Managing my blue bottles

[The Loach]

Any suggestions on houseing , feeding , distributing my BB's ?

 

[MantisGirl13]

I keep mine in an old soda bottle, with some screen rubber-banded around the top. I don't feed them anything, as I don't breed them, but I distribute mine by using toole, which is a net like fabric. I make a balloon of toole around the top iu have to be creative in how you of the bottle, and then I take the screen off. I let the desired number of flies climb into the balloon of toole, and then I put the screen back on. then, I keep the flies in the balloon of toole, secured by my hand, and hold the balloon over the top of an open mantis cage. I pop the flies in, and then put the lid back on as fast as I can. when the mantid has eaten or caught all of the flies, then you can remove the toole from the mantis cage, and you are done. What I have found to be most helpful is just the fact that you have to be creative when you think! Have fun!  

 

[Ocelotbren]

The above sounds like a good system.  What I do is keep the pupae in the fridge and hatch them out in batches in deli cups, with milk/pop/Gatorade lids to hold food (ground up cereal) and water so they last a while once hatched.  Then I put the whole container in the freezer for a few minutes at feeding time so I can open the lid and grab out the desired number of flies for feeding.  I also top up their water at this time if needed.

With food and water they last a few weeks after hatching.

 

[MantisGirl13]

That sounds like a good way to do it! Good idea. Where do you get your bbs from?

- MantisGirl13

 

[Ocelotbren]

I get mine from Mantis Place.

 

[MantisGirl13]

I get mine from Mantid Kingdom or Mantids Galore.

- MantisGirl13