Feeding Tip

This might be a well known way to feed your mantises, but I just discovered it about 15 minutes ago, so thought I would share just in case it's not. I keep a couple different batches of Bluebottles in 32 oz deli cups in the fridge. When getting ready to feed my mantises, I take the plug out of most of their containers and line them up before I take the flies out of the fridge, because I always have to hurry before the flies become too active and start flying off. Doing it this way, I barely have time to finish and there's still usually several flies that got loose and are flying around the mantis room before I am done. Then later on, when I open the door to the room, a few flies get out and fly into my bedroom, where my dog is lying and waiting......he goes crazy over flies and doesn't rest until every last one is dead. Thankfully, he's not like that with mantises, because I have done a few photo shoots with him and my mantises. Anyway......today I had an epiphany and decided to put the 32oz container in a plastic gallon ice cream bucket with ice packs surrounding it. I have about 20 of those ice packs in my freezer because every time I visit my parents, my mom insists on sending me home with some food and when she packs the food she puts a few of those ice packs in with it. I have now dedicated a portion of a freezer shelf to that bucket, which holds 3 ice packs, and now I just have to place the 32oz container in the bucket and walk to the mantis room.....as slowly as I want. It worked beautifully. I had to knock down the flies to the bottom by hitting the top of the lid first, so that they are down where it's cool, but that is it. They stirred the whole time, but stayed put and I had all day to feed.

Good idea!

I do use the ice pack method now and then. Someone else gave me that tip to keep them from becoming active too soon. But sometimes I'm lazy and don't bother. It's probably even more useful for HF since those are much harder to catch the escapees. It's nice that you shared this tip with others as I never thought to.

Genius!

I keep my fly bin in a mini fridge once the flies are well watered and fed after hatch. Sometime I'll bring the cages a few at a time to the fridge and speed feed them that way. That way I only have the bin out for a couple minutes at a time.

Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to use that!

Great Tip Thanks for sharing.....

Here's a pic with the change I made today. I put an empty deli cup in the bucket filled with water and weighted it down when I put it in the freezer. When frozen, I poured hot water in the cup and pulled it out. Now just keep this with no cup in it in the freezer and take the deli cup full of flies out of the fridge and place in the hole during feeding time. I just tried it out and it works perfectly. No more rushing to feed.

Nice. You could just leave the frozen cup in the ice and place the cup of flies inside. It would provide a little insulation between the ice and their "poor little feet". It would also keep the cup of flies dry. I imagine you are having to dry the cup when it's removed.

Very inventive. I like it ¦)