Culturing bbf

Mantidforum

Help Support Mantidforum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mantisfan101

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 7, 2017
Messages
356
Reaction score
68
I have a bunch that just emerged and they’re in the fridge as of right now. How do I culture them? Obviously not like fruit flies since they can actually fly but any helpful tips?

 
Watch this video for a quick summary of how BBFs are cultured. A lot of people don't have the stomach for it. It's easier to to buy them. 😁




 
46 minutes ago, Synapze said:

Watch this video for a quick summary of how BBFs are cultured. A lot of people don't have the stomach for it. It's easier to to buy them. 😁


Ok that is an absolute nope from me and everyone else in my family. I think I’ll go back to roaches and mealworms thank you very much :)

 
Same here! 😀

I've seen some ideas for chemical-free fly capturing methods. One design hangs outside and uses dog poop or rotting meat to bait them where they get trapped in a collection net. I've ordered one for next season to hang near my compost bin. I'll still order pupae, but this could be a great way to save a few bucks. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ok that is an absolute nope from me and everyone else in my family. I think I’ll go back to roaches and mealworms thank you very much :)


I thought mantis have to eat flying insects or flying insect is the best option for them. Can they live well without flying insect? 

 
You’ve got to wonder how much flying is actually going on inside a pint sized mantis enclosure.  I have yet to see a mantis snag a fly out of thin air.  The flies are usually just walking around on the inside of the enclosure.  For that matter, there’s no reason why you couldn’t use non-flying feeders like roaches or crickets.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think this is better moreso for emphsids whcih canbe kept communally in marge enclosures where flies can fly around. 

 
You’ve got to wonder how much flying is actually going on inside a pint sized mantis enclosure.  I have yet to see a mantis snag a fly out of thin air.  The flies are usually just walking around on the inside of the enclosure.  For that matter, there’s no reason why you couldn’t use non-flying feeders like roaches or crickets.
Crickets seem to be able to transmit diseases to mantids, so I think that is one major argument against them. Roaches obviously have a bad reputation. Because of this, I think a lot of people choose to start with flies when starting to keep mantids. 

 

Latest posts

Top