L2-L3 Orchid - Are hydei too big? Is flightless ok?

[steve4king]

I've got a pair of L2 Orchids on the way and I'm not sure exactly what size flies to get.

I've also read that they prefer flying insects.

Flightless fruit-flies have the same nutritional value is flying ones.. but will the Orchids have trouble finding and snatching them up?

Thanks,

-Stephen

 

[frogparty]

my L2s are eating hydei as we speak. Right out of the shipping container

 

[Termite48]

My L-2 Orchids are eating Hydeis, but they are taking down HFs at the same time without eating the whole meal. It is good training and I have an abundance of them. They can go on solely HFs at L-3 and just top off as Sporeworld put it, with Hydeis.

 

[hibiscusmile]

2nd instar can handle bbs! and I have yet to see one flying on the backs of them!

 

[agent A]

Wow i didnt know hymenopus were that big at that age

I may just have to buy one one of these days

 

[warpdrive]

I started feeding HF to my L2 nymphs. they may not always finish the meal but they were never hungry. by L3 it was almost 2 HF per day or a BB fly.

I did feed an L1 orchid a HF once by mistake and the little fool didn't get the memo that it was too large and ate it anyway. :stuart:

 

[Bryce08]

my l2's are eating hydeis i just ran out of HF's

 

[warpdrive]

my l2's are eating hydeis i just ran out of HF's

they will be fine.

just think of it like this... houseflys are like a chicken sandwich, hydeis are like chicken nuggets. just feed enough so that there is about 1 left over by the end of the day.

(they can also go for days without eating and it's normally not a big deal.)

 

[Termite48]

It is good to see you back posting, Harry! I would like to see a L-2 take down a BB. I am afraid it would be like David and Goliath.

 

[ismart]

An L2 orchid should be fed D. hydei fruit flies. L3 can be fed house flies. I personally would not feed an L2 orchid house flies. Mantids can be overfed. It would be easier to regulate food intake using smaller feeders. It won't be pleasant if they start to regurgitate. Not to mention males should be fed less to slow them down a bit.

 

[steve4king]

Thanks for that. What about the flight vs. flightless? Flightless would be a lot easier to keep.. will the orchids have trouble with them?

 

[lunarstorm]

Just use the flightless variety, the mantids won't be able to tell the difference in terms of hunting ease or nutrition.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Just use the flightless variety, the mantids won't be able to tell the difference in terms of hunting ease or nutrition.

For that matter, why do the adults need HFs? Why wouldn't crickets/roaches work?

 

[lunarstorm]

Houseflies and bluebottles are used when the mantids outgrow fruitflies, most of my species start ignoring fruitflies around ~L3. I've not raised orchids yet so I can't comment on their preferred eating but flies in general are a great diet for mantids, from nymph through adulthood.

Crickets and roaches are very viable options but some species are picky and will generally only eat flying food. Also, be careful when using crickets as they can harm your pets, especially while the mantis is freshly molted. I've heard very positive things about using roaches as feeders but I haven't tried it yet personally.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Got it. Thanks.

 

[ismart]

Thanks for that. What about the flight vs. flightless? Flightless would be a lot easier to keep.. will the orchids have trouble with them?

Flight vs flightless. I would only use flying fruit flies is if the mantis is in a large enclosure. they would, and could cover more ground to reach your mantis more easily. Flightless works fine though. Flightless are also more easy to handle.

For that matter, why do the adults need HFs? Why wouldn't crickets/roaches work?

House flies are good for adult males. Adult females can pound down blue bottle flies, crickets or roaches,

 

[warpdrive]

It is good to see you back posting, Harry! I would like to see a L-2 take down a BB. I am afraid it would be like David and Goliath.

well, what I said was that I fed an L1 orchid a housefly by mistake...I grabed the deli container along with some other deli containers filled with L3 creos and some L4 ghosts, in order to move them into my dinning room so it will be easyer to feed all the cups (near the fridge to help chill the flys). it was a total mistake that I grabed that orchid container and I never looked inside to see what I was about to feed.

so I then remove the flys from the fridge to feed 2 or 3 cups at a time before they start to wake up and then quickly close the lid and add them back into the fridge to cool off again for the next batch of cups to feed. (I don't think I have to remind you that all this is done in a rush to prevent loose flys in my house and I failed to notice that I had that tiny orchid mixed in with the rest of my creos.)

once all the cups had flys added to them I started to collect them to bring them back into my bedroom and I like to watch a few eat. yet that crazy L1 orchid must have though that he was a red and black ninja and decided to eat that housefly anyway. it was the funnyest thing ever. I never had a chance to remove the fly. she was already eating it when I found out that I made a mistake.

as for an L2 orchid and a BB fly, I agree that it would be like David and Goliath. for people not in the know, L2s are not realy any bigger then L1 orchids. so a BB fly would still be HUGE as compared.

also, yeah, it's nice to stop lurking here on this site and start posting again. after all, I'm here almost every day. I might as well post a little bit and say hello once in a while.

don't worrie, once I have a few mantids in my home again you wont be able to stop me from posting a ton of photos. :devil:

Harry

 

[Psychobunny]

I feed my largest adults roaches all the time, the the mantis MUST see the roach as soon

as you put it in, because the roach will find a place to hide and will not move sometimes

for days.

My female blue flash loves nice large roaches, like the 1'' ones that are slippery to catch

the she keeps dropping it.

She always starts at the head of the roach and works down until she is full and will drop the rest.

So, I always see half eaten, or roach "scraps" in her cage.

But at least I know she is full.

Be very careful feeding crickets to subadults. They do like them, but I have had a few mantids

attacked and killed by cricks just because they were shedding and the crick saw the opertunity.

I only give them one crick, if they dont eat it by my bedtime, I take my tongs and pull them out.

Also, dont feed a freshly shed nymph which will be hanging upside down to strech anything at

all untill the next day or so as they are too soft.

When you see the shed laying on the floor and they are hanging upside down, just leave them alone.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Thanks Psychobunny. Dubias play dead, but I understand that Blatta lateralis's run around like fools when you drop them into an enclosure.