Suitable food for L3-L4 Sphodromantis lineola

[jonnydi]

Hi i've just ordered 3 Sphodromantis lineola mantids and

as these are my first mantids I am a bit unsure what food

would be suitable for a L3-L4 Mantid of this species.

I have ordered a fruit fly culture to be delivered also, but

after reading various posts on these forums it seems these

may be too small for Mantids of this size. Am I correct in thinking that crickets may be

more suitable as prey for these? Any advice please!

 

[Rick]

They are just a bit too big at this stage for fruitflies so it's time to step up to small crickets/roaches. House flies are also a good choice for lineolas that size. Getting the right food size is not hard. Just look at the mantis. They can often take food that is as big as they are. If it will fit in their front arms it's fine.

 

[jonnydi]

Okay, Thanks a lot! I better get some crickets ordered then.

 

[yen_saw]

S. Lineola is pretty aggressive and not picky on food but feed your mantis variety of food. Gut load the crickets before offering them to your african mantis.

 

[sean]

I have 3 s. lineola too. my first mantids. they are now L5 and one is L6 and i got them at L1. I have fed them nothing but crickets and the odd fly i can catch. My crickets are fed on Tropical fish food and various fruits and vegetables that dont have insecticide on them. Never use carrots as these have a natural insecticide in them which will slowly build up in ur mantids the more and more crickets they eat.

 

[jonnydi]

Right I am trying to take all this information in, but i gues i'll learn the most from actual experience.

 

[sean]

your absolutely right. just enjoy them. they are quite hardy, and very voracious... so u shouldnt have any problems. good luck anyways!