best food for chinese mantis after d fruit flies

[SomeWhiteGuy]

It needs to be something easy to culture I was thinking roaches or locust what do you guys say?

I also plan to mix moths into there diet a bit.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I'm not sure about best, but I go to crickets after fruitflies along with freshly caught goodies. Once they are ready to move on from fruitflies has to be my favorite size range since there are so many easy to catch bugs outside that fit that size.

 

[happy1892]

Moths, crickets, roaches, grasshoppers, flies etc that are small enough. I have read that any exotic insect that eats plants is illegal.

 

[hibiscusmile]

All sounds good! might try en myself!

 

[Chivalry]

Mine are not in the least picky, although they usually spazz at mealworms the first time I try them.

 

[maybon]

I like roaches because they are easy to breed, quite and have a decent amount of meat on them. Crickets are just as good but the adults are noisy so depends if you like chirping or not

 

[SomeWhiteGuy]

Thanks guys I think i might go with roaches. Dubia roaches right?

 

[maybon]

Pretty much any of them are fine, dubia are the easiest to control since they die without heat and cant climb out of the tubs. Meaning they can't escape very easily and they die if they do. I use lobster roaches because dubia are illegal in Aus... but they can climb the tub unless you buy "fluon" which is like $30, it's a slippery paint you can apply to the upper inside rim and they can't get past it

 

[SomeWhiteGuy]

Nice maybon work with what you got XD

 

[maybon]

Yeah mate it is very tricky to get started in Australia haha, most of the commonly used things in US are not available here. Some stuff like moss/fruit flies are the most annoying examples

 

[happy1892]

Yeah mate it is very tricky to get started in Australia haha, most of the commonly used things in US are not available here. Some stuff like moss/fruit flies are the most annoying examples

No small fruit flies in Australia?!

 

[maybon]

Nah I meant you can't buy them here, they do exist down here I managed to get some flightless D. melanogaster from my University which is a huge relief... I have a flying culture of D. hydei as well, it just took me over a month to catch enough to get a culture started for myself.

I am going to breed them and sell cultures to people in Australia though to make things easier for everyone. I shipped out some flightless pupae yesterday actually in exchange for 10-20 nymphs of Archimantis sobrina nymphs depending on how many hatch from the guys ootheca.