# Mega Mantis L5 eats cricket (Video)



## Precarious (Nov 21, 2010)

What a gory mess!

Music by Precarious


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## LauraMG (Nov 21, 2010)

It's like a scene out of the worst cricket massacre there ever was! Guts EVERYWHERE! All hail MEGA MANTIS!


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## angelofdeathzz (Nov 21, 2010)

Man those are cool, I gotta get some. but I think I'm the only one in my house that would handle them due to there MEGA stature. :lol:


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## kitkat39 (Nov 21, 2010)

How dare you make me miss my Megas.. lol!


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## angelofdeathzz (Nov 21, 2010)

kitkat39 said:


> How dare you make me miss my Megas.. lol!


Hey KitKat39 where did you get your Mega's from and can you get any more?


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## Precarious (Nov 21, 2010)

angelofdeathzz said:


> Hey KitKat39 where did you get your Mega's from and can you get any more?


He got them the same place I did and they are long gone. That's why we're having trouble locating any females.


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## angelofdeathzz (Nov 21, 2010)

I've seen some for sale in europe but its to cold for that trip now.


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## kitkat39 (Nov 21, 2010)

angelofdeathzz said:


> I've seen some for sale in europe but its to cold for that trip now.


Yeah I don't think I'd bother getting anything from Europe this time around.... give it some time.. I'm sure someone in the USA is already masterminding a mass production with these guys.. they're just not advertising it on the forum right now...


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## Ricardo (Nov 22, 2010)

Man if they were our size we'd be screwed . . .

how big does this species get?


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## Precarious (Nov 22, 2010)

Ricardo said:


> Man if they were our size we'd be screwed . . .
> 
> how big does this species get?


They get almost 4 feet long. They grow to L27! It's pretty crazy.  

Photos of adult female HERE.


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## Ricardo (Nov 22, 2010)

Precarious said:


> They get almost 4 feet long. They grow to L27! It's pretty crazy.
> 
> Photos of adult female HERE.


I must have one!!!

do you breed them?


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## Precarious (Nov 22, 2010)

Ricardo said:


> I must have one!!!
> 
> do you breed them?


We're having trouble locating females. Believe me, if I can find a viable female I will breed them!


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## Ricardo (Nov 22, 2010)

Precarious said:


> We're having trouble locating females. Believe me, if I can find a viable female I will breed them!


what is the biggest known mantid to date? the one you have?


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## LauraMG (Nov 22, 2010)

Precarious said:


> We're having trouble locating females. Believe me, if I can find a viable female I will breed them!


I'm on it buddy. I'll find one....some how.....some way.....just don't ask questions.....


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## Precarious (Nov 22, 2010)

Ricardo said:


> what is the biggest known mantid to date? the one you have?


I forget the name but there is a mantid longer than this species, but it's built long and thin like a stick insect.


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## Precarious (Nov 22, 2010)

Laura G said:


> I'm on it buddy. I'll find one....some how.....some way.....just don't ask questions.....


Well then, count me in and hook me up!!!


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## PeterF (Nov 22, 2010)

So exciting!

If I can ask, how is that you all only have boys?

Also, what do you feed it as an adult?

Just a large number of crickets?

Roaches? Whole hams? Pikachus?


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## Precarious (Nov 22, 2010)

Peter J F said:


> So exciting!
> 
> If I can ask, how is that you all only have boys?
> 
> ...


Just bad luck, I guess. My buddy only had boys too. I know someone with a pair and he's not giving the female up.

I'm hoping Laura G works her magic.

To be honest there really isn't much info out there on this species. I'm guessing puppies and kittens are in order once they get bigger.


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## PeterF (Nov 23, 2010)

Well, here's always these for the next instar:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11817720


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## Borya (Dec 7, 2010)

*Precarious*, don't you think it might be harmful to feed them with crickets, because of _Nosema_?


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## Precarious (Dec 7, 2010)

Borya said:


> *Precarious*, don't you think it might be harmful to feed them with crickets, because of _Nosema_?


I guess any food might be harmful in some way, but in nature they eat crickets. They actually prefer crickets to other food I've offered. They've been fine so far.

I thought Nosema was mainly a honeybee issue. I've never heard it associated with crickets. Perhaps you know something I don't? Please fill me in.


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## Findarato (Dec 7, 2010)

there are other Nosema-species, which affect other insects (Nosema apis only affects bees). They are Micosporids (sorry spelling, my native language is German), and something between fungi and parasites. I dare to say such infections are rare enough in the crickets we feed to our mantids, so this should not be a problem. Feeder insects (grasshoppers etc) from the wild are maybe something different. they might carry even other parasites (horsehair worms, tabanid fly larvae).

This ranting is a bit off topic, but I just answered a question.

mine would be: I can't see this video of your mega mantis. has it been deleted from the original posting?


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## Findarato (Dec 7, 2010)

oh, I need to get a new laptop, the video appeared after 2 minutes loading time. But to watch it completely, I need to wait till I get home to my real PC. First impression: really cute MEGA mantis! The cricket has yet to appear, had to stop video because Laptop is too slow in loading.


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## Precarious (Dec 7, 2010)

Findarato said:


> there are other Nosema-species, which affect other insects (Nosema apis only affects bees). They are Micosporids (sorry spelling, my native language is German), and something between fungi and parasites. I dare to say such infections are rare enough in the crickets we feed to our mantids, so this should not be a problem. Feeder insects (grasshoppers etc) from the wild are maybe something different. they might carry even other parasites (horsehair worms, tabanid fly larvae).


I see. Good to know.

I have limited options for feeding my ground mantids so it's mainly farm raised crickets and meal worms.

Enjoy the video!


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## Findarato (Dec 7, 2010)

I feed my mantids (15 L5 Hierodula membranacea) small crickets from the pet store with no problems (as soon as none get away while feeding). I make them climb up to where the mantids are,by placing cabbage pieces onto the branches higher up. But the mantids also go hunting the crickets when they get hungry, so it's no real problem. During summer I will catch flies and moths for them. But no crickets and hoppers from the meadows. ( I have seen horsehair worms in centipedes last summer, really disgusting thing, it killed its hosts. And they can infest any bigger predator insects.)

As soon as the mantids get bigger, I will switch to Gryllus assimilis (no problems should one escape in the house). But until then I can't avoid house crickets, because the pet store only sells adult G. assimilis ( won't breed in the house uncontrolled, because thy need higher temperatures) which are as big as my nymphs. I am trying to breed those, but so far with no success. So at the moment it is house crickets, and every feeding time is a bit of a stress, because I fear one could escape in the room. I really don't want them to settle in my house permanently.


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## infinite213 (Jan 3, 2011)

Dude, that video is awesome you need to make a mantis movie or something, that music is perfect and sounds like the beginning of an awesome thriller movie. The Mantid Files....


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## Precarious (Jan 3, 2011)

gio said:


> Dude, that video is awesome you need to make a mantis movie or something, that music is perfect and sounds like the beginning of an awesome thriller movie. The Mantid Files....


Ha-ha! Thanks...

A real mantis movie will probably develop eventually. I'm working my way toward short films.

This guy just molted to L8, which is only sub-adult for Megas. I'm looking at him hanging to dry right now. That's why I'm up at 5 am! His brother fell while molting so I wanted to make sure this one made it. They like to wait till around 4 am. :sleeping:


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## nebrakacinese (Jan 3, 2011)

wHEN YOU HAVE THEM IN THEIR KENNELS HOW OFTEN DO YOU HAVE TO HOSE THEM DOWN?


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