# L3 Ghost mantid food



## beckyl92 (May 21, 2009)

Im getting 3 L3 ghost mantids next week and ive no idea how big they're going to be or what food will be the right size for them. I can't feed them fruitflies because every website in the UK only sells them culture things and ive tryed getting one before when my praying mantis was young but they're really disgusting and i ended up throwing it outside because there was too much mold. Could i feed them micro crickets or will they be to big?


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## [email protected] (May 21, 2009)

I have 6 L3 ghost and they are a great species lots of fun to watch i feed them house flys and they are small like this big _______.


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## beckyl92 (May 21, 2009)

Chase said:


> I have 6 L3 ghost and they are a great species lots of fun to watch i feed them house flys and they are small like this big _______.


okay thanks  which food do you recommend me buying of this site? http://www.livefoods.co.uk/index.php?cPath=94


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## [email protected] (May 21, 2009)

I am not sure i only ever used flys. :mellow:


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## beckyl92 (May 21, 2009)

Chase said:


> I am not sure i only ever used flys. :mellow:


ah okay


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## Rick (May 21, 2009)

If you had trouble with the fruit flys you did something wrong. THey are very easy to culture. I suggest houseflies and or bluebottle flies which are a little bigger.


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## beckyl92 (May 21, 2009)

Rick said:


> If you had trouble with the fruit flys you did something wrong. THey are very easy to culture. I suggest houseflies and or bluebottle flies which are a little bigger.


do you think small brown crickets would be okay to buy? Ive heard that they're about 5-8mm.


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## PhilinYuma (May 21, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> do you think small brown crickets would be okay to buy? Ive heard that they're about 5-8mm.


I've never heard of anyone raising this kind of mantis on crix, Becky. They tend to stay at the top of a pot, pretending to be leaves, while the crix like to stay on the bottom.

It's just about impossible to raise baby mantids of almost any species without fruit flies. We have Important Topics on a number of the scetions that we call "stickies." Try this one: http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=9521

Are you seeing flies outside, now? Take yr boyfriend on a "flycatching date" or try a local bait and tackle shop if you have one .

The ooth that just hatched was five weeks old.


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## beckyl92 (May 21, 2009)

PhilinYuma said:


> I've never heard of anyone raising this kind of mantis on crix, Becky. They tend to stay at the top of a pot, pretending to be leaves, while the crix like to stay on the bottom. It's just about impossible to raise baby mantids of almost any species without fruit flies. We have Important Topics on a number of the scetions that we call "stickies." Try this one: http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=9521
> 
> Are you seeing flies outside, now? Take yr boyfriend on a "flycatching date" or try a local bait and tackle shop if you have one .
> 
> The ooth that just hatched was five weeks old.


nah cause it rains all the time  

hmm i really dunno what food to get them.


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## Katnapper (May 21, 2009)

I would definitely try the fruit files again, if not now, in the future. They are a staple for younger nymphs. If you're going to continue with the hobby, you almost have to have fruit flies at some point. The larger variety (_D. hydei)_ feed more sizes of nymphs than the _D. melanogaster_, which are used mainly for newborns and smaller species.

L3 Ghost nymphs will readily take _D. hydei_. They might be big enough to start using house flies, and maybe some smaller crickets or roaches for variety. You'll have to try it and see. If they appear scared of them and refuse to eat, you'll likely need to get some fruit flies. Good luck!


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## beckyl92 (May 21, 2009)

Katnapper said:


> I would definitely try the fruit files again, if not now, in the future. They are a staple for younger nymphs. If you're going to continue with the hobby, you almost have to have fruit flies at some point. The larger variety (_D. hydei)_ feed more sizes of nymphs than the _D. melanogaster_, which are used mainly for newborns and smaller species.L3 Ghost nymphs will readily take _D. hydei_. They might be big enough to start using house flies, and maybe some smaller crickets or roaches for variety. You'll have to try it and see. If they appear scared of them and refuse to eat, you'll likely need to get some fruit flies. Good luck!


Do you think theyd be okay with crickets if i put it infront of it? cause ive heard that they just hang and wait for a flying insect to come  

im gonna try and find the odd fly to.

oh and is it possible to buy hatched fruit flies off the internet?


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## jacksun (May 21, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> Do you think theyd be okay with crickets if i put it infront of it? cause ive heard that they just hang and wait for a flying insect to come  im gonna try and find the odd fly to.
> 
> oh and is it possible to buy hatched fruit flies off the internet?


Hi BeckyL, yes you can order fruit fly cultures on the internet. I believe Rebecca (hibiscusmile) just started selling them. Another trick is place a small piece of fruit (apple/banana) in the bottom of an empty jar. Punch a few holes in the lid with a small nail, and set it outside. If there are fruit flies in the area they will find it.


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## Katnapper (May 21, 2009)

Go ahead and try small crickets, Becky. If you make sure they are truly small enough, and can either get them to approach the mantids or offer them by hand (forcepts for me! lol), they will likely eat them. Take an aquarium fish net or whatever you have, and skim some weedy or tall grass. You might find some good feeders with that approach too.  

I'm not sure about places online that ship in the UK for fruit flies... but I'm almost sure they have them. Maybe some of our UK members will have some recommendations.


