Baby mantis feeding system

Brak

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
183
Just thought I would show you all my mantis feeder system. After having clouds of escaped fruit flies all over the place I thought there had to be a better way. So I cut an X in a plastic cup and hot glued it to the ring lid of a mason jar. I cut out the cup bottom and glued a small mesh cloth over the end for ventalation. My medium for growing fruit flies is just bananas, oatmeal and sugar blended and cooked. I sterilize the jars just to cut down on mold. When I'm ready I drop in a few grains of yeast and screw on the lid/cup assembly. Now I use a straw with mesh on one end to suck up flies from another container and poke the end through the X of my new container. I inject about 50 flies and after about 3 weeks its ready to go. When I feed the young Its the same in reverse. I poke the straw into the culture, suck out some flies and blow them into the baby's cup. Works like a charm and no escapes. Well .... a lot less anyway.

John
 

Jesse607

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
715
If they molted three times since hatching, then most hobbyists would consider that L4, but in reality they molt as soon as they hatch(as they are hatching) so they would be L5, but to keep things simple refer to them as L4.
 

Elytra and Antenna

Arachnoking
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Messages
2,506
Hey Jezzy,
As a friend of yours I'm sure you'll believe me. Mantids do not molt when they hatch. That's called an eggshell. I've hatched quite a few mantids and the membrane is not an exoskeleton. Look closely and you won't see leg, antennae or any body segment castings. More importantly, check any decent entomological book with an instar sequence. Watch out for the sites that pluralize ootheca as oothecas or oothecaes (plural is oothecae) as I'm sure they're the same ones to claim a hatch is a molt. I'm guessing the purpose is to sell baby mantids and call them older than they are. I hope not. Why not include all the progressional stages within the egg and call them 1,245,110th instar when they hatch?
'-)
Hey man, remind me to stay away from the message boards :)
 

Jesse607

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
715
I have always noticed that the mantids that don't make it completely out of the ootheca are covered in a membrane that keeps them from moving there limbs, and wondered myself why that should be considered an instar. I usually refrain from counting it myself for simplicity. However, I do believe I got that information from the Prete et al book The Praying Mantids , but at the moment I have it loaned out, so I can't check. Thanks for making me aware of that, I will refrain from saying that now.
 

ArachKnight

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
60
Originally posted by Brak
Just thought I would show you all my mantis feeder system. After having clouds of escaped fruit flies all over the place I thought there had to be a better way. So I cut an X in a plastic cup and hot glued it to the ring lid of a mason jar. I cut out the cup bottom and glued a small mesh cloth over the end for ventalation. My medium for growing fruit flies is just bananas, oatmeal and sugar blended and cooked. I sterilize the jars just to cut down on mold. When I'm ready I drop in a few grains of yeast and screw on the lid/cup assembly. Now I use a straw with mesh on one end to suck up flies from another container and poke the end through the X of my new container. I inject about 50 flies and after about 3 weeks its ready to go. When I feed the young Its the same in reverse. I poke the straw into the culture, suck out some flies and blow them into the baby's cup. Works like a charm and no escapes. Well .... a lot less anyway.

John
Sounds silly but have you ever, accidentally, sucked up some flies this way? Or were you using an aspirator? nice contraption very cool.

Joel:D
 

Brak

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
183
"Now I use a straw with mesh on one end to suck up flies... "

I haven't sucked up any flies because I put a mesh screen on the straw's mouthpiece. I will have to think about bigger prey soon though. Right now I add about 10 flies each twice a day. When they molt (L5) this week I may have to figure a different system for larger prey. Need a bigger straw!

John
 
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