will this work (awser please)

[elf run1]

You'll want to know that just like keeping a wild bird as a pet, if you only feed the mantids the raw meat from a string, there's a good chance that when released to the wild, they won't do well fending for themselves. (They will, however, be much more apt to adapt due to instinct.) More importantly, the Chitin that all insect exoskeletons are made of is in very small amounts in beef. In fact, if you ever gave your dog something called "Program" to get rid of fleas, all Program does is flush the Chitin out of his system. When the fleas lay their eggs, they can't hatch. Insects absolutely NEED Chitin, and mammals do not. I would strongly recommend adding any kind of insect to their diets. Far better than hung hamburger is hung pieces of nightcrawler (bait store) and as they get older and larger, start putting live mealworms and crickets in with them. This will both teach them how to hunt, as well as give them the needed nutrients to grow up healthy

found this on http://www.instructables.com

what do you think about this? i think it sounds possible. (and yes it was under mantis topic)

 

[PhilinYuma]

I was extremely pleased King of Elves, to find that you derived the information in yr post from an internet site (and thanks for the link) rather than making it up yourself.

The process by which insects make (synthesize) their own chitin from trehalose a form of glucose in the hemolymph or "blood" is an interesting but rather technical subject. The point is that chitin is made from carbohydrate, not protein, and just as we depend on a dietary source of some vitamins and manufacture others, insects manufacture their own chitin, so they don't need it in their det. Incidentally, so far as I know, the anti flea medication, Program, causes female fleas to lay infertile eggs, though I don't know the mechanism it uses. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop adult fleas from thriving.

I hope that this helps. I couldn't find the apropriate site about chitin on Instructables, but you'd probably get better info on Wikipedia (and now I've gotta look to make sure!). No it doesn't help. Does anyone have an easily accessible source, preferably on the internet on chitin synthesis?

 

[Ntsees]

Right on the top of my head, yes mantids do need to eat insects to get their necessary nutrients. I think the exoskeleton from insects (from calcium I think) helps a mantid when molted just like how the shedded skin of grasshoppers and some crustaceans provide the extra boost when they eat it (although mantids don't eat their shedded exo.).

In regards to a mantid learning how to hunt, I'm not so sure about that. From what I've seen, their hunting skills comes from natural instinct. Mantids that I've kept shows the exact "very slow" stalking of their prey. If their is info that they do in fact can do better, I'd like to hear about it.

 

[PhilinYuma]

I'm sorry Ntses. When I asked for an internet discussion of chitin synthesis you must have thought that what I said was opinion rather than long-known fact. I was just looking for a pretty, animated diagram to show the stages in the synthesis. I should also apologize if, in a misguided attempt at simplification, I gave the impressin that chitin is just a complex sugar, but although trehalose is, indeed a disaccharide of glucose, it undergoes all sorts of fun and interesting changes on its way to becoming chitin, including phosphorylation , amination (hence glucosamine), acetylation (acetylglucosamine) and conjugation with uridine diphosphate to yield uridine diphosphate N-acylglucosamine, (YAY!) whose residues make the lovely helical polymer that is chitin. No need for calcium. No need for other insects' or molted exoskeletons; like Topsy, it just grows. I hope that that makes things clearer.

Superfreak, dear friend. Though I know why you now visit us so seldom, I so miss your presence and support. By understanding processes like this, you showed the forum that cute girls, not just grungy old farts, can enjoy this stuff too! Here's looking at you, kid!