# ants anyone?



## Nosr (Jan 26, 2008)

im kinda low on aphids for my nymphs and my house is getting invaded by ants do to the rain so i was wondering if i can feed an ant to a nymph but i dunno?

can i?

the nymphs are alot bigger


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## macro junkie (Jan 26, 2008)

Nosr said:


> im kinda low on aphids for my nymphs and my house is getting invaded by ants do to the rain so i was wondering if i can feed an ant to a nymph but i dunno?can i?
> 
> the nymphs are alot bigger


no..u need some fruit flys.i asked this same Q..i was told not to feed ants to them..not sure why tho?


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## Nosr (Jan 26, 2008)

ok

i cant seem to get any fruit flies tho anywhere over here

imma have to order them


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## obregon562 (Jan 26, 2008)

aphids? huh, never heard of that!

Ants (and bees and wasps, etc...), all have poisons that could potentially harm your mantids. Apparently in nature they just bite the head off of these "stinger" insects, but...

Anyway, short answer: no, long amswer: probably not.

P.S. a good emergency food source is to search for midges, flies, etc, in your bathroom, house, and lights outside.


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## Nosr (Jan 26, 2008)

alright thanks

i think you call aphids something else where you live but over here in california there these little bugs in groups chillin on the underside of flowers really slow and juicy for the nymphs.

i find hundreds of them in my backyard but the rain made them hide


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 26, 2008)

There are some insects other than the mantis that will eat other insects, the ant is one of those, the dragonfly and damselfly are another, along with crickets. That is why most people will tell you not to use as feeders too.


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## macro junkie (Jan 26, 2008)

Nosr said:


> i cant seem to get any fruit flies tho anywhere over here imma have to order them


same as all of us..we order them off the net..if your going to do this u need to start getting organized..better to have to much that not enough.at the min i have 12 cultures on the go..i never run out of frute flys..NEVER!..order some cultures from mantis place..


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## macro junkie (Jan 26, 2008)

Nosr said:


> alright thanksi think you call aphids something else where you live but over here in california there these little bugs in groups chillin on the underside of flowers really slow and juicy for the nymphs.
> 
> i find hundreds of them in my backyard but the rain made them hide


there very tiny and will only be good for L1 ant mantids...ahipds are like 1/4 the size of the fruit fly.if your nympth is fine eating them now it wont soon as it sheds.

heres some ahipds for any one that dont know what they look like.pics taken by me in my garden in summer time.

About 4,000 species of aphids are known, classified in 10 families.They vary in size from 1-10 mm long.


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## Mantida (Jan 26, 2008)

A long time ago I put my chinese nymph on the counter top to give it some water. It caught a stray ant crawling by. I forced it to drop the ant, but it died a few hours later. Most ants contain toxins, and it is not recommended you give them to mantids.


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## Moosashi (Jan 26, 2008)

I've seen the tiny green triangular ones, are those aphids? think I've seen pics of ladybugs eating them too, so I guess so.


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## macro junkie (Jan 26, 2008)

Moosashi said:


> I've seen the tiny green triangular ones, are those aphids?


yer probably..


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## obregon562 (Jan 26, 2008)

Hey man! im in cali too! i surf and everything!  

I know what aphids are in california! They suck my carnivorous plants dry!


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## Hypoponera (Jan 26, 2008)

Ants can be a viable food source for your mantids. There are NO toxins found in any ant that will harm the mantid eating it. The problem stems from the ants ability to fight back! Ants have nasty mandibles and either a sting or chemical spraying ability.

I have had a colony of ants, Forelius pruinosus, since Nov 2002. I have feed L1 nymphs of several species the ant swarmers. The swarmers are about the size of fruit flies. The nymphs had no problems eating them. However, most larger mantids will avoid worker ants. The workers simply are too much risk/work for too little gain!


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## Nosr (Jan 26, 2008)

ok for how long will i need fruit flies after L1 and L2?

my nymphs are 5 days old and the fruitfly cultures i'll order come in on tuesday

and it says it takes a while for them to get going is it worth it?


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## Hypoponera (Jan 27, 2008)

How long you use the fruit flies will depend on what species of mantid you have. Some smaller species of mantid will eat fruit flies through several molts. The larger species of mantids may only eat the fruit flies until the first molt. What species of mantid do you have?


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## Hypoponera (Jan 27, 2008)

Do you have any large pet stores near you? You can get fruit flies and D. hydei at Petco here in New Mexico. Get on the phone and see if you can pick some up tommorow!


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## Mantida (Jan 27, 2008)

Hypoponera said:


> Ants can be a viable food source for your mantids. There are NO toxins found in any ant that will harm the mantid eating it. The problem stems from the ants ability to fight back! Ants have nasty mandibles and either a sting or chemical spraying ability.


Yeah, the chemical spraying ability is what got to my little chinese. He smelled quite weird after and groomed a lot before dying.

You can't usually tell the difference between which species are chemical sprayers and which ones are not (well, for me at least) so that is why I usually avoid them. Better safe than sorry I always say!


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## macro junkie (Jan 27, 2008)

can u get more ahipds or spring tails untill the culture arrives..also u can ask them if they have culture that are alll ready going.the place i get mine from do that for me..i asked for 1 full with flys..it was great..


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## Nosr (Jan 27, 2008)

to tell you the truth i dont know what species i got

we got the ooth at this farmers market ill try to get some pics up if i can

its not one of those special mantids


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## Kruszakus (Jan 27, 2008)

I would not feed mantids with aphids - I used to do that untill half of my first O. distinctus batch died the day after I fed them aphids.


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## macro junkie (Jan 27, 2008)

i here springtails are ok tho..but there bloody small.


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## Guest_nosr_* (Jan 27, 2008)

Kruszakus said:


> I would not feed mantids with aphids - I used to do that untill half of my first O. distinctus batch died the day after I fed them aphids.


ive been feeding mine aphids for the past 6 days since they were born. They seem to be alright.

i dont know if i should get fruit fly cultures cause they wont come in intill tuesday and im worrying the nymphs will grow out of them by the time i get the cultures going.

how long do the average chinese nymphs feed on fruitflies?

any advice?


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## Kruszakus (Jan 27, 2008)

Pass the second moult you will have to feed it with something bigger - house flys will do alright. Fruit flies will be too small for 1 inch mantis.


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## Nosr (Jan 27, 2008)

ok thank you

i was thinking that just not sure

wanted to here from someone with experience


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## Nosr (Jan 27, 2008)

its all right i got two sets of fruitflies from this reptile store

my nymphs are downing them like nothing

thanks for all your help tho


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## Nosr (Jan 29, 2008)

Ok about the ants

DO NOT FEED MANTIS ANTS

This morning I woke up and went to check on my nymphs and spray them and I found an invasion. My brothers nymphs were no where to be found and the netted roof is too small for the nymphs to escape and ants were marching in the container. I killed as many ants as i can and i figured the ants had killed the 4 nymphs and the 8 fruit flies and carried them out in pieces out of the netting. i was amazed and sad at this site. Thankfully all the other containers are covered with really fine netting or else they would of killed all of my nymphs.


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