Good wild-caught food?

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dgerndt

dgerndt

Well-known member
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Nov 4, 2010
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Location
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Now that spring is upon us, I plan on going outside and searching for new foods for my mantids. Since I have only kept mantids for less than a year, I'm new to identifying bugs that make good meals. So I'm wondering... what do YOU like to feed to your mantids? I'm still rather limited to what I can catch since it's still pretty cold in Michigan, but I have seen some bugs outside. I know that moths, butterflies, flies, crickets, grasshoppers, bees, and other winged insects make good feeders. But what about beetles, pill bugs, worms, centipedes, grubs/larvae, and other bugs that live under rocks and logs?

 
The softer the exoskeleton the better,some beetles are to hard to chew through. grubs would work if your mantis will take them, but remember lawn fertilizer and pesticides can be on some insects outdoors and as one might not kill your mantis a build up of chemicals from a few might be bad.

So in the end I stick with the flying insects and crickets from outside, they don't live more than a few weeks so it would be hard to have any toxic build up.

Sure you can call me over careful but to me all the months of care per mantis is not worth a few free feeders.

I have two dogs so finding plenty of flies in one spot outside isn't a problem. :poop: I just use a large fish net for aquariums and get 3-4 at a time. plus the flies are already gut loaded with pollen and other good stuff.

You might have to explain to your neighbors that your not crazy, that your just feeding some hungry babies. :lol:

 
I'm pretty sure my neighbors will think I'm even crazier if I say I'm feeding hungry babies! They may even call Social Services on me! :lol:

 
I pray to the stool goddess daily for her to bring forth her fruit.

Just a joke:

What did the male fly say to the female fly sitting on a pile of
poop.gif
?

"Pardon me, ma'am...is this stool taken?"
unsure.gif


 
Patrick needs the little men in white, I am afraid! ;)

and yes, don't tell them u r feeding babies, they will never understand and if you put on a safari hat and get a big net, they will probably just stay a good way away from you! None of us here have neighbors that talk to us anymore :lol:

 
hibiscusmile said:
Patrick needs the little men in white, I am afraid! ;)

and yes, don't tell them u r feeding babies, they will never understand and if you put on a safari hat and get a big net, they will probably just stay a good way away from you! None of us here have neighbors that talk to us anymore :lol:
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Be very afraid. The men in white never knew what hit 'em. I've been waiting on the little green men, but they are keeping their distance, I think.

 
Haha, you guys are too funny! :lol:

I went bug-hunting outside today, and all I got were two box elder bugs. I saw a fly, but all I had was a jar and I couldn't catch it. <_<

 
Mantids do not 'discriminate' any insects, anything that they can overpower in the wild will go down to their stomach. So you can catch basically any type insects as long as the size is alright. Also make sure the area is buggy and has no sign of pesticide use.

 
Most things will work. I would avoid pill bugs and things like that that live under rocks and stuff. Butterflies and moths are very good as well as grasshoppers, crickets, etc. Large beetles can be too tough for even mantids to chew through. Whatever you do, DO NOT feed honeybees!

 
Rick said:
Most things will work. I would avoid pill bugs and things like that that live under rocks and stuff. Butterflies and moths are very good as well as grasshoppers, crickets, etc. Large beetles can be too tough for even mantids to chew through. Whatever you do, DO NOT feed honeybees!
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Why not honey bees? I see videos of mantis eating bees and wasps. Will it kill a mantis?

 
Because Honey Bees are critically endangered (well, I don't know the exact status). But they are threatened. So don't kill them off.

 
But seriously Rick I hope it works for you, and I don't and have never fed bee's to mantis, I like what they bring to us in the spring with all there hard work. :flowers: no bee no flower...

 
patrickfraser said:
Why not honey bees? I see videos of mantis eating bees and wasps. Will it kill a mantis?
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No, won't hurt a mantis. The reason is that honey bees are major pollinators and their numbers are dropping. A large part of the food supply depends on honey bees. With their reduced numbers we don't need mantis keepers killing them off as well. And it has nothing to do with me starting beekeeping. I've had this view towards the bees for awhile now.

 
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That's the thought I had about feeding bees to my mantids. I know that it's convenient and healthy (because of the pollen) for the mantis, but I like bees and I don't want to get rid of these hard-working insects.

 
Deby said:
That's the thought I had about feeding bees to my mantids. I know that it's convenient and healthy (because of the pollen) for the mantis, but I like bees and I don't want to get rid of these hard-working insects.
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We have plenty of bees around here. even the neighbor is complaining about it, He thinks there is a hive in the yard next to him, and he wants to call someone to remove it. <_<

We have always had alot around here. When it is warm out here, I have to be careful not to step on them, there are so many!
:lol: I also keep accidentally catching a few almost every time I go swinging my net to catch some food. I have never been stung by them for this. I was afraid that they would be upset by being trapped for a second, but they are cool and just fly out of the net when I turn it over to release them.
My daughter and I love the bees and even pet them sometimes. :p I never feed them to anything.

 
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Sporeworld said:
Does anyone feel as strongly about wasps? Or yellow jackets? Those things are buzzing around all the time.
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Fair game in my opinion. They tend to have a hard exoskeleton and not much to eat on them.

 

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