Food too small?

[sppc9876]

Is it possible for a blue bottle fly to be too small for a subadult Sphodromantis? My female literally waits for ever to strike at blue bottle flies and sometimes doesn't even catch their movements when they are right infront of her. She's not full nor is she blind (I hope not) but she seems a bit hesitant to lunge forward at something. She did molt like 3 days ago but wanted to see if people who keep Sphodros still feed them blue bottle flies at their subadult phase. Thanks!

 

[PhilinYuma]

Ha! Well I can tell you to the millimeter the ideal prey size for S. lineola (I guess that that is the species you have), or at least Dr. Prete, editor of the "Prete book" can:

The visually released, predatory behaviors of approaching and striking at prey by the praying mantis, Sphodromantis lineola (Burr.), were measured in response to various moving, three-dimensional lure configurations. Lures varied in length (3, 7, 15, 25, 35, 50, 70 or 100 mm), thickness (i.e. width and height: 3, 7, 10, 15, 20 or 30 mm) and direction (approaching or moving orthogonally). Each of these three parameters has a significant effect on whether adult female S. lineola recognize a moving object as potential prey. Approaching lures are strong releasers of predatory behaviors when they are 3-35 mm long and 10 mm thick. Orthogonally moving lures, although overall poor releasers of predatory behavior, are at their strongest when 3-35 mm long but only 3 mm thick.

(Configural prey recognition by the praying mantis, Sphodromantis lineola (Burr.): Effects of size and direction of movement. Prete, Frederick R. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, Vol 36(5), Nov 1990, 300-306.)

I suspect thqt your mantis may be blind in one eye or partially blind in both.

 

[sppc9876]

Wow talk about research. So I've been actually trying different types of prey like moths and bought crickets today which she is definitely responding to. She sees them walking on the ground even though she's on the ceiling. I'm just wondering why she's waiting for them to literally be in front of her to lunge. Do you think she's still warming up from her molt 3 days ago or just decided to become a wimp after her molt because she was a REALLY aggressive eater before. But yes, the science is certainly very interesting. Thanks for the tidbits. Unfortunately male sphodros also fall within that range...

 

[hibiscusmile]

I like to use my looooonnnnnngggg forceps to wiggle in front of them, they then readily take the prey. Easier that way!

 

[sppc9876]

So I've been testing some foods with the female mantis. I've come to some conclusions. The house flies are too small or too insignificant for a subadult female, that she simply ignores them, but thankfully she's not blind! I caught a skipper out in the backyard and the female spotted it and hunted it down very quickly. Lately at night, we get a lot of katydids that are just the right size for the female as well and upon dropping them in the cage, she responds to it naturally. I think she simply doesn't like the taste of crickets (she ate half of one and dropped the rest). Thank god, I thought my mantis was in trouble or something. Now the question is what do I feed a picky female mantis that doesn't eat house flies or crickets? Any moth catching strategies? Thanks guys.

 

[psyconiko]

Roaches come in many different size,easy to breed,to feed....

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

Nikkko-

I have done the same thing for my bearded dragons but only problem is if two(male and female) of them escape then theres no stopping them from breeding, although i agree extremely easy because they eat about anything and they breed fast! I would recommend it.

Sppc9876-

For moth catching sometimes using a gatorade bottle you can put honey on the bottom and they fly into it. But a easy way is if you have a light on your house that you can reach just bring somthing to put them in at night and one way is to grab them when they are sitting on the wall and not flying. Although that can mess with their wings, so i just put the water bottle(what i use to catch them) over them and they will scare and fly into the bottle. In a successful night i will catch about twenty. I would have more but there are tree frogs that hang around the lights and snatch all the moths before i do! :angry: Sorry if that was confusing! :lol:

 

[sppc9876]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the replies and offering some feedback. I was in denial at first since this is my first mantis I've bought, but I think PhilinYuma is correct. My Sphodro Spec has some unusual discoloration on both of its eyes near the front. Sometimes when I look at the head at different angles, I get four black dots instead of 2. At first I attributed it to prey too small, prey not tasty, temperature to low (65F) to even a possible environmental irritation making the mantis feel uncomfortable. But, I think it might be that her eyes have a large area that's cloudy in the front so anything coming head on isn't perceivable. She's caught stuff solely on her own but her lack of appetite I think is because she mostly doesn't see her prey. I could be wrong and she's just killing me to wait more than a week after her molt to resume being a voracious eater but having 3-4 blue bottles walk right in front of her without her noticing isn't right. Here's a picture. Let me know what you think of the discoloration. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[GreenOasis]

These spots are common in certain species of mantids (generally the larger ones) and they are usually from rubbing around in their enclosures. Eventually the opaque spot will turn black & spread, and may completely engulf the eye. Fortunately, their vision is not affected by it. I have had several mantids now that developed large black spots and they never had problems hunting & taking down their prey.

Females of most species also tend to "sit & wait" for prey to come to them. Lineolas are a more aggressive hunter, but not ALL of them will be. Nice thing about mantids is that they each have a very individual personality.

Here's a pic of my old Shield female, "Monkeyface" a day before she died:

She began devloping her spots just before her final molt. She was always a great hunter, right up until the end.

Remember that, like flies & spiders, they have compound eyes, so even if a large area in the middle is damaged, they can still see with a multitude of eyes surrounding that area!

 

[sppc9876]

Thanks for the encouraging words of wisdom Carey. I'm thinking she'll eat when she wants to eat. I think you were right about the misting. Maybe I overmisted and she's been rubbing her face too much. Gotta lay back on that.

 

[sppc9876]

I've been ecstatic for the past couple of days since my female has returned to being a voracious predator. It's almost as if the blind were to see again! :lol: After starving her for a few days, she thinned out and all of a sudden noticed every single fly I put inside her cage. I didn't think it would take 10+ days after a molt for her to resume eating aggressively, but I didn't realize that as they get older they take longer to hunt again. I decided to challenge her appetite with a pallid-winged grasshopper and she saw, hunted, and devoured the whole grasshopper minus the innards. Here's a picture

I guess Rick was right when he said the best way to enjoy this hobby is to not stress out and let the mantis do its thing.

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

may i ask what's coming out of that thing?

 

[patrickfraser]

It's the giblets.