# Cricket Brutality???



## asdsdf (Oct 24, 2007)

Could a cricket have done this? I began feeding them crickets, since the winter months are coming up, and I fed them crickets yesterday. This one seems to have the top part of the eye gouged out, and a spike missing. Both missing areas are covered with a green liquid, and the eye wound is outlined with black.






















Is it a cricket's work, or is it fungus or something? Thanks!


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## Rick (Oct 24, 2007)

I doubt it. I have never had an issue of a cricket eating on a mantis.


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## OGIGA (Oct 24, 2007)

I don't think a cricket can do this much damage if it is be eaten.


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 24, 2007)

HA! Last night I had one mauled to death by a cricket, it was a texas uniy and this morning it was eaten in half  . Never will I leave them alone again...(i hope). Just as I was telling Creed that everytime someone tell me of a mantis death, I lose one too. Whaz's up with that!


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## bubforever (Oct 24, 2007)

omg i would have never guessed the predator could become the somewhat prey.


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## asdsdf (Oct 26, 2007)

So it seems like the cricket did it? I made sure that the mantis had caught the cricket before going to my other mantises, but I did notice the jaws of the cricket moving. I hope the mantis survives because she had a pattern like a creobotra instead of a pseudocreobotra (think I spelled them wrong).


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## Mantis_Whisper (Oct 26, 2007)

If your feeding them crickets make sure you only feed one at a time. Crickets like to gang up on mantids.

Also throw some lettace in the cage so the cricket will decide to munch on that not a mantis.


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## Ben.M (Oct 26, 2007)

I always check to see that my mantis has eaten to cricket as i hav had 2 mantids killed by them


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## nub3 (Oct 26, 2007)

Hi. im an officer from the CPD (Cricket Police Department) and you're all under arrest for mass murder and conspiracy to murder. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something that you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

on a serious note, hibiscusmile I hope you punished that cricket who ate your mantis. Personally I think justice would be to feed him to a larger mantis.


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## Precious (Oct 27, 2007)

I don't know if a crik is your culprit but it could be. All of the above advice is good when it comes to crix. I hate them. I use only the smaller ones (I use large ones for large mantids but I hand feed them) and only one at a time and only during the time when I know the mantid will not moult. I lost a beautiful mantid to crix. Never again. I'm more comfortable with bees and wasps than those pesky crix with their beady little eyes and their pop-off legs. Necessary evil. I cannot abide roaches, yet. I'm working hard on banishing crix forever. Oh, and did I say, "I hate crickets!"


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## asdsdf (Oct 28, 2007)

Do not read if soft at heart....

Now, I decapitate all of the crickets before feeding. No head, no risk! First I shock them with an electric fly swatter to keep em from moving, and then out goes some scissors. :angry: Haven't had anymore cases.


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## Morpheus uk (Oct 28, 2007)

Well through speed reading dont know if this has been said before but a cricket can do damage to a mantis, my lil eauchomonella when she was a nymph had her front tarsus bitten straight off, and its a bad idea to feed crickets anyway to flowers, cant you get some castors from the bait shop?


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## Morpheus uk (Oct 28, 2007)

Your not keeping them together are you? might of been another mantis trying to steal its dinner


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## asdsdf (Oct 28, 2007)

Nope, they were seperate. Plus, there's no way that if caught in another's arms, it could escape. (I've seen 4 cases.)


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## asdsdf (Oct 28, 2007)

Morpheus uk said:


> Well through speed reading dont know if this has been said before but a cricket can do damage to a mantis, my lil eauchomonella when she was a nymph had her front tarsus bitten straight off, and its a bad idea to feed crickets anyway to flowers, cant you get some castors from the bait shop?


Nope, no fishing store near my house within an hour a way. I am getting flies from Hibiscussmile though.


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## Precious (Oct 28, 2007)

asdsdf said:


> Do not read if soft at heart....Now, I decapitate all of the crickets before feeding. No head, no risk! First I shock them with an electric fly swatter to keep em from moving, and then out goes some scissors. :angry: Haven't had anymore cases.


How long do they live headless? Do they get around enough to draw the mantids attention? I need one of those bug zappers. You could stun escaped blue bottles instead of smashing them and having them go to waste. Tell me more about your cricket modification.


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## asdsdf (Oct 28, 2007)

Okay, I either grab the cricket with forceps(You can get really nice ones at mantisplace.com), and either crush its head or drop them onto a fly zapper. They are either dead or stunned now, and I grab them by one leg with the forceps and move over near the trashcan. Out goes my scissors and i chop off the head, the pointy things at the end, the wings, and the legs. Now i'm left with a twitching fat mass that is the choice bits of a cricket. I usually just grab a section of leg still there and move it near the mantis. If hungry, the mantis strikes and eats, if scared, I just bring it near their mouth and they chew a little and then grab it. You could also put them in the freezer for a while so they stop moving, but the fly zapper is faster.

For blue bottles, I stun them or put them in the freezer for a little bit. These I put into the containers and in a little while, they zip around. Will upload a blurry pic of one gravid female eating the yummy parts of the cricket.


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 28, 2007)

I usually just lose the legs and let it go at that, and I alway almost always make sure the mantis has it before I close the house, this one must of changed its mind and it got away, very unusual for that to happen once they have them they usually keep them, I try to leave most pieces of the crik cause it is food,. (the bloody fire alarm is beeping in the background, time to change batteries), as I was saying, unless the mantis is scared I do not take the head off. And trust me he got ate by another one.


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## Malnra (Oct 28, 2007)

Crickets are serious preditors.

