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Hey guys, got a bit of a dilemma, I want to move my mature male ghost from his small vivarium to a much bigger one and he doesn't wanna get out of his old one. Here's a pic of what I've got setup: I put a few active crickets in the new cage and a cup of flies on the far side of the new tank...

What is paraben?

OK, good I mixed it with in my fly food and into my cricket/roach chow so they're all eating it now. It'll be easier than dusting flies for sure! LOL

I bought some powdered Bee Pollen and Honey Powder to dust my flies with before feeding out and I was wondering, does this keep the flies from flying/using their wings or do they shake it off and resume flight after a few moments? I also mixed some of this BP/HP in with the dry milk/sugar for...

Rare (and even common) insects are often snatched up by reptile shops since insects are even more exotic than lizards. They get bought by the customers quickly so don't be afraid to talk to the manager or owner about what you've got going on with your extra nymphs, quite often they will be...

You're brave! I'd be so afraid the little guy (or girl) would make a run for it.

You don't think they will? I don't handle my critters at all other than to move them so they aren't used to any human interaction.

Cool, we should set up a "date"! LOL I have a female and another male that I'm waiting to mature but now I've started thinking, how am I gonna move the males in with the female now that they have wings? Won't they fly off just as soon as I get him coaxed out of their enclosures? I bought a...

One of my Ghosts has proven himself today, unfortunately due to his position I had to shoot him through the plastic and not the open front. He looks so regal now with the "cape" and long antennae.

Thanks Phil, I love these DIY sort of projects so if you don't mind me asking you a bit more about this: What kind of wood/mulch do you use in your culture mud? It looks finer than the shredded cypress much I use for drainage/aeration in terrarium soil mixes instead of perlite. How long do you...

Awesome info Phil thanks a lot for posting this! I think I will try it too. You claim the maggots don't stink? I've read that fly cultures/maggots have an ammonia smell, perhaps it's only due to what they're cultured on? I have lots of powdered cat food cos I feed it to the crickets and roaches...

Woke up Sunday to one of my spiny flower mantids in the middle of a molt. i watched it for a while before it dawned on me to get the camera! I got a couple decent pics anyway: Almost done - how do they hang from their bottom like this??? Is it magic? Here's the new look:

Thanks guys. I had read about feeding with powdered milk before but I stopped myself just before I bought some today by noticing that it has 30% calcium in it. Excess calcium can supposedly be bad for molting insects, flies don't molt but mantids do. I don't know how many/if any people have lost...

Well I hatched a whole bunch of houseflies and blue bottle flies and now there's more than I need at the moment so I'm wondering what do I feed them? DO they eat oranges like the roaches and crickets or...? I tried a plastic spoon with a spot of honey on it and a bottle lid with powdered sugar...

Outside twigs and stuff are great cos you can find exactly what you want and they're free! Go out into the woods though since things like lawns get hosed with chemicals and twigs that fall on the lawn may pick up bad stuff. They just sprayed my condos grounds today so I've gotta find another...

OK, maybe I'll try two in each and see how they do. They seemed to really enjoy the crickets this week and now that I had some houseflies hatch en masse today (whew) they didn't all eat them! LOL

I don't know how to tell their exact age but none are adults yet. I think the ghosts are L5 or L6. None of them have wings but probably will next time they molt cos they're about 2" long each, the female is slightly longer. The spiny flowers are all about 3/4" or so tall, maybe L3/L4? They're so...

It will be interesting to witness the variations that develop between your lobata and dessicata.

I always get furry fat bumble bees, yellow jackets and wasps in my house during open window/door weather. Is it safe to feed them to the mantids with no fear of the mantid getting stung or is it only honey bees that are OK?

Cypripedium parviflorum I believe. Do a google on cultivating C. parviflorum and mix up a soil recipe you find that's consistently recommended by several sites. Likely you will need some specific ingredients such as pine needles (collect them yourself and bake them at 200*F for an hour or so...