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Lee Slikkers

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OK, 1st I’d like to thank Yen Saw for setting me up with some healthy and wonderful nymphs. Yen, the transaction was great and you were pure pleasure to work with, thanks again!

Now for the real guts of my thread…feeding techniques?

I have a larger L5-L6 Chinese mantis at home in a typical 32oz container. I cut out the center of the lid and hot-glued screen like all the pictures I’ve seen. As usual, the Chinese hangs out upside down on the underside of the lid 90% of the time. I have been catching and feeding him wild caught house flies and a variety of crane flies, lace wings, etc but my real dilemma is HOW do you get the feeders in without loosing them or having the mantis make a break for freedom during the process of opening the lid?

And now that I have these new “micro” mantis nymphs from Yen how do you folks dump in fruit flies without setting have the culture free? I know there have to be some secrets and handling tips that can make my life a bit easier with my new charges.

Also, what frequency & quantity should the nymphs be fed FF’s?

Thank you!

~ Lee

 
I cut a hole in the side of the container and plug it with a foam plug. That way I can feed and water through that hole. If feeding fruit flies I can use a funnel.

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Rick,

OK, I've seen that picture and idea...here is my other question in better detail (hopefully.) How do you get the cap/sponge off (and back on) those FF cultures and stuffed into your funnel without setting some FF free and how do you get the FF’s to go down the funnel into the mantis containers?

Do you use the purchased containers from Nick’s place or did you make your own? If you made your own, what was the best method you found for cutting a uniform hole in the side of your containers?

Sorry for what must seem like horribly simply questions but I hate to re-invent the wheel and figured certainly some of you experienced collectors had some great solutions.

~Lee

 
I tap the vial on the table to get the flies to the bottom. I don't use the cap rings anymore. I remove the plug with my mouth and tap out the flies. Or you can put the whole vial into the freezer for a short time to slow them down. I do alot of tapping to keep the flies down but still lose some. You will just have to figure out what works.

 
I just pull open the lid a little and tap a few ff out. Some always get out but after awhile you really do not care. They die quickly out of their home. I cannot use the foam and side hole idea. I have to many to take care of and I can't bother with another hole. I will share this with you though. I have tried many tops to see what works best and here are a few I like. ( please remember every one has their favorite ways and only what works for you is best these are just other peoples ideas).

# 1 idea is on the fruit fly container, I take the original lid off when I am going to use this container. I rubber band a coffee filter on it in place of lid. Then because I have so many to feed I poke a 1/4" hole in it near the rim. As I open the mantis container the ff's one by one poke their heads thru, which I them promply scrape them into the mantis container. Sometimes you have to shake the container to get them moving but this always gives me a minute to check out my mantis and see how it is. I use a wooden screwer for controlling my bugs. This is the best item I have, Pictures enclosed for you viewing pleasure. Left to right, ( Hah! I am writing this like someone cares :p ) The first container is for the crickets I am using that day, the 2nd is melangogaster w/the coffee filter on ff container, the 3rd (right) is the Hydei ff container, and the one short one up front is the fly container. The Hydei containers lid has a (salad dressing bottle top) hot glued in the middle of it. This is great if I do say so myself. The hydei gather around the top and I just let them come out or I stick my wooden screwer in and they grab on and I just tap them into mantis container and Poof on to the next one. Now the cricket container is just for feeding, there is nothing else in there but them, it has the same salad dressing bottle top, I just tip and shake one out into the container I want it in. And last but not least is the fly container, I put the pupae into the container and wait for them to hatch, The top is from a dish liquid bottle hot glued in the middle of the lid. I just flip the top and place my mantis container over the hole and a fly will walk right into the mantis container and with one finger I have to flip back the top and close the mantis container at the same time, leaving mantis with a fly and hopefully flies still waiting inside. The dish liquid top is perfect size for one fly to come out at a time. They follow each other pretty quickly so you have to be quick with the flipping technique. Well thats it, thats how I do it. I've tried a lot of things, but these are the ones I stick with. If you like my ideas do not applaud, just throw money, :wink: :lol: as my dear brother always said! :wink:
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hibiscusmile, thank you SO much for taking all that time writing up your methods and descriptions (and pics are a winner, I live for photo examples and you really delivered.) I love the salad dressing snap tops and I will definately give that method a try...

Thanks again!!!

Lee

 
I honestly do not see how that works. I think his main problem was how to get the flies in with the mantis without removing the lid the mantis is hanging on. In that case, hole in the side of the mantis enclosure is best. I don't use the small vials for flies anymore. I rear them in the 32 oz cups. I take my funnel and put it into a ff vial and using the hole in the side of the 32 oz ff container I tap the flies into the vial. Then I take the vial to each mantid container and using the vial and funnel and the hole in the side I tap the flies into the mantis container. With this way there is no need to worry about the mantis escaping or being in your way. IMO I feel it is the best way and I too have many many mantids to feed. But just find what works best for you.

 
Rick, I do like the way her flip lid idea sounds for dealing with regular flies (is there any risk in feeding regular “house” or the flies I net off my trash receptacle? My mantis does not seem to really relish these seems reluctant to eat them over other options like lace wings, etc.)…right now it had been a pain and my loving wife is giving me the raised eye brow as the escaped house flies start to climb in numbers. :roll:

Your funnel technique seems like a very functional way to do the FF’s…I hand cut a hole in the side of my 24oz deli cup but it was not easy nor does it look “professional.” Do you make yours yourself or do you purchase them with the hole already done for you?

 
I make the hole with a razor blade. It's not easy to do but if you're careful you can get a nice square hole. Push too hard and it will crack. I really don't care how it looks.

 
Well, I suppose part of my issue was that I really hadn’t realized how fast those FF crawl around. My main screw up was that I was transferring some new nymphs to new containers and I decided to drop in the FF first and then add the nymphs (big mistake, the FF’s scramble around much quicker than I could catch and relocate the mantis) so I had 15-20 FF’s all over the kitchen counter (also, probably not the best place to do this type of work and luckily my loving wife was gone at the time)

Live and learn I guess…and it probably wouldn’t hurt to actually think things through before I do it…

 
the key to the freezer is for only a SHORT while...

I learned that too yesterday with some wild caught house flies I was trying to slow down. I forgot about them for about 4 minutes and when I remembered they had already kicked the bucket...so back outside to catch more food! :?

With admitting all these mistakes I imagine you folks must have quite the mental image of me by now.

 
:lol: No of course not, we all look the same when we started dealing with mantis, you sir are not alone in the clubhouse! :D Rick's method works very well also, it is just each persons choice. I like to touch my mantis so I do not mind letting them out when I can. Yesterday a spiny flower somehow came out of the container (house will be used from now on, container sounds so methodical) and was on the back of my neck with out me knowing it was there, I felt something and almost smached it. Lucky I pulled my shirt around after not seeing it in its house and found it, I will never know how it got there, 1 minute it was inside and the next on my neck :? :shock: . ps also if you have a drill and a hole saw most plastic containers can be drilled that way, it's what I use when I am to lazy for the razor. Also the salad dressing tops are cut off with a serrated knife.!
 
thanks for the encouragement, I did feel rather "fumbly" yesterday. :lol:

I will give the holesaw a shot too, I've got some other "housing" options and I want to play around, I'm rather picky with how the houses look and like a nice "display" type setting without having a huge fish tank or critter-cage. Still working on what works for my needs and the mantis' needs.

Lee

 

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