Best mantids for me and questions

[Mikael_29]

So my b-day is next week and I was thinking of ordering some mantids from bugzuk. The species I am looking at are heterochaeta Orientalis, deroplatys dessicata, Metallyticus Violaceus, Pseudocreobroter ocellata and shprodomantis lineola

My questions are what cage is best for all these mantids net glass plastic

How do u care for Metallyticus Violaceus

Do all these mantids live best on flies I can get fruit flies but other flies are hard for me to find in my country other than their maggots.

I want 2 species and I want to breed them right now I have 2 adult ghost mantids and a brunneria borealis at home. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Mikael_29]

Oh and If u breed species that lay oothecas that have atleast 100+ nymphs how do u take care of them all

 

[Ralphys_Mantids]

Well you can rule out heterochaeta. They get huge and get stressed and die without proper care. Not recommended

 

[happy1892]

You need a lot of containers for cannibalistic mantises. One container for each individual mantis. lol

So are Brunneria borealis in other countries now, not just in the mantis hobby in America? You probably will not have any problem with raising S. lineola since they are easy. You could possibly raise a small mantis species on just fruit flies such as Pseudoharpax virescens.

 

[TheBeesKnees]

Seconding S. Lineola as a great species to go with! Can't say much about the others, though...

You can really build your terrarium out of anything, as long as there's lots of vertical space and gripping surfaces for them to climb and hang upside down from. I don't think there's any one "best" way to go about it. If you haven't already done so, I suggest checking out the "housing and enclosures" section to see examples of a variety of different terrariums! Some folks get really creative with their terrariums!

Large mantis species are gonna need more than just fruitflies; but fruit flies are good for the young nymphs of most species. You can also feed grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, flies, crickets, and any other non-carnivorous, non-poisonous insect that your mantis can wrap it's little slappers around! They tend to like a varied diet, if they can get it.

I think with 100+ nymphs from an ooth, it's expected that many will die off for no reason, and others will be eaten by their siblings. Hunger games style. I actually look forward to hearing what most people with breeding experience do when they wind up with this many nymphs...

 

[Mikael_29]

Alright thanks guys and I live in canada so if I order mantids I usually get them shipped to my mailbox across the border cause I live 30 mins from the border. Bugzuk ships to canada so that's why I am ordering from there.