Total rip off

[jayheatherbishop]

So I ordered what I thought was fly pupae, but got fly larvae... 1st: how long does it take for them to hatch? I need them rather quickly and can't wait weeks. Is there a way to speed up the process?

2nd: I ordered them from GrubCo. I usually get them from Pantera Pets, whom I love, but GrubCo was cheaper... Or so I thought...

I paid $8 for 500 larvae... And $52.03 for shipping!!! That is outrageous!! I've ordered many things online from many different countries and cities. I've ordered overnight shipments for most of those things... I have never paid $50 for shipping, EVER! And the worst part is, they don't tell you on the website or even when you check out, that it'll be $50. My total was emailed to me only AFTER I entered my credit card info.

You live you learn I guess.

But I need to feed my L6-L7 Chinese mantis' pronto!! Help!

 

[River Dane]

Sorry about your awful experience. Hopefully other people can learn from this as well. 

You could probably try reclaiming your money by saying that you ordered something other than what you received, although they probably won’t give you the $50 “shipping money” back. 

I don’t know much about fly larvae care, but it might also depend on what kind of flies you have. I think they generally need moist decaying matter and possibly manure, which is why most people here don’t breed them. Bottle flies (if that’s what you ordered) also take 2-3 weeks to complete pupation, depending on conditions, and it could be a while before your maggots begin to pupate.

You might be able to get your mantids to just eat the larvae like a mealworm if the larvae are large enough. Otherwise, you’ll have to find a pet store or catch bugs outside.

 

[Predatorhousepet]

To be fair, they do clearly say on the page that what you are ordering is fly larvae and that it needs to be shipped next day air because of the weather and that the additional cost of this will be added to your invoice and if you need to know the total cost beforehand to contact them. (See text in red right above where you add product to cart.)  http://www.grubco.com/store/store_product_detail.cfm?Product_ID=10

But I do agree that $52 for Next Day Air is extremely expensive for such a small order to go from one state in the US to another.

Try ordering your pupae from mantisplace.com next time. They are much, much cheaper. They have a wide variety of different options but you can get 500 housefly pupae for $2.95 or 500 blue bottle fly pupae for $6.95 plus $7.20 flat rate for 2-day Priority shipping. 

Also, the way to speed up pupation and hatching is to raise their temperature a bit (80 to 85°F) The cooler they are the slower it takes. As suggested you can feed the larvae to your mantises or you can wait until they pupate. Some owners order fly larvae (spikes) instead of pupae in order to prolong how long they last.