# Coloured maggots



## ellroy (Aug 16, 2005)

Hi,

Are flies which develop from coloured maggots safe to feed to mantids?

They are bought from a fishing tackle shop and obviously they are dyed in some way but I'm not sure if the dye is toxic.

Thanks

Alan


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## Ian (Aug 16, 2005)

Hi Alan,

Exactly what I use to feed my gongylus. Hatch them out, feed on honey water, and then feed. I am not sure about the dye though, I have had no fatalities with using them.

Cheers,

Ian


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## ellroy (Aug 16, 2005)

Thanks Ian, I guess toxins could build if they were fed consistantly over a long period of time. I'm sure as part of a balanced diet there is minimal risk of reaching toxic levels.

How are your Gongys doing?

Cheers

Alan


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## Ian (Aug 16, 2005)

yeah, I suppose so, although, I reared mine from sub adult, so have only had a small amount of flies, really.

Yea, they are doing great ty. I got 2 ooths already, although, the first was laid when I was in morocco, so was lying around in cooler than incubation temps and no spraying for 5 days, lol, so that may not hatch. Hoping for a hatch on the second though. Got 2 more to shed to adult, so, hopefully, they will do soon. I need a male to fertilise the other female, also, to show her one aspect of life she has no experienced yet, lol.

Cheers,

Ian


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## ellroy (Aug 16, 2005)

What a conscientious mantis pimp you are Ian! 8)


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## Ian (Aug 16, 2005)

:lol:


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## PseudoDave (Aug 16, 2005)

There was a health warning about the coloured maggots some time ago, nasty 'e' numbers in too high amounts i believe it was... something along those lines anyway.  personally i only use the white maggots, no food dye or any other kind, just to play it safe, i know people who do use coloured maggots though.

Dave


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## infinity (Aug 16, 2005)

might be interesting to see where the colour goes though... maybe it builds up in the body or is egested in the faeces or what would be really cool is if some went into the ooths or gave the mantids colour... I don't have enough to try but it would be interesting to feed a mantid one colour and see where it goes... something obvious like red or purple...


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## ibanez_freak (Aug 16, 2005)

hi,

Thta might work actually since we used to have pellets for the crickets which we fed to them before they were fed to the mantis and when the mantis had half eaten them the insides were one of the colours they'd eaten. But I guess that's maybe just the pellets still inside them?

But sounds like a good idea some one should give it a try. Maybe best to try it on a paler coloured mantis or something.

Cheers cameron.


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## garbonzo13 (Aug 31, 2005)

What do you do with fly larvae? Storage, before feeding, or hatch them out to start a culture?


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## Samzo (Aug 31, 2005)

hatch them


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## infinity (Sep 1, 2005)

I don't know if the same pupation stage accurs in flies and butterflies but butterflies shed their exoskeleton to reveal the pupa underneath... if the same is true with flies then the dye shouldn't have any effect once the adult has emerged. I guess it depends on whether the dye has penetrated inside. Obviously the same doesn't apply to feeding the magots to the mantid as it's getting the full dye dose


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