ants anyone?
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macro junkie
Dead Leaf Mantis
no..u need some fruit flys.i asked this same Q..i was told not to feed ants to them..not sure why tho?
obregon562
Well-known member
aphids? huh, never heard of that!
Ants (and bees and wasps, etc...), all have poisons that could potentially harm your mantids. Apparently in nature they just bite the head off of these "stinger" insects, but...
Anyway, short answer: no, long amswer: probably not.
P.S. a good emergency food source is to search for midges, flies, etc, in your bathroom, house, and lights outside.
Ants (and bees and wasps, etc...), all have poisons that could potentially harm your mantids. Apparently in nature they just bite the head off of these "stinger" insects, but...
Anyway, short answer: no, long amswer: probably not.
P.S. a good emergency food source is to search for midges, flies, etc, in your bathroom, house, and lights outside.
alright thanks
i think you call aphids something else where you live but over here in california there these little bugs in groups chillin on the underside of flowers really slow and juicy for the nymphs.
i find hundreds of them in my backyard but the rain made them hide
i think you call aphids something else where you live but over here in california there these little bugs in groups chillin on the underside of flowers really slow and juicy for the nymphs.
i find hundreds of them in my backyard but the rain made them hide
There are some insects other than the mantis that will eat other insects, the ant is one of those, the dragonfly and damselfly are another, along with crickets. That is why most people will tell you not to use as feeders too.
macro junkie
Dead Leaf Mantis
same as all of us..we order them off the net..if your going to do this u need to start getting organized..better to have to much that not enough.at the min i have 12 cultures on the go..i never run out of frute flys..NEVER!..order some cultures from mantis place..
macro junkie
Dead Leaf Mantis
there very tiny and will only be good for L1 ant mantids...ahipds are like 1/4 the size of the fruit fly.if your nympth is fine eating them now it wont soon as it sheds.
heres some ahipds for any one that dont know what they look like.pics taken by me in my garden in summer time.
About 4,000 species of aphids are known, classified in 10 families.They vary in size from 1-10 mm long.
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Mantida
Well-known member
A long time ago I put my chinese nymph on the counter top to give it some water. It caught a stray ant crawling by. I forced it to drop the ant, but it died a few hours later. Most ants contain toxins, and it is not recommended you give them to mantids.
Moosashi
Well-known member
I've seen the tiny green triangular ones, are those aphids? think I've seen pics of ladybugs eating them too, so I guess so.
macro junkie
Dead Leaf Mantis
obregon562
Well-known member
Hey man! im in cali too! i surf and everything! 
I know what aphids are in california! They suck my carnivorous plants dry!
I know what aphids are in california! They suck my carnivorous plants dry!
Ants can be a viable food source for your mantids. There are NO toxins found in any ant that will harm the mantid eating it. The problem stems from the ants ability to fight back! Ants have nasty mandibles and either a sting or chemical spraying ability.
I have had a colony of ants, Forelius pruinosus, since Nov 2002. I have feed L1 nymphs of several species the ant swarmers. The swarmers are about the size of fruit flies. The nymphs had no problems eating them. However, most larger mantids will avoid worker ants. The workers simply are too much risk/work for too little gain!
I have had a colony of ants, Forelius pruinosus, since Nov 2002. I have feed L1 nymphs of several species the ant swarmers. The swarmers are about the size of fruit flies. The nymphs had no problems eating them. However, most larger mantids will avoid worker ants. The workers simply are too much risk/work for too little gain!
How long you use the fruit flies will depend on what species of mantid you have. Some smaller species of mantid will eat fruit flies through several molts. The larger species of mantids may only eat the fruit flies until the first molt. What species of mantid do you have?
Do you have any large pet stores near you? You can get fruit flies and D. hydei at Petco here in New Mexico. Get on the phone and see if you can pick some up tommorow!
Mantida
Well-known member
Yeah, the chemical spraying ability is what got to my little chinese. He smelled quite weird after and groomed a lot before dying.
You can't usually tell the difference between which species are chemical sprayers and which ones are not (well, for me at least) so that is why I usually avoid them. Better safe than sorry I always say!
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macro junkie
Dead Leaf Mantis
can u get more ahipds or spring tails untill the culture arrives..also u can ask them if they have culture that are alll ready going.the place i get mine from do that for me..i asked for 1 full with flys..it was great..
