Meal worms

[sueb4653]

ok I went and got some meal worms today

are my mantis in the world the only ones that wont eat them? :helpsmilie:

 

[aNisip]

Mealies aren't really the best food for mantises as a main food source...but sometimes if I'm running low on food, I'll pierce a meal worm and put it up to my mantids mouth...sometimes mealworms don't move around that much so that's why mantises don't get them all the time...

All the best,

Andrew

 

[sueb4653]

Not using as main food source was just looking for something different to use/try

 

[TySAAAN]

I read somewhere on this forum that you cut off its head, then put the bodies` gooey parts up to his/her mouth. It works for me ^_^

 

[twolfe]

I think an occasional mealworm now and then is fine as long as they aren't the main food source.

My larger adult species (e.g., Rhombodera) will grab a mealworm when it's crawling around. For the rest, I do remove the head and almost force it to taste it the first few times. Some really develop a liking for the mealworms. After that, I still remove the head for the smaller species, but they will usually grab the mealworm from the forceps from me.

 

[Rick]

Not the best food choice. Many mantids will not grab something with a worm shape.

 

[fleurdejoo]

My mantid's are all like, Eeeeww! Grody to the max!!! And refuse to eat them!

 

[sueb4653]

Oh I sense freedom for the meal worms

 

[sueb4653]

mealworms went into the bird feeder

maybe they will have freedom for a little while :devil:

 

[tylersterrain]

I have researched that they have a fat content of about 30%. Most feeders are around 20%. I use them every now and then. And I have noticed that some of my mantids seem to love them and some do not

 

[hibiscusmile]

ditto tennessee! some will eat them, others won't , but I do offer like the others, course small mantis take them better.

 

[rs4guy]

I feed gravid females 2 a week, to supplement them with high fats for egg development, but rarely use them otherwise. If used on occasion, they are great, but not as a staple food source.

 

[twolfe]

I already responded but wanted to add that I like to train my mantises to eat them because they make a good back up food source in the winter for those of us who cannot collect wild insects half of the year.