Hit the jackpot on bug hunting tonight...

trickedoutbiker

trickedoutbiker

Avid Member
Went out bug hunting in a field today and caught some grasshoppers, a dragonfly.....

AND THESE.....

I should of bought a lottery ticket today too. :p

A nice adult praying mantis and a nice 5-6 inch walking stick. Chameleon is gonna eat fat tomorrow! (y):)

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Bfrazi said:
So I am assuming it is safe to feed wild insects??? New to this stuff so bear with me.
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Yea it is safe to feed wild-caught insects as long as you are absolutely sure there are no pesticides on it. There is a slight fear in some of wild-caught insects because of the slight risk of parasites but truth be told, you can get parasites from store feeders as well. There is great health benefit in wild-caught insects because it's as natural as you can get. A bug in its purest form of nature. It also adds great variety to your reptile's diet, and good variety is essential to good chameleon health. The more variety of feeders, the better. And the more variety of gutloads you use for your feeders, the better as well. (y)

MSMorgan said:
I'm envious. Can't feed wild caught for fear of pesticides from the corn and sunflower fields near by
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I'm sorry. This was just a field full of tall grass, bushes, trees, weeds, flowers.... no farming fields around for at least a couple miles. I've always had that fear of accidentally getting an insect with pesticides on it too though. No matter how hard you try to keep it safe, insects can travel many many miles from a field that was sprayed, to an area that wasn't sprayed..... and one would have no idea of knowing... :( But most of the time, an insect exposed to pesticides would perish in short time. I'm 99% sure that I'm in the clear though. I can't imagine a mantis or a walking stick traveling any amount of miles from one field to another... they are typically not far travelers. The mantis might have eaten a bug with pesticides on it at one time, but that would usually kill the mantis, as they are sensitive to any sort of chemicals of any kind. So I have very very little worry about these. Yay! :)


I'm still so stoked I found those two insects! It's kinda made my week! Both are pretty rare to find, and I snatched up both of them within about 40 minutes of one another. So rad!!
 
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Bigsky said:
If insects were sprayed with insecticides, they would be dead.
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Virgil1972 said:
Ya I don't think a bug would last to long if they had insecticides on it, that would defeat the purpose of the insecticide.
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You are both correct, but they may not die IMMEDIATELY. And you could catch them and feed them off before they did die....that would be bad. I'm still not worried though. Like I mentioned, those two prize winners I caught don't travel very far. They are the type of insects that tend to stay in a general area once they have established their territory and found a good source of food. They've probably been in that field all summer...

On another note...

There ARE some insects on this planet known to develop an immunity to pesticides though, not that we really use any of them as feeders. This is known as "pesticide resistance" and happens because years and years of using the same pesticides can cause an insect community to adapt to it, which causes a mutation in offspring of the most resistant specimens, which makes them more and more resistant to certain pesticides with each new generation. An example would be, the Colorado Potato Beetle. It has evolved resistance to 52 different compounds belonging to all major insecticide classes because of its years and years of exposure to those chemicals. This means that the insect can have certain pesticides all over it with no ill effects. It would go on living and doing its thing, and you wouldn't have any clue if it's safe or not....

With the specific feeders that most people use for reptiles though, these circumstances are very rare and uncommon. I'm just saying though, it is very very possible for a contaminated insect to keep on living if it has developed a chemical adaptation mutation.
 
trickedoutbiker said:
You are both correct, but they may not die IMMEDIATELY. And you could catch them and feed them off before they did die....that would be bad. I'm still not worried though. Like I mentioned, those two prize winners I caught don't travel very far. They are the type of insects that tend to stay in a general area once they have established their territory and found a good source of food. They've probably been in that field all summer...

On another note...

There ARE some insects on this planet known to develop an immunity to pesticides though, not that we really use any of them as feeders. This is known as "pesticide resistance" and happens because years and years of using the same pesticides can cause an insect community to adapt to it, which causes a mutation in offspring of the most resistant specimens, which makes them more and more resistant to certain pesticides with each new generation. An example would be, the Colorado Potato Beetle. It has evolved resistance to 52 different compounds belonging to all major insecticide classes because of its years and years of exposure to those chemicals. This means that the insect can have certain pesticides all over it with no ill effects. It would go on living and doing its thing, and you wouldn't have any clue if it's safe or not....

