Wild caught pantry moths?

[Canoodley]

I've got an infestation of flour moths (not sure of their true name- let me know if any of you guys know!) in my pantry at the moment. Would it be safe to regularly feed my mantis with these? They seem to be mostly eating assorted nuts, flour, and oatmeal. I gave my L4 nymph one today and she really liked it, but I'm concerned that they might not actually be good for her.

 

[CosbyArt]

Likely a Indian mealmoth, does it look like the pictures shown?

Moths in general are good feeders. As long as you don't have any poison/chemicals or such around your pantry area they might have gotten into, they should be fine. You may want to try and breed them to keep as feeders, but they are a pest insect as you found out.

 

[hibiscusmile]

I would to, good advice !

 

[Canoodley]

Thanks, that is definitely the moth species! I'll try breeding some in a safer environment. Can they make up the majority of the diet or do I need to include flies and such?

 

[CosbyArt]

Thanks, that is definitely the moth species! I'll try breeding some in a safer environment. Can they make up the majority of the diet or do I need to include flies and such?

Glad it was identified - always good to know what you found. Mantises love to eat moths and most prefer them over about anything. You can feed a varied diet if you like, I try to mix it up for mine by using different feeders too.

 

[Dail14]

I feed these to my idolomantis nymph. She loves them and they are easy to collect. Try to get ones with larger abdomens because these are females varying eggs. This makes them a bit more nutritious.

 

[Jay]

Thought I would add my 2 cents on this conversation.

For the time it takes for meal moths to breed, for the potential problems they can cause and for the amount of nourishment they provide a mantis I would just prefer to raise d. Hydei. That being said, when I find moths like these, I am happy to collect them for my mantids. Though I agree with providing various sources of food, I would not go through the headache of attempting to establish them as a mainstay of my mantids' diet.