Praying Mantis not eating

[denk758]

Hi,

My praying mantis (phyllocrania paradoxa) always grabs the cricket but only eats a little tiny bit of it and lets it fall down afterwards. The mantis looks completely fine, every molt was a success and as it has gotten its wings after molting 5 times, i guess its a male. The final molt was about a month ago so molting cant be the reason for not eating any more. Before his final molt it always ate the whole crickets without problem, it was quite a fat mantis. Also, as i guess its a male, preparing for laying eggs cannot be the problem either. Even if a mistook it as a male and it is a female, laying eggs still cant be the problem because her abdomen is quite thin and not as fat as when they prepare.
Thanks for your answers in advance!

 

[basin79]

Hi,

My praying mantis (phyllocrania paradoxa) always grabs the cricket but only eats a little tiny bit of it and lets it fall down afterwards. The mantis looks completely fine, every molt was a success and as it has gotten its wings after molting 5 times, i guess its a male. The final molt was about a month ago so molting cant be the reason for not eating any more. Before his final molt it always ate the whole crickets without problem, it was quite a fat mantis. Also, as i guess its a male, preparing for laying eggs cannot be the problem either. Even if a mistook it as a male and it is a female, laying eggs still cant be the problem because her abdomen is quite thin and not as fat as when they prepare.
Thanks for your answers in advance!

That is odd seeing as he was "happy" with crickets before. Have you tried a more natural diet, flies? Also you can offer him some organic honey. Mantids absolutely love it. Just put some on the end of a toothpick or similar and put it near his mouth.

 

[denk758]

its very odd, he ate a lot of them. im mooving soon so i will try to buy other feeding insects.
haha i did not know that they love honey

Am i right about it beeing a male insect?

 

[1Lord Of Ants1]

I wouldn’t consider crickets the best feeders for this species. I’ve had them puke before after eating them, as well as show a general disdain for them in comparison to other prey. I’ve reared several generations on nothing but flies, utilizing hydei, house flies, and blue bottle flies according to size. Waxworm moths work well too.

As a male, 2-3 months can be expected after their ultimate molt. I’ve had females make it to 6 months. Ghost mantids can be longer lived compared to other species.

 

[basin79]

its very odd, he ate a lot of them. im mooving soon so i will try to buy other feeding insects.
haha i did not know that they love honey

Am i right about it beeing a male insect?

Count the number of abdomen segments if there isn't a huge difference between adults.

 

[denk758]

I wouldn’t consider crickets the best feeders for this species. I’ve had them puke before after eating them, as well as show a general disdain for them in comparison to other prey. I’ve reared several generations on nothing but flies, utilizing hydei, house flies, and blue bottle flies according to size. Waxworm moths work well too.

As a male, 2-3 months can be expected after their ultimate molt. I’ve had females make it to 6 months. Ghost mantids can be longer lived compared to other species.

its interesting, ive fed him crickets all the time and he never had problems. ive watched him sometimes eating and he always ate the whole cricket and his abdomen was always quite big. I have never seen him puke

 

[Greasylake]

I wouldn’t consider crickets the best feeders for this species. I’ve had them puke before after eating them

Do you feed your crickets carrots? Carrots contain a natural pesticide that has been known to poison mantis. You're lucky yours just got sick and didn't die. I think @The Snark knows the name of the pesticide and a few of the other vegetables that contain it.

 

[The Snark]

the name of the pesticide and a few of the other vegetables that contain it.

Falcarinol. It is the toxin that makes ivy so dangerous for livestock and interestingly it is also a fungicide.

 

[Pernicious]

In my experience with segment counting 4 to 6 is fem and anything over 7 has been male .that said i am fond of wax worms for picky eaters .they might not be the best in nutrition but they must be tasty!

 

[Sarkhan42]

If you post a picture it’ll be very easy to sex, they’re quite dimorphic. All of my mature males are very iffy on eating, and I’ve had many start eating much much less than before once maturing. I’d definitely just vary prey items and continue what you’re doing. Unfortunately if it is a he, he is on borrowed time now, so just try to enjoy him.

The honey suggestion could be good, raw honey can do wonders for a weak mantis. I would just be careful to use it only in emergency circumstances or as a treat, because it’s effectively empty calories that can be unhealthy as a large part of their diet.

I’ll also reiterate that carrots are potentially harmful, and crickets in general are prone to be carries of bad bacteria that can make mantids very ill. I prefer mealworms and flies, or even supers for some of the very large species.

 

[denk758]

If you post a picture it’ll be very easy to sex, they’re quite dimorphic. All of my mature males are very iffy on eating, and I’ve had many start eating much much less than before once maturing. I’d definitely just vary prey items and continue what you’re doing. Unfortunately if it is a he, he is on borrowed time now, so just try to enjoy him.

The honey suggestion could be good, raw honey can do wonders for a weak mantis. I would just be careful to use it only in emergency circumstances or as a treat, because it’s effectively empty calories that can be unhealthy as a large part of their diet.

I’ll also reiterate that carrots are potentially harmful, and crickets in general are prone to be carries of bad bacteria that can make mantids very ill. I prefer mealworms and flies, or even supers for some of the very large species.

Wow thanks for all the information. So his abdomen is not that thin anymore. After moving i bought new crickets for him and he eats them better than the old ones.

 

[denk758]

If you post a picture it’ll be very easy to sex, they’re quite dimorphic. All of my mature males are very iffy on eating, and I’ve had many start eating much much less than before once maturing. I’d definitely just vary prey items and continue what you’re doing. Unfortunately if it is a he, he is on borrowed time now, so just try to enjoy him.

The honey suggestion could be good, raw honey can do wonders for a weak mantis. I would just be careful to use it only in emergency circumstances or as a treat, because it’s effectively empty calories that can be unhealthy as a large part of their diet.

I’ll also reiterate that carrots are potentially harmful, and crickets in general are prone to be carries of bad bacteria that can make mantids very ill. I prefer mealworms and flies, or even supers for some of the very large species.

Here is a pic

 

[Sarkhan42]

Here is a pic

Definitely a male.

 

[denk758]

Yesterday evening he got really weak and during the night he died. I dont know why he got so weak, he was behaving normally during the day.
Could this happen because of his age or did i do something wrong?

 

[Greasylake]

How long had he been mature for?

 

[denk758]

Yesterday evening he got really weak and i dont know why. He was behaving normally during the day.
Well, during the night he died.
Could this be because of his age? Or did i do something wrong?

How long had he been mature for?

his final molt was on 27th of July