Birdfly,
This is out of control!
I wholeheartedly agree that there is a time and a place when larger prey items are not acceptable. For example, I would not feed an adult Blaptica dubia to a Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii. I just don't see a problem feeding adult Blaptica dubia to adult female Tenodera sinensis. That's all I am saying here. An adult house cricket is more of a danger to an adult female T. sinensis.
And no, I really don't care what you feed your mantids. That's all up to you. My whole point is that is that your suggestion to someone else that an adult B. dubia was a risk to an adult female T. sinensis is what I questioned. There are lots of people out there feeding adult B. dubia to mantids less capable than an adult female T. sinensis. B. dubia is a relatively harmless roach to invertebrates of appropriate size.
I would never leave live food of any type in with a mantis that was about to molt or that was molting.
S-