivariums (habitats full of plants) to house your mantids? If so that would explain the problem, and the only solution then is to feed you mantid in a deli cup or such so it can find it's prey.

Perhaps some of the mantid feeding responses is due to feeder size, or how they are fed. Ideally feeders are added to mantid habitats using feeder holes, but if you are shoving prey in the mantids faces with tweezers some will refuse to eat (ever) and slap it away.


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## hibiscusmile (Sep 28, 2016)

Love your story and the boys! Try some of my blue bottle flies for free, just send shipping. pm if u need too. soul eater is thirsty, give him a good drink.

ps shipping is 6.80 for the fly box, sorry if I am not allowed to post this here, just trying to help her out.


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