alice the orchid eating first cricket!

[sally]

alice had her first cricket along with her honey. on a sadder note edward scissorhands mismolted and i had to put him in the freezer. my first mismolt it sucks....

 

[azn567]

I would not recommend feeding crickets to orchids...

 

[D_Hemptress]

I would not recommend feeding crickets to orchids...

why is that?

 

[sally]

oh nooo. i did not know that i will check out the feeding onfo thanks!

 

[sally]

ok i am going with silkworms then. the bbbflies aren't working for me

 

[brancsikia339]

Don't feed orchids crickets!!!!!! Flies only!

 

[Paradoxica]

why is that?

I've been told crickets are bad for nearly all species of flower mantids.

 

[hibiscusmile]

I feed my flowers crickets, just not the orchids.

 

[Termite48]

I think that the feeding of crickets to Flower Mantiids is a last resort, and then only one at a time, not leaving it in if it is not eaten readily and it should be gut loaded. The ones from the pet shop can be nasty. It is better to get some meal worms because they are not capable of hurting an Orchid or any other mantid for that matter.

 

[hibiscusmile]

could be why my wallies didn't hatch, maybe?

 

[sally]

Ok I will give Alice the flies I have then .

 

[D_Hemptress]

I think that the feeding of crickets to Flower Mantiids is a last resort, and then only one at a time, not leaving it in if it is not eaten readily and it should be gut loaded. The ones from the pet shop can be nasty. It is better to get some meal worms because they are not capable of hurting an Orchid or any other mantid for that matter.

what if you catch your own crickets? i dont have an orchid, im just curious.

 

[Termite48]

The thing about crickets is that they are liked by a lot of mantids that can handle them. They have some good food quality. When you catch them in the wild, are you sure they did not just go through a bunch of insecticide It is almost worse than the store bought. You actually need to feed them for a while a good diet and rid them of their stomach contents to be sure. Is it worth the risk? A lot of people like crickets. In the wild with most species, they are not preying on them as they do flying insects of all sorts, like moths, lace wings, and flies.

 

[D_Hemptress]

well the crickets i catch in the front yard of my mothers house and i know my step doesnt spray anything. also i keep the crickets in a container for about a week and i feed them cat food fish flakes and oats before i give them to elinor. when i found her she was actually eating a cricket outside my apartment (she also really likes bees)

The thing about crickets is that they are liked by a lot of mantids that can handle them. They have some good food quality. When you catch them in the wild, are you sure they did not just go through a bunch of insecticide It is almost worse than the store bought. You actually need to feed them for a while a good diet and rid them of their stomach contents to be sure. Is it worth the risk? A lot of people like crickets. In the wild with most species, they are not preying on them as they do flying insects of all sorts, like moths, lace wings, and flies.

 

[hierodula]

Bees are declining in population, so try and stay away, but in general, they should be avoided, because they can sting the mantis...

 

[Termite48]

That seems fine to catch them as you do and put them on your diet. Again, some of the larger species of mantids are better suited to taking on crickets than some of the more delicate species. As hard as it is to get some of the more popular but hard to raise species, it is better to avoid some feeders. In CA where the weather is more mild most of the year, you can almost always find feeder insects and even flying insects. Then when it is too cold to get the flies, etc., if funds are available some fly pupae are a good deal.

 

[Precarious]

From everything I've been told, Orchids are susceptible to a gut parasite frequently carried by crickets. You can risk it but the effects generally do not show until later instars after the parasite has had a chance to do damage. Orchids in general are much more fragile than other species so take special care to feed only BB flies, meal worms and roaches. Wild caught butterflies and moths are also good for them, and adult females can handle carpenter bees which are by no means endangered.

If you are having trouble hatching and keeping BBs you are going to have a lot of trouble as the females mature.

what if you catch your own crickets? i dont have an orchid, im just curious.

Wild crickets are even worse. I've heard they almost always carry parasites so I never use the black ones in my yard. I always see them twitching and dying more than any other insects. That's gotta tell you something.

 

[sally]

Yes I will stick to the bbs. I will just put them in the fridge for a min before feeding . They are so active otherwise¦ )

 

[D_Hemptress]

Wild crickets are even worse. I've heard they almost always carry parasites so I never use the black ones in my yard. I always see them twitching and dying more than any other insects. That's gotta tell you something.

oh wow, i actually havent seen any black crickets since i was a kid. i only see common brown ground crickets. and all the ones i have are healthy. like i said i keep them for awhile before feeding them to Elinor.