feeder help needed - orchids

[womantis]

hi folks,

the batch of fly pupae i ordered never hatched. my orchids won't eat crickets of any size. (my ghosts will but they are not big fans)

i am able to get some dubia roaches. if they don't like crickets, will they eat dubias?

any other suggestions until i can get some more bb or house flies (which will likely take at least another week, between shipping and pupae hatching)

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

The dubias should work if they are small enough. With crickets, just pop the head off (it's pretty gross) spoon out the lungs (large bubbles) and push out the meat from the abdomen. stab the abdomen with the pushed out meat onto a toothpick, and dab it against their mouth. That might work. otherwise, make like a miniature fishtrap with a piece of fruit and put it outside.

 

[Ranitomeya]

Crickets do not have lungs, as they breathe through their spiracles which lead to the tracheal system like other insects. The large "bubbles" you would want to remove are the crop, midgut, and intestine as they're filled with whatever the crickets have fed on--this could be pathogenic if it had been feeding on bacteria-ridden corpses of other crickets. Once you put the gooey insides next to the mantis' mouth, it should begin feeding even if it had no interest in capturing thay particular prey item.

Roaches will work, but you'll be best off doing the same thing as with the crickets unless you're sure they've been kept clean and have only been feeding on clean sources of food and drinking from clean water. Dubias have pretty thick exoskeletons, which in my opinion make them one of the less attractive feeder roaches, but they'll work.

 

[womantis]

well the dubias didn't work and they don't like crickets. i am not interested in doing any post mortems on roaches or crickets..aside from flies, are they any other intact feeders they will eat? mealworms?

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

mealworms don't entice my orchids, but it may be a different story with yours. the biggest issue is their tough exoskeleton with very little nutrients. Sometimes post mortem might be the only way you'll get those buggers to eat.

 

[PlayingMantis]

Orchids like butterflies, moths, and bees. I felt bad feeding butterflies because they're beautiful, and I felt guilty feeding bees because they're beneficial to the environment. I've had orchids take wiggling spikes, mealworms, crickets, grasshoppers, roaches, etc., but they weren't as keen on eating them. Nothing entices them as much as flying insects.

 

[hibiscusmile]

I let my waxworms turn into moths and feed them, they love em.

 

[jseng]

Interesting, Rebecca--about how long does it typically take for waxworms to transform into moths?