With the specific feeders that most people use for reptiles though, these circumstances are very rare and uncommon. I'm just saying though, it is very very possible for a contaminated insect to keep on living if it has developed a chemical adaptation mutation.
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You should run a test to see how long it takes them to die. Get some pesticide and some bugs.
 
How big/old is your chameleon? I've seen a few 2 inch katydids, bigger butterflies, dragon/damselflies. But I feel they are too big for my 6 month old. The one katydid I found had huge mandibles that look like they could do some serious damage.
 
trickedoutbiker said:
Went out bug hunting in a field today and caught some grasshoppers, a dragonfly.....

AND THESE.....

I should of bought a lottery ticket today too. :p

A nice adult praying mantis and a nice 5-6 inch walking stick. Chameleon is gonna eat fat tomorrow! (y):)

View attachment 164244

View attachment 164245
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I live close to Ocala National Forrest which I am sure they don't spray.... But with my luck I would only catch Zika virus, venomous snake bite, wild hogs or bear. Therefore I am keeping my a$$ at home and spending my retirement income on bugs :D:LOL::ROFLMAO:
 
Fiona's Mom said:
I live close to Ocala National Forrest which I am sure they don't spray.... But with my luck I would only catch Zika virus, venomous snake bite, wild hogs or bear. Therefore I am keeping my a$$ at home and spending my retirement income on bugs :D:LOL::ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

Don't forget the occasional Panther or bobcat :rolleyes:.
 
Crashbandit05 said:
How big/old is your chameleon? I've seen a few 2 inch katydids, bigger butterflies, dragon/damselflies. But I feel they are too big for my 6 month old.
Click to expand...

My chameleon is a little over a year old. Typically, the rule of thumb is to not feed insects that are bigger than the width between the chameleon's eyes, and generally, you'll want to use that as a basic guideline - but this is not always the case with all insects. Such as with hornworms and silkworms.... their bodies are super soft and easy to chew, so the length of the worm can be bigger than the length between the eyes. Just use your best judgment. As for the 2-inch katydid you found, you chameleon would of made short work of it. Not a problem for a 6 month old chameleon I wouldn't think. Mine was eating large food at 6 months old so your chameleon should be fine. 2 inches really isn't all that big. Concerning the butterflies and dragonflies: the standard rule-of-thumb does not really apply here either. The wingspan of a dragonfly or a butterfly is almost always going to be bigger than the width between a chameleon's eyes unless you have a midget butterfly. :ROFLMAO: But since the wings of most flying insects are typically pretty soft, they are very easy to crunch and swallow up. Not a problem. I just fed off a few bigger insects not long ago, including huge butterfly...

See this thread and check my postings there: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/can-i-feed-my-chameleon-this-butterfly.151980/

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was quite large, as was one of the Katydids, and my chameleon ate them like it was nothing. I've also been feeding off some Cicada here and there as well, and those get pretty fatty with a decent wingspan on them in comparison to the size of my Panther Cham's head. He still swallows them up with ease.

When it comes to size, using your best judgment is the best way to go.


KapitalJ said:
Great find @trickedoutbiker I found same mantis yesterday!! I didn't know you could hold it. Won't it fly away?
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You've never seen a praying mantis before? There's a few different species that roam the North American continent, with the European Mantis, Carolina Mantis, and the Chinese Mantis being the most common. The ones you and I both found are European Mantids because those can range from shades of bright green to shades of tan, and the ones we found are straight tan all the way. The European Mantis can also be easily distinguished from other species by the black-ringed spot beneath the fore coxae (Arthropod leg). Mine has this little spot under it's forearms, even though it's hard to see it in the pics I took because of the angle. Trust me though, that spot is there. In your pics, you can clearly see the black spotting under the forearm. Yours and mine are both European Mantids all the way! (y)

