Mealworms vs BSFs

[River Dane]

I’m trying to decide which would be better. Based on info here and on the Internet, I’ve found the only real difference is supposedly food.

so, I was wondering if mealworms could eat flavored oatmeal? I have “apple and cinnamon,” “cinnamon and spice,” and “maple and brown sugar.” Not sure whether or not this is artificially flavored.

Although, I might still go with BSFs either way, because their lack of exoskeleton is helpful. Is this true? Can Mantids eat BSFs without me having to cut it in half to expose the innards?

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Peter Clausen]

Mealworms aren't a great option for mantises because they can bite the mantis and because of the thick cuticle you referred to. By BSF, I assume you also mean larvae. In my experience you mostly to hand feed (via tweezers) mantises with any sort of larva. Larvae just require a little more work, which isn't too huge a deal if you have a limited number of mantises. My recommendation would be to go with the black soldier fly larvae. Buy large/older larvae and then grow them up for a month or so until they pupate and the adults emerge. You then have a bunch of flies. They don't live too long, unfortunately. I only ever add coffee grounds into my bsf larvae, mixed into some coconut fiber and what they arrive in. I get the big ones and within a month I have a bunch of flies. You can stagger them by keeping them in colder conditions, or some of them.

 

[River Dane]

Thank you! I’ll definitely go with the black soldier flies, then. For now, I only have one mantis that’s large enough for these, but I’d rather get them now because pretty soon there’s gonna be another.

Thanks for the tips also!

 

[hysteresis]

Wow, just the info I needed. TY.  Now I know what to do with BSF larvae.