Question on Feeding Moths to Gravid Female Ghosts

[FeistyMcGrudle]

Hey everyone! Another noob question, and predicament. So if you follow any of my other posts, you may have known that I went out of town for a bit and had to leave my mantises alone. I eclosed probably 50 Blue Bottles as well as dumped a bunch of pupae in each enclosure to allow ample food while I was gone. It went great--all my mantises were alive and happy (some even molted!). However, upon returning, I must have kept the pupae in the fridge too long because the rest of the pupae I had left that I was going to eclose when I got back were mostly dead and didn't hatch. Now I am stuck with no BB's for my crew, and waiting for more BB's to show up on Wednesday, and my mantises are getting pretty hungry. During the interim, I have been catching wild moths and my mantises seem to go crazy for them (they're big too, probably 1/2 size of my biggest female ghost or equivalent to 5-6 BB's). However, my two adult females are both gravid and I have read horror stories of feeding crickets and other random feeders to them and it causes all types of issues. My question for you today is this:

Does anyone have experience (good or bad) with feeding adult females anything besides Blue Bottles?

 

[MantisGirl13]

Wild most were the only thing I fed my gravid ghosts last summer and they laid huge ooths and loved nice long lives. I don't even usually feed blue bottles to my ghosts, they usually eat roaches and wild moths.

- MantisGirl13

 

[FeistyMcGrudle]

Thank you @MantisGirl13! I am so close to getting a successful mating pair that I think I may just be worrying too much. The extra reassurance definitely helps!

 

[MantisGirl13]

Thank you @MantisGirl13! I am so close to getting a successful mating pair that I think I may just be worrying too much. The extra reassurance definitely helps!

If you need mating tips, PM me! 

- MantisGirl13

 

[hibiscusmile]

Mine eat mostly bb's but now and then they get a moth.