Mantids are typically not a common insect to find for most people, as they are very good at hiding and are easily overlooked. That's probably why you have never encountered one before. You would be extremely fortunate if you were to find another in the same area.... I saw your post where you found one though, and it looked nice and healthy, AND, it is a mature adult at that, just like mine! Looks like we both scored good on our hunts! To answer your question: yes they can fly - mine actually jumped off my finger shortly after that picture I snapped and took off flying around my living room and scared my girlfriend - but it's typically only the males that fly. Males and females both have wings, but the male is going to have the larger wings for flight so that it can go find a mate. Mine is most definitely a male; I checked. He's getting fed off today. Be careful if you do decide to handle them though; even though they can't exactly hurt you, they will most definitely try to pinch at you if you scare them. It won't really hurt per-say ---- it will be more of a sudden startle that it will give you and you will know you are frightening the mantis. Try to pick them up from the bottom by sliding a finger slowly under them as to not freak them out, just as you would pick up a chameleon by slowly sliding your finger/hand under it. Always come from below and not above, and always go slow. Move too fast, and your mantis might try to run, jump, or fly away (then can be pretty fast) or it might even try to snip at you.

If you aren't sure if it is male or female, you can tell the sex of the mantis in a few different ways.

One way to tell the difference in sex is to count the abdominal segments on the bottom of the mantis (can't count them from the top). The segment counting method can be used for all praying mantis species that are older than L4 (fourth instar). Female mantids have 6 abdominal segments while males have 8. The final segment of the female is much larger than the others while the male has several small segments towards the end of the abdomen. Another way to tell the difference in male and female is by looking at the length of the wings. This method can only be done with adult mantids though. The wings of a male praying mantis are longer than those of the females. The wings of the females reach to the end of their body or even do not reach that far, while the wings of the male are never shorter than the body. The wings of the male usually reach past the end of their body, sticking out a bit from the back. This is because male praying mantises will fly to find a mate, while females generally are too heavy to fly.

KapitalJ said:
oh...almost forgot...that stick bug is bad ass!!
Click to expand...

I thought so too! They are super fragile insects but it is very neat to hold and let it walk all over your arm a bit. When frightened, they sometimes fall from trees and lay there motionless to mimic a stick... It did that when I first found it. I had it on my arm and was carrying it and it jumped to the ground and didn't move at all. I knew they did this as a defense, but it was kind of cool to actually watch it try to fool me. Lol. I am STILL super stoked on it. It's very hard to find them in the wild, as they are not that common and are actually quite rare, and they tend to stay in the higher areas of trees as they get older as well. Last time I saw a walkingstick in the wild was probably 15 years ago when my father took me to a cave in southern Indiana, and there was a walkingstick on the handrail that led down into the cave. It's definitely not an insect that you find on a regular basis.... hence the reason I am absolutely thrilled about it!


That was the best day of insect hunting ever (so far) in my book. It'll be hard to top finding a Mantis religiosa (European Mantis) and a Diapheromera femorata (Northern Walkingstick) all in the same day - within the same hour actually - in addition to the 4 grasshoppers and the dragonfly I managed to snatch up as well. Definitely a good day in my book!
 
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trickedoutbiker said:
You are both correct, but they may not die IMMEDIATELY. And you could catch them and feed them off before they did die....that would be bad. I'm still not worried though. Like I mentioned, those two prize winners I caught don't travel very far. They are the type of insects that tend to stay in a general area once they have established their territory and found a good source of food. They've probably been in that field all summer...

On another note...

There ARE some insects on this planet known to develop an immunity to pesticides though, not that we really use any of them as feeders. This is known as "pesticide resistance" and happens because years and years of using the same pesticides can cause an insect community to adapt to it, which causes a mutation in offspring of the most resistant specimens, which makes them more and more resistant to certain pesticides with each new generation. An example would be, the Colorado Potato Beetle. It has evolved resistance to 52 different compounds belonging to all major insecticide classes because of its years and years of exposure to those chemicals. This means that the insect can have certain pesticides all over it with no ill effects. It would go on living and doing its thing, and you wouldn't have any clue if it's safe or not....

With the specific feeders that most people use for reptiles though, these circumstances are very rare and uncommon. I'm just saying though, it is very very possible for a contaminated insect to keep on living if it has developed a chemical adaptation mutation.
Click to expand...
 
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