# A few questions on breeding live food



## Jodokohajjio

Ok, so I searched the forums in hope for an answer to this question, but to no avail. Here it is: What do you feed your mantids?

I'm trying to get an idea of what all I'd want to breed as food, as breeding food is cheaper than constantly buying it. I've thought about what I might setup, but I want to know what more experienced people do.

My thoughts:

Fruit flies for young nymphs

Waxworms/Crickets for intermediate sized nymphs

Roaches/waxworms/moths for larger/adult mantids (depending on the preference of the species)

I'm not too keen on breeding crickets because of the noise and stench (I worked in a petstore, and even with frequent cleaning, our cricket bin smelled horrid). Would small roaches and waxworms work in their stead? If thats the case, I would only have to have fruit fly and roach/waxworm cultures!

Also, what amount (approximate of course) of these feeders would I have to keep on a regular basis in order to feed a certian number of mantids? Is there any sort of ratio of food to mantis that people use, or am I just fishing here?

Thanks!


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## yen_saw

I agree with you that crickets stink!

You can feed small mantis nymphs fruit flies (D. Melanogaster, D. Hydei), aphids, and springtail but i culture only ff which is easy.

For medium and large mantis, try to feed them more flying insects such as dragon fly, moth, butterfly, flies(blue bottle or Musca domestica). Roaches and crickets are ok but try to feed them crickets occasionally as some species of mantis don't do well with crickets at all. African mantis seems to do alright with just roaches and crickets. You can culture waxworm and let them pupate into moth before feeding your mantis, it is better than feeding them waxworm IMO.

It is difficult to catch wild insects around this time but you can buy flies pupa or grubs and wait till they pupate and they are inexpensive. Here are couple of link

http://www.oregonfeederinsects.com/shop/ca...ry.asp?catid=10

http://grubco.com/

Hatchling - L3 mantis need food every other day so feed them frequently. You can feed L4-L7 2-3 a week and 1-2 a wekk for adult mantis. More frequent food and warmer condition speeds up the mantis growth.

Good luck!


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## Rick

Fruitflies and crickets is all I do. During the summer I will supplement their diet with insects I catch outside. My crickets don't stink so you may be doing something wrong if they do stink.


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## Jackson

L1-3: FF's and Pinhead/L2 Crickets.

L3-L5: Crickets, Moths

L5-Adult: Crickets, Hoppers, Mealworms.

My adult grandis have even had Fuzzies (Mice) before when i wasn't able to get them any other food!

I dont like feeding my mantids waxworms. Too much fat, not much in the way of nutrition. I may give waxworms as treats...but only 2-3 times in a mantids lifetime.


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## Jodokohajjio

Alright, so it seems that feeding them waxworms as a staple might not be a good idea.

What then would be a good alternative to crickets (not to knock feeding crickets) that would be good for mantids too large to eat fruit flies, but too small to tackle a whole moth or the like?


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## Jwonni

i know a lot of people use roaches (most people mention lobster roaches)


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## Andrew

My mantids like crickets better than lobster roaches. You will also have to feed roaches to the mantis by hand, otherwise they'll never catch it.

Thanks,

Andrew


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## Rick

I tried roaches once and like Andrew most of my mantids didn't like them and just took a few bites and dropped them. I gutload my crickets on fresh greens, fruits, veggies, and dry cat food to make them healthy for the mantids.


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## White Owl

i feed my mantids meal worms? any good?


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## Obie

I hate crickets with a passion. I switched to lobster roaches awhile back, but the mantises (and my herps and spiders) never really liked them much. I think it was a combination of their defensive odor and the way they move.

I now use Turkistan roaches (Blatta lateralis) and all my critters love them! Everything grows better and produces more offspring than when I fed crickets too.

For nymphs and species that prefer flying insects, I have D. hydei cultures and I buy fly larvae and pupae.

Obie


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## scitch

i feed my mantis on locust and crikets i recommend trying locuts mine love them


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## Jodokohajjio

Where do you get your locusts? Do you just catch them outside, or do you have a supplier that you use?


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## Mantis Keeper

I will feed mine on grasshoppers, moths, crickets, etc. Almost everything is wild caught. Actually, the only things that aren't are fruit flies.


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## Andrew

> I hate crickets with a passion. I switched to lobster roaches awhile back, but the mantises (and my herps and spiders) never really liked them much. I think it was a combination of their defensive odor and the way they move. I now use Turkistan roaches (Blatta lateralis) and all my critters love them! Everything grows better and produces more offspring than when I fed crickets too.
> 
> For nymphs and species that prefer flying insects, I have D. hydei cultures and I buy fly larvae and pupae.
> 
> Obie


Are your critters able to catch the B. Lateralis as easy as they would crickets? I have disposed of my lobster colony, and was looking at B. Dubia to use as feeders, but they are an expensive, and slow to start.

What would you say are the ups and downs of B. Lateralis?

Thanks,

Andrew


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## scitch

i get my locusts from a pet shop i know im not sure if you can order them off the internet ?


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## Ian

yeah you can, there are loads of places online that stock live and frozen food.

Cheers,

Ian


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## Executor of Fruit Flies

Obie

Are your critters able to catch the B. Lateralis as easy as they would crickets? I have disposed of my lobster colony, and was looking at B. Dubia to use as feeders, but they are an expensive, and slow to start.

What would you say are the ups and downs of B. Lateralis?

Thanks,

Andrew

I have both species mentioned. B. Lateralis downs are:

-really fast. I'd imagine if you spilled your container and a male-female pair got loose, you could be screwed. Also a bit hard to catch, both by you and your mantids.

-Lays egg cases instead of live young. The cases need a moist substrate or they'll dry out.

Ups:

-Thin exoskeleton, soft, easy to grip(by mantids) body

-supposedly more nutritious than crickets

-very little fecal matter to clean up

I think Dubias will do fine too, as long as they're small enough(pill-bug sized nymphs). Same for the Lateralis. If they're too big, the mantids will get scared. However, the dubias have noticeably thicker armor, but that makes for a "better" struggle, if you like watching that sort of thing.


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