Fly species

[Morpheus uk]

Whenever ive caught a fly i always stuck to the big bluebottles purely because thats what i see everyone else feeding to their mantids, but can any of my mantids eat any species of fly?

 

[Rick]

Of course. People feed houseflies and bluebottles because that is what is available in the hobby. You can feed any fly you can catch.

 

[PhilinYuma]

If it flies and they can hold onto it, they'll eat it! Not just flies, either. Bees, wasps, moths, damselflies, crane flies, you name it.

 

[jameslongo]

A fly is a fly is a flying dinner. House Flies, Bluebottles, Greenbottles, March Flies, Robber Flies, Hover Flies, Crane Flies, Mosquitoes, those gross flies that spray their live larvae out of their bum when they are being eaten... the list goes on for Diptera.

One thing I've noticed, however, is that my mantids aren't too fond of Hymenopterans and I cannot feed a specific type of fly that uses wasp mimicry to them. Strange?

 

[Morpheus uk]

Well i fed my most prized double shield mantis female a fly i caught and a day later shes dying ^_^

 

[jameslongo]

I'm pretty sure that all Dipterans are non-toxic. Maybe you just caught one that landed in something funky. Plenty of water will help eliminate whatever she ingested.

 

[Morpheus uk]

Too late she`s dead ^_^

 

[jameslongo]

Woops, sorry! Better luck next time, mate.