Any of you feed grasshoppers?

[T.C.]

Hi, I was curious about breeding grasshoppers for mantid food as they aren't smelly and noisy unlike crickets. IIf you guys know a way to fix noise and smell i'd appreciate some tips.Do any of you have experience culturing grasshoppers and do they breed enough to get plenty grasshopper nymphs from them?

 

[steeve]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think most, if not all, adult grasshoppers also sing (albeit not as loudly as crickets). Just from catching them outside I can attest they definitely make their presence known.

Aside from that, I though I'd leave you the keepinginsects link that has a lot of handy info on culturing them.

 

[Mystymantis]

Yes, male grasshoppers do sing, although it is done differently then crickets. Grasshoppers use their legs to make a more clicking like noise, but crickets use their wings to sing. I have never cultured grasshoppers, but I have fed wild ones on occasion to my mantises. I think most grasshoppers you find in the wild (at least in the US) only have one generation a year, so that might be a problem in culturing them because they would not make lots of nymphs all the time, unlike feeder crickets which will breed more often.

 

[mantisfan101]

Finding food for them would be pretty darn tricky unless your a botanist and keep in mind that if the grasshoppers are wildcaught in your backyard, chances are that it has a very persistnet pesticide on or in it.