Are there any easy to breed flying insects?

[Sparky]

[skip to last paragraph to get to the point. I tend to babble.]

It's been about 5 years since I kept mantids. I started the hobby and joined this forum when I was about 15 and now I been busy with moving out of state and college and work and blah blah blah. I've been wanting to get back into the hobby. It won't be until about a month or two from now but I'd like to be prepared for what I never thought I would do.

I want to start raise Idolomantis diabolica's and a buddy of mine on the forum has been helping me with that . I know that they have this weird thing with eating only flying insects and usually I always find a way around those "advanced species" and sometimes I don't usually go by the book when taking care of expert species but I have been reading about and those who fed their Idolo's strictly on roaches, crickets, and ground insects usually encountered problems. Now I can go out and catch butterflies and moths, but I would like easy to access feeders instead. I know a lot of you order flies but I honestly don't like messing with flies. I don't mind it but I'd rather not. I don't even like dealing with fruit flies.

Is there any easy to breed flying insects that are fairly cheap to obtain and easy maintenance? The only thing I could think of is milkweed bugs but they're technically non flyers, BUT they ARE arboreal and have wings and they CAN fly, they just don't do it all they time. I'm not even sure of they'll get big enough to satisfy Idolo's.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Yes you can catch moths and butterflies, but Idolo eat alot! Waxworms and silkworms are something I never tried but I know they can work once they become winged adults.

 

[Sparky]

I can do silk worms, I just read that the adults contain very little nutrition. Waxworms are hard for me to breed for some reason and I've followed numerous guides.

 

[rs4guy]

Flies? Nasty dirty flies are easy to breed. But who wants to do that? In the summer months its easy enough to find moths and bees and such.

 

[frogparty]

adult silkmoths have little nutrition? never read that before. Too bad too, as I ordered a bunch to raise up and start breeding.

What about phoenix worms and pupate them to soldier fly stage?

 

[Sparky]

Soldier flies need compost and poop. I guess I'll just have to catch flies on my own. I just don't want to go after flies after a hard days work. Beggars can't be choosers I guess.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

I don't breed my flies, I just buy them in pupae and/or spike form from mantisplace.com for $ 6-7 per 500 but she sells in less quanity 100-250 if you don't need 500, but they keep in the fridge for a few weeks unhatched, and once you hatch some those also can live longer if kept part of the time in the fridge and fed honey when there warmed up.

 

[Extrememantid]

Mantids are somewhat easy to breed lol! D