Four groups for our Mantis study

[csheafer]

We started a small meal worm farm this last week as part of our study on mantids.

Soon we will be starting a cricket farm and a Dubue Roach farm..

We will also be constructing a harvest-able live fly trap out doors in the spring.

The purpose for these four groups is to study them as part of the mantis study

and so that we can do can try to do a scientific study on which one of these each mantis

prefers in a controlled environment after they become adults.

 

[Rick]

Can you elaborate more on the experimental design?

 

[Termite48]

Yes, diddo about the design for us all so inclined.

 

[csheafer]

If your referring to the NON SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATION STUDY.......

This non scientific observation study will be after they have become adults.

All the mantises will already be introduced to and be familiar with all the insects in this study.

We will have at least 4 "feeding enclosures" so we can do more than one mantis at a time.

These feeding enclosures will have a divider that can be removed.

The Mantis will be put in one side and the four insects will be put in the other.

The house fly, the roach, the cricket and the meal worm all together.

The divider will be removed and we will observe and record exactly what happens.

This will happen for every feeding over several weeks.

It is my guess that they will go after the roach... but I am sure that there will be some mantises that

prefer one type over the other. Over all I think that size matters but we shall see!

The other part of the OBSERVATION STUDY will be to see if there is any difference between males and females

to what they prefer to eat out of the selection of insects.

We will be leaving them in long enough to determine if they are finished so we can see what they ate after

their first selection and so on.

Although at first I would bet that the mantises will just grab the closest thing to it, I imagine that after a few

feedings they will anticipate what is about to happen and start to go after what it likes the best... at

least that is my hope.

Should be interesting.

 

[Gill]

I think I read somewhere that mantises will choose smaller prey over larger. Or perhaps it was just that most of their diet in the wild was made up from smaller insects, It will be interesting to hear your findings.

 

[aNisip]

Sounds like an interesting experiment/research opportunity. However, in addition to the many many many many many many trials (feedings) you'll need to have a control group. And lastly (the most difficult) you'll need to be sure to use mantids that are at the same 'hungry' level. Wether it be feeding them all at the same time and/or monitoring their feeding amounts, it has to be replicable. And how much water they drink/be provided will also contribute to the 'hungry' level.

My above information is part of what you'll need if you really want to credit this as real scientific evidence or just an interesting observation. I don't intend to be negative and support this idea fully, but have heard many a times people want to see green mantids vs brown ones and then after 5 mantids, they claim keeping them in certain conditions changes their color....

All the best,

Andrew

 

[csheafer]

Heh heh.... Well... In that case so that
I'm not misunderstood or making some wild claims...
My kids and I are doing what some would consider
a very non scientific study that won't prove anything
really except that I'm a really strange dad that
likes doing unusual but very cool stuff with his children.

 

[mmmmantd]

Very cool Dad!

 

[Gill]

If you don't feed for 3 days (longer if older) before hand then give 10 mantids of the same instar (or more if possible and note sex) a feeding choice and repeat it 3 times that should be informative.

 

[Rick]

Sounds like an interesting experiment/research opportunity. However, in addition to the many many many many many many trials (feedings) you'll need to have a control group. And lastly (the most difficult) you'll need to be sure to use mantids that are at the same 'hungry' level. Wether it be feeding them all at the same time and/or monitoring their feeding amounts, it has to be replicable. And how much water they drink/be provided will also contribute to the 'hungry' level.

My above information is part of what you'll need if you really want to credit this as real scientific evidence or just an interesting observation. I don't intend to be negative and support this idea fully, but have heard many a times people want to see green mantids vs brown ones and then after 5 mantids, they claim keeping them in certain conditions changes their color....

All the best,

Andrew

Yep. The level of replication here is not sufficient. But I see what he is trying to do which is not a "real" scientific experiment.

 

[Gill]

It seems unessasry to have a control group in feeding choice. What would it be?

 

[aNisip]

It seems unessasry to have a control group in feeding choice. What would it be?

You would have to have four control groups, one wirh the fly, one with the roach, and one with the cricket, and one with the mealworm. Then do the experiment comparing the fly and roach, then fly and cricket and fly and mealworm. Then roach and fly, roach and cricket, and roach and mealworm.....etc I believe this would be the easiest because your only changing one factor at a time. And doing it in a mote detailed way yeilding a better, more reliable result.

And yes, for the not "real" scientific experiment I'm all for it.

 

[csheafer]

There ya all go. All fixed.

Non scientific joe blow observation study that is meaningless.....

Except to teach my kids a few things about the mantis and what it eats.

I will be much more careful in the future not to use the word "scientific" so my threads won't blow up

with stuff that takes away from the point of it all.

Since this topic is food and feeding Ill get back to our plans.

After a lot of research.... I'm thinking I want to follow these.

Raising Meal worms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8M2uessLgM

Raising Crickets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdEfjuYREcM

Raising Dubia Roachs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3jSODrNRO8

For the Fly Trap it will be similar to this but the containment system will be smaller

so it will fit nicely in the freezer to slow them down for feeding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Lm3PN74wE

Of course, we will be studing the life cycles each of these insects as well.

We have already started the Meal worm study.

 

[Rick]

There ya all go. All fixed.

Non scientific joe blow observation study that is meaningless.....

Except to teach my kids a few things about the mantis and what it eats.

I will be much more careful in the future not to use the word "scientific" so my threads won't blow up

with stuff that takes away from the point of it all.

Since this topic is food and feeding Ill get back to our plans.

Nobody was saying it was meaningless. I don't think that at all. If more parents did things like this more kids would be interested in science and the outdoors.