Mega Mantis L5 eats cricket (Video)

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Borya said:
Precarious, don't you think it might be harmful to feed them with crickets, because of Nosema?
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I guess any food might be harmful in some way, but in nature they eat crickets. They actually prefer crickets to other food I've offered. They've been fine so far.

I thought Nosema was mainly a honeybee issue. I've never heard it associated with crickets. Perhaps you know something I don't? Please fill me in.

 
there are other Nosema-species, which affect other insects (Nosema apis only affects bees). They are Micosporids (sorry spelling, my native language is German), and something between fungi and parasites. I dare to say such infections are rare enough in the crickets we feed to our mantids, so this should not be a problem. Feeder insects (grasshoppers etc) from the wild are maybe something different. they might carry even other parasites (horsehair worms, tabanid fly larvae).

This ranting is a bit off topic, but I just answered a question.

mine would be: I can't see this video of your mega mantis. has it been deleted from the original posting?

 
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oh, I need to get a new laptop, the video appeared after 2 minutes loading time. But to watch it completely, I need to wait till I get home to my real PC. First impression: really cute MEGA mantis! The cricket has yet to appear, had to stop video because Laptop is too slow in loading. ;)

 
Findarato said:
there are other Nosema-species, which affect other insects (Nosema apis only affects bees). They are Micosporids (sorry spelling, my native language is German), and something between fungi and parasites. I dare to say such infections are rare enough in the crickets we feed to our mantids, so this should not be a problem. Feeder insects (grasshoppers etc) from the wild are maybe something different. they might carry even other parasites (horsehair worms, tabanid fly larvae).
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I see. Good to know.

I have limited options for feeding my ground mantids so it's mainly farm raised crickets and meal worms.

Enjoy the video! ;)

 
I feed my mantids (15 L5 Hierodula membranacea) small crickets from the pet store with no problems (as soon as none get away while feeding). I make them climb up to where the mantids are,by placing cabbage pieces onto the branches higher up. But the mantids also go hunting the crickets when they get hungry, so it's no real problem. During summer I will catch flies and moths for them. But no crickets and hoppers from the meadows. ( I have seen horsehair worms in centipedes last summer, really disgusting thing, it killed its hosts. And they can infest any bigger predator insects.)

As soon as the mantids get bigger, I will switch to Gryllus assimilis (no problems should one escape in the house). But until then I can't avoid house crickets, because the pet store only sells adult G. assimilis ( won't breed in the house uncontrolled, because thy need higher temperatures) which are as big as my nymphs. I am trying to breed those, but so far with no success. So at the moment it is house crickets, and every feeding time is a bit of a stress, because I fear one could escape in the room. I really don't want them to settle in my house permanently.

 
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Dude, that video is awesome you need to make a mantis movie or something, that music is perfect and sounds like the beginning of an awesome thriller movie. The Mantid Files....

 
gio said:
Dude, that video is awesome you need to make a mantis movie or something, that music is perfect and sounds like the beginning of an awesome thriller movie. The Mantid Files....
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Ha-ha! Thanks...

A real mantis movie will probably develop eventually. I'm working my way toward short films.

This guy just molted to L8, which is only sub-adult for Megas. I'm looking at him hanging to dry right now. That's why I'm up at 5 am! His brother fell while molting so I wanted to make sure this one made it. They like to wait till around 4 am. :sleeping:

 

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