Kecleon
Established Member
Just tought i would help someone that want's to rear there own Feeders.
Praying Mantid Needs
Rearing Habitat
* A wide-mouth jar covered with a net held in place with several rubber bands, or by a cover with punched holes.
* Stick set in modeling clay or lean against the side.
Food
Most mantids eat insects. Providing food for a mantid can be easily done by trapping flies or other insects, and releasing them into the mantid's container. Insects used for food must be alive and not dramatically bigger than the mantid. Mantids can handle insects bigger than themselves, but feeding a 1/2" mantid a 2" long grasshopper is generally not a good idea. To determine a good size of prey, watch the mantid with different insects and see how well it handles different offerings. If the prey is too small, the mantid will consistently miss and be unable to grasp the prey. If the prey is too large, the mantid will not be able to hold on or will lose its balance or end up releasing the prey. If crickets are too strong they can be disabled by removing the strong back legs. Mantids will eat insects dangled from tweezers, but be prepared for the mantids fast response and the resulting grip on the tweezers. Mantids will not accept dead insects. Mantids do not disable their prey, but just start chewing. Offer food every three days a week. Young mantids may eat every day.
Water
Mantids in captivity do need additional water. Gently mist the container every week depending on the humidity. The mantid will gather the water off the sides of the jar and its body.
Taking Care
Cleaning
Remove the dead insects from the bottom of the container. Long forceps are best to minimize disturbance to the mantid. If the container needs to be cleaned, gently remove the mantid and stick and place in spare, clean container while the container is washed.
Handling
Mantids are delicate. They can be carefully handled by allowing them to voluntarily walk onto your hand or finger. Mantids will sometimes strike out and it can be very startling. Make sure not to drop the insect with alarm.
Raising Young
Some adult female mantids will lay egg cases in the container. Continue to care for the female as described. She may lay additional egg cases. After a period of time (varies with species and season) the immature mantids will emerge from the egg case. They will eat each other if additional prey is not provided. Small fruit flies are ideal for small mantids. You can also remove the mantids and set them up in other containers.
Other Concerns
Precautions
Mantids eat often and finding food for lots of immature mantids may get to be exhausting if you do not have a culture of fruit flies available. Do not release mantids outside unless you are sure they are a species that lives in your area.
Just let me know if it's good info and if it helped you guys?
Kecleon
Praying Mantid Needs
Rearing Habitat
* A wide-mouth jar covered with a net held in place with several rubber bands, or by a cover with punched holes.
* Stick set in modeling clay or lean against the side.
Food
Most mantids eat insects. Providing food for a mantid can be easily done by trapping flies or other insects, and releasing them into the mantid's container. Insects used for food must be alive and not dramatically bigger than the mantid. Mantids can handle insects bigger than themselves, but feeding a 1/2" mantid a 2" long grasshopper is generally not a good idea. To determine a good size of prey, watch the mantid with different insects and see how well it handles different offerings. If the prey is too small, the mantid will consistently miss and be unable to grasp the prey. If the prey is too large, the mantid will not be able to hold on or will lose its balance or end up releasing the prey. If crickets are too strong they can be disabled by removing the strong back legs. Mantids will eat insects dangled from tweezers, but be prepared for the mantids fast response and the resulting grip on the tweezers. Mantids will not accept dead insects. Mantids do not disable their prey, but just start chewing. Offer food every three days a week. Young mantids may eat every day.
Water
Mantids in captivity do need additional water. Gently mist the container every week depending on the humidity. The mantid will gather the water off the sides of the jar and its body.
Taking Care
Cleaning
Remove the dead insects from the bottom of the container. Long forceps are best to minimize disturbance to the mantid. If the container needs to be cleaned, gently remove the mantid and stick and place in spare, clean container while the container is washed.
Handling
Mantids are delicate. They can be carefully handled by allowing them to voluntarily walk onto your hand or finger. Mantids will sometimes strike out and it can be very startling. Make sure not to drop the insect with alarm.
Raising Young
Some adult female mantids will lay egg cases in the container. Continue to care for the female as described. She may lay additional egg cases. After a period of time (varies with species and season) the immature mantids will emerge from the egg case. They will eat each other if additional prey is not provided. Small fruit flies are ideal for small mantids. You can also remove the mantids and set them up in other containers.
Other Concerns
Precautions
Mantids eat often and finding food for lots of immature mantids may get to be exhausting if you do not have a culture of fruit flies available. Do not release mantids outside unless you are sure they are a species that lives in your area.
Just let me know if it's good info and if it helped you guys?
Kecleon
