drymantini
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- Jun 22, 2013
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To feed flies to your mantis, people usually freeze the flies briefly, then dump them out (or pluck them out) into the enclosure. I did this, but found it time-consuming and frustrating. Plus, flies would inevitably escape, leaving me with the only logical decision to stand on my wheeled computer chair, try to trap flies on the ceiling, but instead lose my balance and crash down to the floor in a heap of shame and defeat.
So I invented a crude, but effective feeding device that delivers flies to the mantis enclosure, without needing to freeze them or handle them. And won't let them escape.
Remember the scene in Jurassic Park, where they feed the T-Rex by raising a goat up through the ground? Same principle, but flies fly up through two tubes that attach at the top of the flies' container and the bottom of the mantis enclosure.
Probably not necessary for people with a system already in place, or with a slightly higher level of competence than me, but it's saved me tons of time, effort, frustration and the humiliation of being outsmarted by the common house fly.
Here's the invention:
First I built the feeding device. It's a rice container with a screen window I glued into it. I cut a 1 1/2" hole in the cap and glued a 1 1/2" PVC pipe part (an adapter) to it. A piece of coroplast (the white, flat piece) acts as a sliding door, where you can open it to let the flies out, then shut it again. I hatch the flies right in there, so they never leave.
Next, I modified the bottom of my mantis cages by cutting a hole and gluing a PVC pipe part (a coupling) that the adapter fits into. (I cut a sponge to fill the hole when it's not in use.) I think Drogon (the pictured mantis) has realized what this is, as she's been hanging by the pipe, waiting for flies to come out.
This is what the device looks like being used on my ghost mantis tank. (Usually, I just pull the container off the ledge to connect the feeder, but I did this to take the photo.)
This is the view from the inside of the mantis enclosure with the device attached and the sliding door closed.
And then I slide the door open. Flies instinctively seek the highest point, so getting them to fly out of the hole, into the mantis enclosure, usually isn't a problem. However, especially if there aren't a lot of flies in the feeder, it may take a minute or two.
Then, the flies come out and I shut the sliding door. They'll start flying around and I take the enclosure and plug the hole with the sponge. Done.
So I invented a crude, but effective feeding device that delivers flies to the mantis enclosure, without needing to freeze them or handle them. And won't let them escape.
Remember the scene in Jurassic Park, where they feed the T-Rex by raising a goat up through the ground? Same principle, but flies fly up through two tubes that attach at the top of the flies' container and the bottom of the mantis enclosure.
Probably not necessary for people with a system already in place, or with a slightly higher level of competence than me, but it's saved me tons of time, effort, frustration and the humiliation of being outsmarted by the common house fly.
Here's the invention:
First I built the feeding device. It's a rice container with a screen window I glued into it. I cut a 1 1/2" hole in the cap and glued a 1 1/2" PVC pipe part (an adapter) to it. A piece of coroplast (the white, flat piece) acts as a sliding door, where you can open it to let the flies out, then shut it again. I hatch the flies right in there, so they never leave.
Next, I modified the bottom of my mantis cages by cutting a hole and gluing a PVC pipe part (a coupling) that the adapter fits into. (I cut a sponge to fill the hole when it's not in use.) I think Drogon (the pictured mantis) has realized what this is, as she's been hanging by the pipe, waiting for flies to come out.
This is what the device looks like being used on my ghost mantis tank. (Usually, I just pull the container off the ledge to connect the feeder, but I did this to take the photo.)
This is the view from the inside of the mantis enclosure with the device attached and the sliding door closed.
And then I slide the door open. Flies instinctively seek the highest point, so getting them to fly out of the hole, into the mantis enclosure, usually isn't a problem. However, especially if there aren't a lot of flies in the feeder, it may take a minute or two.
Then, the flies come out and I shut the sliding door. They'll start flying around and I take the enclosure and plug the hole with the sponge. Done.
