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It looks GREAT Rebecca!!!
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You have so much room and it's so organized, I'm jealous.
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Wow. I am most curious about how you feed and water everyone. That seems to take the longest.

 
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Thanks Kat, it took a lot of sweat and tears to get it here, and best of all I paid for it, labor and all Myself!

The feeding is actually the fastest chore I have now, Rick. One would never believe it, it use to take almost 6 hours, now I am down to 2.5 if I feed them all or 1.5 in the am and the other 1 at night. I have streamlined it and am most happy with it now, I even get time to laugh at some of the things they do.

Also cleaning their cages used to take a whole day or two, now I feed and clean on thur. and it only takes about 3 hrs. That's what I do best is organaziation and figuring out how to make it simple. Took me a couple years, but I got it down pat now.
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Sorry if I sound proud, it's just I worked so long and hard on this and I am so happy with it, I can't help myself. If you saw what I worked in for years before, u would understand why. The room was an L shape, about 6' x 10 x 6 x 8' and all the mantis and feeders were in there and no windows and no air and no room for anyones butt but mine
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! I use to drop things so much, I usually came out of there bent over
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and needing one of these to get around in! :tt2:

 
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Well, It's official! I am a slob. :unsure:

I now have a summer project! You've inspired me! I'm gonna tear apart my "bug room" and completely redo it. It's currently just housing 3 different species of roach and a "few" dozen dead insect display cases and 2 pinning tables. I am forced to keep all my mantids in my bedroom because I'm afraid that the no pest strips that I put in the display cases will harm the mantids.

Any ideas on solving this problem? :D

Thanks for giving me all these crazy ideas hibiscusmile! :rolleyes:

 
I got some new house flies today, well pupae, and I took some pics of them with the new ones from Chuck. Notice the different sizes,
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These really looked good when they showed up today, I am so tickled to of found them....

I am offering 1 order free to all forum members with just the price of 6.50 shipping that I charge for fly shipping. They will go out monday, tue and wed next week depending on when u order them. I have took the same amount of each and placed in my bottles to hatch, I can't wait to see these new flies! wahoo!
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Just email me at himantis@ yahoo.com or send the 6.50 at www.paypal.com to me at [email protected]. Then let us know how the flies do! I havent had them hatch yet, but they were very fresh when I got them, so by monday they should hatch. If something changes or I don't see them hatch I will refund, but I don't see that happening. Also if u regulary get flies from me, make sure u leave me a note so I can include the free ones too!!! Please don't be shy about ordering, this offer is just for mantisforum members!

 
A very interesting post, Rebecca. I too have noticed that Chuck's fly pupae (anyone's I imagine), vary in size. There are several possible reasons for this. Remember that in nature, flies, like everyone else, are there to reproduce, not win a place in the Guinness Book of Records for their size, so size in itself does not make any difference to the success of the species.

The easiest way to produce a supply of pupae of the same size is to remove the breeding medium a day or two after the flies start laying, so that the larvae are about all the same age. (I never do this myself. It is extremely wasteful of medium). With a homogeneous population like this, you can grow maximum sized flies by letting them pupate when they are ready, or produce smaller pupae/flies by "flooding" the medium with water before the maggots are ready to pupate. They will flee the water, which would drown them, climb to a drier area, and, without food, pupate, producing smaller flies.

I have chatted with Chuck about the problems introduced by the changes made over the last year in dry dog food (beef and lamb meal are out; chicken is in) and the considerable effort that he has expended in trying to make an optimal feed mix, adding things like carotene and one egg to every 5 gals of medium (!). I suspect, though, that in this case, the smaller pupae represent a shorter growth period due to higher temp. I shall call him tomorrow, and then make a post explaining why I was wrong!

Fortunately, Chuck sells his pupae by weight, so if they are smaller, you get more per gram!

 
Rick, not blue bottle, should of took pic of it too, I will today.

Thanks Phil, please don't tell Chuck I am cheating on him
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. These are not his
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. I bad girl.
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But really don't tell him.

I was not really refering to the diff in size to indicate good or bad producing pupae, just wanted to point out the difference in it. The ones I got were really fresh and wet, I mixed them with cornmeal and the end product is like the picture. You guys gonna try them?

This was by weight too. I order 600 grams from him and 600 from this new supplier.

 
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Well I only had two people who wanted to try the new flies, thats too bad, I told hubby he had to help eat the extra and for some unknown reason, he woke up today feeling really bad.
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It seems like no one is listening anymore, I guess I will talk to myself! hey self! Yea, wahts up? Did I tell you about the time..... No and I don't wanna hear it now either :tt2:

 
Speaking of flies I need to go order some.

 
The flies are good, mantis love them. I think these are even more ninja like than others :ph34r: :ph34r: :ph34r: :ph34r: Had one escape and have yet to kill/catch him... Thanks for the flies!

 
So those of you who got the new flies, Let me know how u like them when they hatch!
Are they the small ones? You sent a small cup that has very small pupa in it. I was at critical stage and since many of the bb's hatched in the box I was able to feed everyone. Usually I hate when that happens but this time it was a good thing. :lol:

 

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