feed a B. Smiti a praying mantis???

[David_F]

Actually 15 years for a female G. rosea in captivity is not really that old. They regularly live much longer than that.

But who knows how old the rosie was when it was collected? I think the point being made was that if she lived for fifteen years in captivity, being fed almost exclusively wild-caught prey, then pesticides and parasites were most likely not the cause of her demise.

I do agree with those who said feeding a mantis to a tarantula isn't the best idea. Too many things could go wrong. Maybe not likely but the risk is still there. And besides, why would you want to kill off a mantis just to feed a spider? Go catch a cricket or beetle or something.

 

[C_Strike]

Nice one Evil cheshire, i was gonna mention peregrine falcons and DDT...
not really used in western countries anymore, in fact there is probably restrictions, but developing and third world countries still use it

 

[mackids]

Actually 15 years for a female G. rosea in captivity is not really that old. They regularly live much longer than that. And yes, pesticides take their toll on local spiders. The health, or lack of the local spider population is a good indicator to the health of the local ecology.

Windchaser- I also agree 15 years isnt long if the spider was raised from a sling. this was a big girl when I recieved it and I then had her for 15 years, her true age would never be know but I guestimate 20 years.

anyway, thanks for the info on the local ecology! I guess I should note that in a previous post about grass spiders, I've observed sizes alot more emence deeper in the woods away from the developed areas. And size is a good indication of health.

 

[Windchaser]

Windchaser- I also agree 15 years isnt long if the spider was raised from a sling. this was a big girl when I recieved it and I then had her for 15 years, her true age would never be know but I guestimate 20 years.

anyway, thanks for the info on the local ecology! I guess I should note that in a previous post about grass spiders, I've observed sizes alot more emence deeper in the woods away from the developed areas. And size is a good indication of health.

You're welcome.

BTW, the reason I posted regarding the age of your tarantula was primarily because it was not clear if you had raised it from a sling or got it as an adult. Since you did get it as an adult it would be impossible to know its true age.

Also one more point regarding pesticides. Much of it depends on where you live. In Chicago the city regularly sprays for mosquitoes throughout the summer. Also, because of the density of homes even though my yard may be pesticide free, the yard next door may not be. The safety or risk of feeding wild caught prey depends greatly on where they are collected. For me in the heart of the city, I would not under any circumstances take the risk. For someone out in the middle of nowhere, it would probably be fairly safe. That is barring feeding one predator to another.

 

[Sarah.S]

Feeding any prey that can fight back is just asking for trouble and you could well end up lossing your T. Yes hissing roachs might have longer sharper leg bristles but they dont have the same mental programing to hunt and fight as a madtid does. The pestiside thing is also worth considering as even out in the midle of nowhere insects migrate and farms mainly use pestisides if its a WC prey item you cant be sure it is pestiside free as it could have traveled from an area where pestisides are used. It might be a personal choice issue but it is not one I would be willing to take no matter where I lived, as I am aware of many pestisides and such only years later being known to cause trouble to eco systems DDT is a great example of this but there are loads more.

 

[Scott C.]

I've seen a mantis bite the head off of a cricket in a few bites. Seems a dangerous foe to me. Plus mantids are supercool bugs..... I don't really have an opinion on whether, or not, someone should do this. I wouldn't though.

 

[treeweta]

i feed mantids all of the time when available...ur t's will love it...only problem i could see if the mantid was exposed to pesticides other then that no problem...i know there are alot of people that say dont but in cali during a few months they gather in huge numbers sooo instead of spraying them i feed them to my t's

you would honestly SPRAY praying mantids???? I limit my self to repellant to keep mosquitoes off at night but to spray insects outdoors is an unthinkable idea to me!! theres enough poison in our environment as it stands , every crawling thing needs to be encouraged where possible. I read an article about stickinsects (walking sticks) in new zealand, years ago just before the wide application of pesticides there were stick insects everywhere, now days you really have to search just to find a few individuals, introduced wasps and other predators dont help but invertebrate numbers are way below our pre chemical stage of out 'development'.

treeweta.

 

[treeweta]

You're welcome.
Also one more point regarding pesticides. Much of it depends on where you live. In Chicago the city regularly sprays for mosquitoes throughout the summer. Also, because of the density of homes even though my yard may be pesticide free, the yard next door may not be. .

