SpringTails

[MantisNation]

Hello everybody,

Has anyone ever set up a springtail culture in a terrarium, and hatched mantids in the same terrarium to use the springtails as a food source for the hatchlings? I have several gonatista grisea (grizzled mantis) ootheca incubating, and was pondering on the idea of using springtails as there source of food since they can culture on their own, and don't need much of our assistance.

Please let me know of your guys experience with STs as feeders. Have a Happy ThanksGiving.

Thanks,

Eros

 

[Rick]

Those can take fruit flies.

 

[MantisNation]

Yeah i've used Fruit Flies on them in the past aswell, however I just thought it might be slightly easier to use springtails (if possible) considering they culture on there own and 1 culture can live for a very long time, far longer than they would be needed, unlike fruit flies, that tend to die off after a month or so.

 

[hibiscusmile]

U can use them, if u know how to set them up in there, probably with some charcoal in a dish with some water in it and their food, they probably would stay in there as the water will keep them around, don't really know how much food in that situtation they will be, but someone will!

 

[MantisNation]

LOL- yeah I think i may try it.. do you know off hand how much smaller they are compared to the fruit flies we regularly use? 1/2 their size 1/4 their size?

 

[yen_saw]

Yes you could rear the bark mantis hatchling in the ST culture itself. The hatchling is actually quite big so they might ignore the tiny ST. So make sure you have a growing culture of ST and have lot of it inside the culture itself to provide sufficient supply or at least get their attention. Do still add some wingless fruit flies in the ST culture some bark mantis will take them. I have also found that the substrate for ST helps bark mantis to uprigt when flip over belly up besides maintaining the humidity.

 

[MantisNation]

Ahh thank you Yen, i'll get started on that

 

[Orin]

Most of the cultured springtails are too small for mantids. There is a large species that's about half the size of a fruit fly and very easy, I've had them forever. You can get them from BIC as well.