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## yeatzee (May 22, 2009)

My ghosts wont accept non-flying insects as well as flying ones.... though I'm sure eventually they would if they were hungry enough but they prefer flying insects from my observations.

Also an L3 can take house flies no problem so my suggestion would be to buy some house fly pupae so no disgusting cultures..... just add how many pupae you want to feed your ghosts with and walk away  

In about 24-36 hours they will hatch and you can watch them snatch them right out of the air even though they are about the same size!

Plus you can stick with the house flies for several molts past L3 probably up to adult!


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## PhilinYuma (May 22, 2009)

My goodness, Becky, we're all certainly keen to get yr ghost nymphs fed properly! I tried googling sources in the UK for live food -- probably your IP addy would bring up more UK hits -- and found a few, including a store in Sheffield (it used to be only about 65 miles from Brum when I was a kid; it may be closer now  ) but I couldn't find any sources with house fly pupae.

One way of getting the crickets to the ghosts, as Rick has mentioned a couple of times, is to put a couple of twigs that reach from the bottom of the pot to the lid (test it before you put the nymphs in!). Often, an inquisitive cricket will run up the twig to see what's up there and never come back!


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## beckyl92 (May 22, 2009)

Thanks for all your help


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## beckyl92 (May 22, 2009)

yeatzee said:


> My ghosts wont accept non-flying insects as well as flying ones.... though I'm sure eventually they would if they were hungry enough but they prefer flying insects from my observations. Also an L3 can take house flies no problem so my suggestion would be to buy some house fly pupae so no disgusting cultures..... just add how many pupae you want to feed your ghosts with and walk away
> 
> In about 24-36 hours they will hatch and you can watch them snatch them right out of the air even though they are about the same size!
> 
> Plus you can stick with the house flies for several molts past L3 probably up to adult!


how do you hatch the pupae?

cause if it hatched after 24 hours wouldnt it hatch in the mail? xD


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## Katnapper (May 22, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> how do you hatch the pupae?cause if it hatched after 24 hours wouldnt it hatch in the mail? xD


Here's a link that helps explain the time/life cycle. Suppliers usually ship pupae with a cold pack too.  

http://www.shopspiderpharm.com/servlet/Detail?no=26

Edit: Click on "Detailed Description" near the bottom.


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## PhilinYuma (May 22, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> how do you hatch the pupae?cause if it hatched after 24 hours wouldnt it hatch in the mail? xD


Fly pupae wont hatch at low temperatures and shippers like Hibiscusmile and SpiderPharm in th US use cold packs to prevent hatching in transit, but with temperatures down here (SW Arizona) exceeding !00F (~37C) they have often started eclosing by the time I get them, which is good, because I don't have to wait for a couple of days.  They are packed in a net bag or a cup so that they can't escape.


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## PhilinYuma (May 22, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> how do you hatch the pupae?cause if it hatched after 24 hours wouldnt it hatch in the mail? xD


Fly pupae wont hatch at low temperatures and shippers like Hibiscusmile and SpiderPharm in th US use cold packs to prevent hatching in transit, but with temperatures down here (SW Arizona) exceeding !00F (~37C) they have often started eclosing by the time I get them, which is good, because I don't have to wait for a couple of days.  They are packed in a net bag or a cup so that they can't escape.

Oops, sorry Katt. I didn't see that you had mentioned the cold packs.


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## beckyl92 (May 22, 2009)

ahha ive decided to take me and my sister fly catching tomorrow as they dont sell any fly pupae on the internet.

I dunno how im gonna do it though  cause if you catch some flys and put it in a jar or whatever. when you find more and try putting them in theyll all fly out :S

gahh haha!


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## Katnapper (May 22, 2009)

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you.  

I found this for Blue bottles at least. Simon's a nice guy... have dealt with him before.


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## beckyl92 (May 22, 2009)

Katnapper said:


> Sounds like you have your work cut out for you.  I found this for Blue bottles at least. Simon's a nice guy... have dealt with him before.


oh thanks  

would it not take agesss to come though cause i live in the UK?

also how big are they?


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## Katnapper (May 22, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> oh thanks  would it not take agesss to come though cause i live in the UK?
> 
> also how big are they?


He's in England and his "About Me" page says, "I now ship all over Great Britain and Europe." So I wouldn't think very long... though you could contact him and ask.  

Blue bottle flies are larger than house flies... you know, those big lazy ones you see on dead things?  :lol:


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## beckyl92 (May 22, 2009)

Katnapper said:


> He's in England and his "About Me" page says, "I now ship all over Great Britain and Europe." So I wouldn't think very long... though you could contact him and ask.  Blue bottle flies are larger than house flies... you know, those big lazy ones you see on dead things?  :lol:


hmm yeah.

wouldnt they be to big for a L3 ghost? xD

good for future reference though.

thanks alot


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## Katnapper (May 22, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> hmm yeah.wouldnt they be to big for a L3 ghost? xD
> 
> good for future reference though.
> 
> thanks alot


Might be... not sure because I haven't tried them with L3 Ghosts. But I couldn't find any place offering house fly pupae.


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