Armadillidium vulgare?

[batsofchaos]

I have fairly good access to Armadillidium vulgare (pill bugs or rollie-pollies) of assorted sizes and I'm curious if they'd be good mantis food? They have those nifty defenses, would a mantis be able to even eat one?

 

[PhilinYuma]

I doubt it, but there's an easy way to find out!

 

[batsofchaos]

Haha, I guess so! I'm getting some ghosts this weekend, I suppose I can see if they like pill bugs then. I hope they do, my mother's garden is crawling with them! And they're so easy to catch; poke 'em and pick up the ball-o-woodlouse.

 

[Rick]

Not a good food. They stay hidden and will just go under something and hide. I guess you could try hand feeding them. My turtles love em.

 

[batsofchaos]

I might try that. I'll also tell my mom to try and feed her red-eared slider some. I'll probably stick with D. hydei and other more common mantis foodstuffs.

 

[Rick]

I might try that. I'll also tell my mom to try and feed her red-eared slider some. I'll probably stick with D. hydei and other more common mantis foodstuffs.

Mine are land turtles.

 

[Zephyr]

I've hand fed them to chinese mantids. If they get at the underside of the pillbug or the head they can generally eat the rest out like watermelon on a rind.