I was reading a boating magazine one day at the dentists office and they said ... If you have a boat/yacht that has roaches on it ,, toss on a couple crickets .. they will kill and eat the roaches, then turn on one another .... they are one wicked insect


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## OGIGA (Oct 29, 2007)

Hmm, I always thought that the good part of the cricket is the thorax. It's just my guess though since that's where all the organs are.


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## Kruszakus (Oct 29, 2007)

I saw a cricket attacking a prey twice its size - when they are hungry, they are really desperate - yes, a cricket can do such damage to a mantis - especially if the mantis is well fed and won't attack the cricket.

My friend lost one of his Tenoderas - it was eaten by a much smaller cricket. I myself prefer to cripple a cricket, or pierce it with a needle and only then give it to a mantis.

A cricket attacked my O. Distinctus, but it was a very bad move on its part, hehehe.


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## Precious (Oct 29, 2007)

I'm like Rebecca - lose the legs, unless the cricket is really small, then only one at a time. I was astonished when I lost a mantid to crix. She was just gone. Vanished. On meticulous inspection, I found a small part of her thorax and wing buds. When you said you decapitated them, I was thinking maybe they still got around but you do it for hand feeding. Whatever it takes. Crix are my last choice, though I use them regularly, I always use crix much smaller than other prey that the mantid may be up to. I dont' like them. They even eat each other. Maybe I should research them so I can have a greater respect for them. I try to have respect for all life, but I have trouble with crix...they also seem sort of mindless. They squirm about like they have to be somewhere urgently - like little idiots.


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## Mantida (Oct 29, 2007)

I've never had problems with crickets attacking my mantids and never 'moderate' or 'alter' them. I just throw them in there, and if the cricket isn't attacked within a minute I take it out and try again the next day or a few hours later.

I always give my cricks 24/7 access to food and water and rarely have cannibalism issues also, including when one of their fellows are in the middle of molting. The crickets I use for my mantids are generally much smaller than the mantid itself; like a 1/2 inch cricket to an adult female/male.

The only reason really for a cricket to be able to attack the mantis is if the cricket is malnourished or the cricket is of quite a formidable size compared to the mantis.


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## asdsdf (Oct 29, 2007)

Look at that juicy piece of cabbage in the background! Look at the torn cricket near the front... The container was only used for 3 days! Evil crickets.... &lt;_&lt;


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## Mantida (Oct 29, 2007)

asdsdf said:


> Look at that juicy piece of cabbage in the background! Look at the torn cricket near the front... The container was only used for 3 days! Evil crickets.... &lt;_&lt;


Approx. how big are those cricks in inches?

I'd try some fish food/dog food for them. The protein seems to calm their cannibalism/biting down a lot.


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## asdsdf (Oct 30, 2007)

Bout one inch. Hmmm....maybe I should put some other bugs in there for food. (Hey, where is the evil face???)


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## Mantida (Oct 30, 2007)

To be safer, I'd feed crickets that are 1/2 to 3/4 an inch (3/4 being the max size I'd go for).

Yea, I give mine half-eaten bugs that my male mantids leave behind or any other excess body parts I find after my feedings. The crickets seem to enjoy it. They don't usually go for live food unless they're really ravenous. Half eaten things that have exposed body fluids attract them a lot.


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## asdsdf (Oct 30, 2007)

That's why I kill 'em.  

:blink: *shudder*


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## Schloaty (Oct 30, 2007)

Yikes!

Do you think crickets would try to eat an ooth?

My mantids hang out on the screen tops of their cages, and the sticks I have in there don't reach up high enough for the crickts to get at them (so for the mantids, it's a little like fishing - just read down and strike)....But if one of the girls lays an ooth on one of the sticks, i don't want it to get eaten.


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## Malnra (Oct 30, 2007)

Schloaty said:


> Yikes!Do you think crickets would try to eat an ooth?
> 
> My mantids hang out on the screen tops of their cages, and the sticks I have in there don't reach up high enough for the crickts to get at them (so for the mantids, it's a little like fishing - just read down and strike)....But if one of the girls lays an ooth on one of the sticks, i don't want it to get eaten.


I would bet they would eat it, so moving the ooth might be a good idea ..


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## Mantida (Oct 30, 2007)

They'll chew on it if you leave it in there.


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## Rob Byatt (Oct 31, 2007)

Crickets are more than capable of killing a mantis, particularly one that is weak or just not hungry. I have seen many, many cases over the years of crickets killing mantids.



OGIGA said:


> Hmm, I always thought that the good part of the cricket is the thorax. It's just my guess though since that's where all the organs are.


Kinda true, but you are thinking of flying insects - the thorax cotains all the flight muscles so can be the msot nutritious part.


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## Precious (Nov 2, 2007)

I take excellent care of my crix, nutritious food, nice clean Cricket Quencher with calcium for water supply. They STILL eat each other and they devoured my beautiful mantid. So you haven't had a cricket incident, YET. I hope you never do but do not imply that our crix are somehow malnourished or too big for the mantid if we have problems. They are evil and I always have to have an eye on them.


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## Mantida (Nov 2, 2007)

Precious said:


> I take excellent care of my crix, nutritious food, nice clean Cricket Quencher with calcium for water supply. They STILL eat each other and they devoured my beautiful mantid. So you haven't had a cricket incident, YET. I hope you never do but do not imply that our crix are somehow malnourished or too big for the mantid if we have problems. They are evil and I always have to have an eye on them.


That's strange. I don't know, maybe it's the bloodline. Been keeping crickets for 7 years and never had cannibalism issues or problems with 'em eating mantids. Like you said I hope I never have this problem either. :blink: 

I'm not really implying that they are malnourished or too big for the mantid if you have problems, I'm giving suggestions on perhaps why it's happening since it isn't to me.


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