Nighttime insect hunt

SSimsswiSS

SSimsswiSS

Avid Member
I kept hearing kaytdids last night so grabbed flashlight and went for hunt. The first thing I found was a good sized grasshopper, and right next to the hopper was a wild praying mantis. After those two finds, I started to find and catch what I went looking for, katydids.
 
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nice finds steve, ive still never been able to feed hoppers or mantids to my chams, some areas where i live just dont have those bugs in good quantities. but come the spring i'll be hatching my own mantis cultures
 
Steve that kind of cruel behavior could end a friendship, I have never seen you be mean. That does it, I now know you are not PERFECT!!
 
ChameleonsInMyHouse said:
nice finds steve, ive still never been able to feed hoppers or mantids to my chams, some areas where i live just dont have those bugs in good quantities. but come the spring i'll be hatching my own mantis cultures
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yeah, I don't see too many grasshoppers here either, like when I was a kid. Careful with the mantis, you just might get hooked on mantis keeping.

laurie said:
Steve that kind of cruel behavior could end a friendship, I have never seen you be mean. That does it, I now know you are not PERFECT!!
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Apologies, :eek: I forgot your highs might be our lows. Freezing temps come a bit early up there in the north.
 
Sad but true, we won't ever get to 62 today. I have a fear that winter may come again this year. Why does this seem to happen every year since I have been here, this will the fourth year in a row that we have had winter. I think I am not in so cal anymore?
 
So after feeding and checking out the wild mantis I caught last night, I decided to go back to where I found her. And found a fresh egg case in seconds. It seems that the plants I have planted to attract insects have attracted the insect eaters to.
 
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SSimsswiSS said:
yeah, I don't see too many grasshoppers here either, like when I was a kid. Careful with the mantis, you just might get hooked on mantis keeping.
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The larger Bird Grasshoppers (Schistocerca) are much more susceptible to over collecting that other smaller grasshoppers species from what I have seen. If you over collect one year there normally less the next year. Especially if you have got mantis to pick off lower numbers of the nymphs in your area.
 
Just had a question Steve. Where do you live? I'm not trying to be a creaper lol I was just wondering because I would also like to pick up some bugs but am very worried about pesticides and don't want my cham dying or getting sick :( are you in a relatively rural area?
 
Seeco said:
Cool. What kind of plants?
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To many to name. I'll have to make a list of them. Most are ones commonly used in butterfly gardens.

Elgato said:
Just had a question Steve. Where do you live? I'm not trying to be a creaper lol I was just wondering because I would also like to pick up some bugs but am very worried about pesticides and don't want my cham dying or getting sick :( are you in a relatively rural area?
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I'm relativity luck in saddleback valley. To north of me is open hills space, (hike,mountain biking) leading up to saddleback peak. To south is Laguna Hills / beach. So again lots of green zones / space. Wildlife parks in Laguna canyon, Aliso wilderness, O'neil, Riley, Oso creek (a favorite for me to hike). A little open land called camp pendleton south east of me, and something they call the great park to west. Twice the size of Central Park in New York.

I have a rule to wild caught bugs: If insect too easy to catch, or find, it might not be in the best of health. If insect is a challenge, or you need to flush out or use a net to catch, okay to use in moderation. If not found on a bad bug list (fireflies, lady bugs, etc..) Also needs to be size appropriate. I'm suppose to have some 18" to 2' long walking stick native to my area trails. I'm guessing they come out at night, and I haven't tried looking at night because we have mountain lions that come out at night too.

The wild mantis I caught laid a egg case for me in yesterday. Alot prettier than the wild one I found that she most likely laid as well.
 
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I'm in the saddleback valley, too :) Lovely place! Unfortunately, Orange County park authorities estimate only 12 mountain lions left in the county. But they are all right in the valley! Watch out!!
 
NastyNate said:
I'm in the saddleback valley, too :) Lovely place! Unfortunately, Orange County park authorities estimate only 12 mountain lions left in the county. But they are all right in the valley! Watch out!!
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watch out for those panthers. thiers not suppose to be any out here in PA anymore but a few people i know said in the mountains over here that they have had them try to rip people off 4-wheelers.:eek:
 
There was a lady out here a few years ago that got ripped off her mountain bike. Luckily, her friend fought off the lion and she was saved. The mountain lion still got the best of her face :/
 
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