Are flies caught from outside healthy for Mantids? (You are what you eat!)

[ScienceGirl]

Basically, think about what they would eat in the wild/their native habitat.

Most likely, they would eat flies. The main problem is though, whether the flies carry viruses, parasites, etc. that would harm your mantis(es) due to lack of exposure.

 

[happy1892]

Chinese Mantids probably eat mostly grasshoppers and butterflies in the wild. Mantid_mike are the bees you are catching honey bees? I read that they are endangered or something like that!

 

[mantid_mike]

Chinese Mantids probably eat mostly grasshoppers and butterflies in the wild. Mantid_mike are the bees you are catching honey bees? I read that they are endangered or something like that!

They look like honey bees. There's a few people out in my area that keep honey bees in their back yards, including a good friend of mine. Check out this awesome Japanese style bee hive that he made: