# feeding house flys not a good idea?



## Mike (Feb 21, 2006)

i heard that if u feed house flys to your mantids it can make your mantis sick and die cuz the flys are dirty and carry parasites. I read on the net before that this guys mantis ate a house fly and he saw a worm petruding from the flys stumache and the matis ate it and a day later a worm came out of the mantids stumache and killed it?


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## Rick (Feb 21, 2006)

I doubt it. During the summer I feed mine whatever I find outside, especially grasshoppers which also carry parasitic worms.


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## Mike (Feb 21, 2006)

hmm so i should just feed them house flys? But dont house flys eat poop? lols 0_o i gotta dog and all the flys that fly in the house are prob nibbling on the poo outside :?


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## Rick (Feb 21, 2006)

It's fine.


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## randyardvark (Feb 21, 2006)

think about it, if the mantis was living outside, it would so eat that fly regardless of what it had eaten, mantids eat flies, and flies have always eaten anything that smells bad, its nature, :wink:


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## Mike (Feb 21, 2006)

LOL i guess so :?


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## Jesse (Feb 22, 2006)

It was most likely a Tachinid(spelling?) fly, some of these flies are able to lay active larvae (some are live-bearing) onto another insect. The larvae may then "burrow" into the other insect and eat it's insides until it is ready to pupate. It then exits the insect and burrows into the ground(to pupate). Most of the time the host insect dies when the larva(e) leave(s). I have heard anecdotal reports of _T. sinensis_ here in the US being found parasitized by certain species of Tachinidae.


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## Lee2k4 (Feb 24, 2006)

I have fed my Giant Asian (had her for 10 months) house flys a number of times, I only do this when I have no food for her, she has molted perfectly in every molt, she is healthy and very active so I don't see why you should have problems. You could try feeding a few nymphs and see what happens.


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## Mike (Feb 24, 2006)

oh ok?


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## ellroy (Feb 25, 2006)

Hi Mike,

I feed all my mantids house flies (wild caught and captive bred) and have never had many probs. Any wild caught insect prey could potentially be 'contaminated' in some way depending on what they have fed or come into contact with in the wild. Unless its something highly toxic I doubt it will have an affect on a healthy mantis. Variety in the diet is probably to the key to avoid accumulation of a particular contaminant.

As for the worm, I imagine its unlikely anything would survive being masticated by the mantis mouthparts....it certainly wouldn't come out whole! Perhaps microscopic parasites could slip though.

Cheers

Alan


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