Bananas and honey

[frogparty]

So my last batch of houseflies has been a bit slow to hatch out, so I decided to try out the bananas and honey this am on my larger ghosts and Acanthops. I took little pieces of banana on a toothpick and smeared with honey then held up to the mantis's mandibles. Such a cool experience to be hand feeding mantids! My big ghosts weren't all that excited about it, but my Acanthops went totally bonkers for it, grasping the toothpick when I tried to take it away before they were finished.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Glad it worked for ya, I just was tell another member to do the same thing in a thread recently since he was having a fly problem as well, if their hungry enough they most likely go for it, hard to do if you have 50 or more mantis though.

 

[frogparty]

Lol, for sure. I have plenty of hydei, but L6 mantids don't seem to pay much attention to them... Go figure right?

I have houseflies hatching out today, so they won't need honey for a whole hopefully

 

[agent A]

feed honey to hf

my hfs eat so much of it their abdomens r huge and yellow lol

 

[meaganelise9]

I always enjoy honey time or banana time. It's like special mantis bonding time.

 

[Mvalenz]

Isn't honey supposed to be an antibiotic or something like that? And how often do you feed it to your mantids?

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I tried to offer my mantises a bannana in hopes of maintaing a proper potassium level but it was a lost cause. No matter how many times I stuck one in their cage they were never able to grasp the simple concept of peeling the bannana so they could eat it. Their claws are clearly wasted on them. :no:

 

[PhilinYuma]

I tried to offer my mantises a bannana in hopes of maintaing a proper potassium level but it was a lost cause. No matter how many times I stuck one in their cage they were never able to grasp the simple concept of peeling the bannana so they could eat it. Their claws are clearly wasted on them. :no:

\Thank you, KK! I've been waiting since last night, checking the forum fruitlessly every hour or so, to read this post, and here it is at last!

You say that they "never grasp the concept" (or the banana for that matter), but that is not quite true. The reason for their refusal is that if they peel the banana it will leave, not surprisingly, a banana peel. If you have ever seen (and of course, you have), on stage screen or radio, a human slippping on a banana peel, bear in mind that the fall would be three times as bad for a mantis.

If you don''t have time to peel the banana that you offer your friends, try strapping tiny skis on their tiny feet. That should do the trick. I can say in all honesty that I have never seen a mantis wearing tiny ski boots refuse to peel a banana.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

\

Thank you, KK! I've been waiting since last night, checking the forum fruitlessly every hour or so, to read this post, and here it is at last!

You say that they "never grasp the concept" (or the banana for that matter), but that is not quite true. The reason for their refusal is that if they peel the banana it will leave, not surprisingly, a banana peel. If you have ever seen (and of course, you have), on stage screen or radio, a human slippping on a banana peel, bear in mind that the fall would be three times as bad for a mantis.

If you don''t have time to peel the banana that you offer your friends, try strapping tiny skis on their tiny feet. That should do the trick. I can say in all honesty that I have never seen a mantis wearing tiny ski boots refuse to peel a banana.

Skis of course! Why didn't I think of that? And here, I just thought they weren't that bright. Clearly it was me the whole time. I am also the sort that would slip on a bannana peel. Probably why they feel the need to sit with claws folded in prayer for me. It is a wonder I'm still standing. :blush:

 

[Rick]

They will grab at anything wet/moist put to their mouth. Some mantids are content in just eating it while others will grab it.

 

[Psychobunny]

I have a giant Asian mantis that will ignor the freezer stunned fly at the end of the tongs and

just latch ahold of the tip of the tongs and not want to let go.

The fly falls to the floor, wakes up, and buzzes around, but the mantis still wont turn loose of

my tongs!!

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I have a giant Asian mantis that will ignor the freezer stunned fly at the end of the tongs and

just latch ahold of the tip of the tongs and not want to let go.

The fly falls to the floor, wakes up, and buzzes around, but the mantis still wont turn loose of

my tongs!!

Clearly you have insulted him by shoving tongs in his face. He tells me from now on he wants all his flies served to him on tiny doll house China so he can eat like a civilized mantis.Have you tried offering the flies in a cup. I've found Dixie cups work great. I will pop the still moving critter in, hold it up near my crew and they will lean in and snag it.