I would like to start a sustainable colony to keep a constant supply of food, rather than relying on them being delivered. What would you guys recommend? Sticking with fruitflies? Is there anything else that could be suitable?
L2 Nymph feeding, food colony startup
- Thread starter Bdawg
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Fruitflies would work... as they get older you can get fly pupae. They work pretty well. Downside is you would have to order more like every 3 weeks.
And no your mantis could not handle waxworms it anything like it
And no your mantis could not handle waxworms it anything like it
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PrayingMantisPets
Well-known member
Fruits are simple. You just need fruit fly media.
heres the one I always get. I’ve made over 50 cultures in the past (made for other people and I). And a culture last about a month.
https://www.joshsfrogs.com/melanogaster-fruit-fly-media-1-5-lbs-1-35-quarts-makes-10-fruit-fly-cultures.html
i also culture mealworms in bins full of plain oat meal and some carrots. Tiny mealworms the size of fruitflys for smaller mantises and they get about a inch long for bigger mantises.
Then you can buy other feeders to change up their diet. But these work the best for me.
heres the one I always get. I’ve made over 50 cultures in the past (made for other people and I). And a culture last about a month.
https://www.joshsfrogs.com/melanogaster-fruit-fly-media-1-5-lbs-1-35-quarts-makes-10-fruit-fly-cultures.html
i also culture mealworms in bins full of plain oat meal and some carrots. Tiny mealworms the size of fruitflys for smaller mantises and they get about a inch long for bigger mantises.
Then you can buy other feeders to change up their diet. But these work the best for me.
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Are carrots safe to feed the insects we feed to mantids? Do I just need to buy one tub of mealworms, stick them in oatmeal and feed them carrot occasionally?
I meant starting colonies of Fruit flies to prevent ordering continuously since these guys will be eating those for quite some time. What would you recommend to break up the diet a little? Do you wait until their abdomen is as plump as the good you intend to feed it? What if it's the same length, but much wider? They seem really skinny right now
They don’t really need a mixed diet... especially at L2/3. For all my females I give them as much as they will eat without their abdomen exploding while making sure my males are just barely plump. If yours are molting though, they are going to be skinny. Just feed them until they stop chasing their food or trying to eat it and you should be fine.
Ok. Am I right in thinking that now they'll start eating maybe about 2 or 3 fruitflies daily until they're ready to molt again? They just gonna have a growth spurt in between?
PrayingMantisPets
Well-known member
I’ll send you a pic of my mealworm culture when I get home. I’ve never had a problem with carrots. Carrots are good at keeping moisture and don’t go bad fast. So the mealworms have water.
I’ve owned miomantises p. And they got to an inch in length. Right now they should eat fruitflys, actually anything the size of their head. Or maybe something half the length, like a small mealworm. In the next few molts it should be able to take down house flys. Bbflys were a little too big for mine. When they got older they had a main diet of mealworms.
eating a fruit fly or two is fine per day.
What I would do is culture fruitflys. And maybe start a mealworm culture so in the future you’ll be ready to adults mealworms.
I’ve owned miomantises p. And they got to an inch in length. Right now they should eat fruitflys, actually anything the size of their head. Or maybe something half the length, like a small mealworm. In the next few molts it should be able to take down house flys. Bbflys were a little too big for mine. When they got older they had a main diet of mealworms.
eating a fruit fly or two is fine per day.
What I would do is culture fruitflys. And maybe start a mealworm culture so in the future you’ll be ready to adults mealworms.
@PrayingMantisPetsAre we thinking about the same mealworms? The ones I once had were too big for my adult Carolinas..... mios are like 1/3 of the size of Carolinas.
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Awesome, thank you. My 2 guys are L2 and L3, should I start the mealworm colony now?
Do you mean morioworms? Those are huge mealworms if I remember correct.
PrayingMantisPets
Well-known member
PrayingMantisPets
Well-known member
Mealworms got to about a inch
they turn into a beetle after then mate etc
they turn into a beetle after then mate etc
I read the larger ones are treated with growth hormone that makes sure they continue growing instead of turning into beetles. If a nymph had a standard mealworm that was too big, would they stop eating, or eat so much they would damage themselves?
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