Mosquito larvae For Feeding

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a1_collection

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I am running a bit low on D. melanogaster. I have a fountain that has a bunch of mosquito larvae in it. I was wondering if I can use these to feed my L2-3 gemmatus? I have already feed two of my gemmatus with the larvae and they are under observation for me to see any adverse effects.

Thanks

 
you should go outside with a net or something and look for flies or maybe ants or something else thats a little larger then a mosquito larvae to use even daddy long legs spiders or mosquitoes or mosquito like bugs would work or small dragon flies

 
massaman said:
you should go outside with a net or something and look for flies or maybe ants or something else thats a little larger then a mosquito larvae to use even daddy long legs spiders or mosquitoes or mosquito like bugs would work or small dragon flies
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The larvae are as big as the mantids. The only problem is I have around 60+ gemmatus and I have to hand feed each of them a larvae or two.

 
well you can always order 1000 pinhead crickets which are cheap and satisfy them I guess thats what I did one time when I had over 50 gemmatus nymphs but after they were gone had to resort to fruit flies!

 
a1_collection said:
The larvae are as big as the mantids. The only problem is I have around 60+ gemmatus and I have to hand feed each of them a larvae or two.
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I think that Ismart is quite right about them being a good source of food, but hand feeding that many nymphs is above and beyond the call of duty! Have you tried placing a few larvae -- in the fountain water -- in some kind of container, preferably in a net cage if you have one, and letting them turn into mosquitoes that will not need to be hand fed? I also strongly recommend the Silkworm Shop (AKA the Fruit Fly Shop) because it is close to you and you might get Priority the next day, and because you can buy "just flies" (no medium, you'd have to make your own) for less than $6.00 plus postage, and, in yr case, tax. Alternatively you can leave some medium filled pots in yr kitchen and outside (be sure to add vinegar and/or mashed banana) to attract wild ffs.

 
also little beer or alcohol in a bottle with a little lemon might also attract some fruit flies

 
I use a petri dish to collect the larvae.

I can't really wait for them to mature because I just used up my last batch of flies. This time I am seriously thinking about making a medium. It is getting expensive buying cultures every couple of weeks.

 
I know the feeling spending money on crickets or fruit flies does add up when they are only a limited number!

 
I laughed at "adverse effects". There is nothing wrong with feeding wild caught food as long as there were no pesticides used on them. Since these live in water I would find it strange to use as food but if it works for you until you have something better I say go ahead with it.

 
massaman said:
you should go outside with a net or something and look for flies or maybe ants or something else thats a little larger then a mosquito larvae to use even daddy long legs spiders or mosquitoes or mosquito like bugs would work or small dragon flies
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That is not good advice, feeding ants to mantids.

 
Well my dad just popped a bunch of chlorine into the fountain to kill off everything. I am in a really big jam now. I have no more flies and no more safe larvae.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
a1_collection said:
Well my dad just popped a bunch of chlorine into the fountain to kill off everything. I am in a really big jam now. I have no more flies and no more safe larvae.
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I can't blame him for killing some mosquitos. Try attracting some wild fruit flies with some rotting fruit or something. Hopefully you have ordered some flies.

 
well feeding ants to a mantis does work as I fed some to my mantids a few times esp the big queen ants and the mantis had no problems eating them and had no injuries afterwards

 
massaman said:
well feeding ants to a mantis does work as I fed some to my mantids a few times esp the big queen ants and the mantis had no problems eating them and had no injuries afterwards
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Still, they have been known to injure mantis when left unattended, its safer just to attract fruit flies like Rick suggested.

 
You really need to invest in some more fruit flies. I know money wise this can get quite exspensive, but if you want to keep your mantids from starving you need to put up some cash. Why don't you buy some commercial media and make your own cultures. This way you can always have a culture on hand for when you need them.

 
where are you buying your cultures that they only last 2 weeks? ive never bought any that didnt last at least a month if not 2 or more! and most places will sell them for 10 bucks each, 10$ every 2 months doesnt sound like a lot anyhoo.

 

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