L3s ready for bigger food. Recommendations?

[-MK-]

Almost all of my Chinese nymphs are L3s now, and most of them are also pretty huge. I've still got fruit flies for the smaller ones, but the biggest L3s will easily eat about 10 of these hydei flies in about an hour, so I think they're ready for something bigger.

Any suggestions on what to feed them and where to order it are appreciated.

 

[Emile.Wilson]

Almost all of my Chinese nymphs are L3s now, and most of them are also pretty huge. I've still got fruit flies for the smaller ones, but the biggest L3s will easily eat about 10 of these hydei flies in about an hour, so I think they're ready for something bigger.Any suggestions on what to feed them and where to order it are appreciated.

try small crickets and maybe houseflies.

 

[Katnapper]

Hi Mike... . Glad to hear your nymphs are doing well!

I agree with Emile. I usually get housefly pupae from SpiderPharm, and crickets from either LLL Reptile or Grubco.

 

[worldofmantis]

crickets houseflies maybe even moths

 

[-MK-]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I think I'll go with the houseflies since it's so much fun to watch the mantis get all excited and twist around as he watches something flying around in the cup. And watching a mantis snatch a flying bug out of midair is really cool, too, as I got to see last night with a moth. These houseflies do fly, right?

Another cool thing is that one of the ooths I got from Becky (Katnapper) just hatched the other day, weeks after the others. It's a good thing it was still attached to a lid in a cup! I thought I'd gotten all of the nymphs I was going to get (which was a lot of the little guys) so I wasn't expecting a slew of new babies! I gave them to my girlfriend (who has also caught "mantis fever") because my big L3s probably would have eaten them.

 

[Katnapper]

Thanks for the quick replies!I think I'll go with the houseflies since it's so much fun to watch the mantis get all excited and twist around as he watches something flying around in the cup. And watching a mantis snatch a flying bug out of midair is really cool, too, as I got to see last night with a moth. These houseflies do fly, right?

Another cool thing is that one of the ooths I got from Becky (Katnapper) just hatched the other day, weeks after the others. It's a good thing it was still attached to a lid in a cup! I thought I'd gotten all of the nymphs I was going to get (which was a lot of the little guys) so I wasn't expecting a slew of new babies! I gave them to my girlfriend (who has also caught "mantis fever") because my big L3s probably would have eaten them.

Ooths... the gifts that keep on giving! :lol: LOL... Yep, they weren't all laid at the same time, hehe! I'd fallen down on recording the dates of laying with those (sorry! or I would have included them!). The females were bombarding me with them and I couldn't keep up... so I just quit trying! I'm glad it worked out for you and your girlfriend in the end.

And yes, the houseflies are the flying type. I think they have a non-flying variation of the house fly available in the UK, but not here in the states that I know of. I don't think I'd get them if they did anyway... Like you say, most mantids LOVE flying things.