I live west of chicago and our town also sprays for mosquitoes, they use sumithrin in a product called anvil, im not sure how long the adverse affects can persist in a large insect that isnt killed outright but the synergist in there (piperonly butoxide) stops inverts from breaking down the sumethrin. I saw a conehead katydid the other night which was convulsing as it walked, NO it wanst the wings moving as it was singing, its legs were actually shaking, someting ive never seen before in a conehead, the day after the spraying (one of three times this year) I found a field cricket on its back just throwing its legs in the air, i overturned it and it just flipped back and carried on, almost certainly affected by the toxin, a CRIME in my mind to wholesale destroy a huge swathe of invertebrates when its know the toxin is VERY ineffective in reducing mosquito numbers and may make the problem worse, spraying of towns across the states may well be revealed in a few years as a very bad decision by out local authorities aside from the fact that sumithrin and piperonyl butoxide are toxic to vertebrates too. Oh and incidentally ive been writing continously about my 2 sick blondis which i was assuming was connected to infected crickets, im now wondering if its got something to do with the mosquito spray!!

treeweta.

 

[sick4x4]

you would honestly SPRAY praying mantids???? I limit my self to repellant to keep mosquitoes off at night but to spray insects outdoors is an unthinkable idea to me!! theres enough poison in our environment as it stands , every crawling thing needs to be encouraged where possible. I read an article about stickinsects (walking sticks) in new zealand, years ago just before the wide application of pesticides there were stick insects everywhere, now days you really have to search just to find a few individuals, introduced wasps and other predators dont help but invertebrate numbers are way below our pre chemical stage of out 'development'.

treeweta.

i dont spray mantids....i just go gather them up, quarantine them for a week...during the quarantine i wash them with water and they are good to go..i belive i said that in stead of spraying i feed them to t's

 

[treeweta]

But who knows how old the rosie was when it was collected? I think the point being made was that if she lived for fifteen years in captivity, being fed almost exclusively wild-caught prey, then pesticides and parasites were most likely not the cause of her demise.

I do agree with those who said feeding a mantis to a tarantula isn't the best idea. Too many things could go wrong. Maybe not likely but the risk is still there. And besides, why would you want to kill off a mantis just to feed a spider? Go catch a cricket or beetle or something.

i once fed a pet mantis in UK to a apophysis, the mantis had mismoulted and her front legs were twisted and couldnt function. Of all the prey items ive given to a spider this one put up the most resistence, luckily for the spider the jaws were downwards, she was 'furiously' for want of a better word trying to bite the spide. Rememeber, an adult chinese mantid (for eg) can easly draw blood from a finger, a mantis will put up a fight and unless the spider gets it firmly pinned down the foreleags and jaws can wreak some damage. I personally like mantis way too much to feed them to spiders, as a brit those things are seen only as pets to cherished!

treeweta.

 

[tony77tony77]

just feed it and see what happen.

 

[treeweta]

i dont spray mantids....i just go gather them up, quarantine them for a week...during the quarantine i wash them with water and they are good to go..i belive i said that in stead of spraying i feed them to t's

sick4x4,

yes you did say you feed instead of spraying, it's just that it sounded like you would spray them if the option to feed wasnt there. mantids are very 'useful' in that they do reduce other more pesky insects including european wasps at this time of year!!

treeweeta.

 

[sick4x4]

i do its all good over 60 t's and no one complains;P no way i belive in natural animal control...but they are considered a pest species soo usually neighbors, friends and school mates call me up and i go clear them out....remember it only happens once a year and i usually just get males....remember i live near Malibu Calif and valenicia...any thing that crawls is considered a pest...i guess its the price insects get for moving into the million dollar home sector....not funny to me

 

[treeweta]

i dont spray mantids....i just go gather them up, quarantine them for a week...during the quarantine i wash them with water and they are good to go..i belive i said that in stead of spraying i feed them to t's

since moving to the USA i find it amazing how quickly people drive to the store to get insecticides at the slightest bug invasion be it fly or useful spider!! I'm quite happy to have those daddy long legs hanging around the ceiling. I think that such products are so normalised that most peole never consider for a moment thay are putting a poison into their own environment, the very air they breathe.

treeweta.

 

[sick4x4]

since moving to the USA i find it amazing how quickly people drive to the store to get insecticides at the slightest bug invasion be it fly or useful spider!! I'm quite happy to have those daddy long legs hanging around the ceiling. I think that such products are so normalised that most peole never consider for a moment thay are putting a poison into their own environment, the very air they breathe.

treeweta.

i totally agree..its even more apparent here in calif....they are extremists for everything , especially insects..i don't know how many times i have wanted to run a pest guy off the road.....in my house i have widows...so i don't worry to much with pest bugs...mostly because any pest species roach or flies get eaten by my many t's or scorps.....its funny what one sees as a pest the other sees as a future food source...lol...besides people are just not knowing..if they destroy one... another one becomes a problem!! there needs to be a balance....which is why i feed mantids to some of my reptiles and inverts..usually the mantids when i catch them dont live more then a few weeks..soo i just treat my animals when they do become available .....soo i dont practice this as a rule more of just a treat....

 

[treeweta]

i totally agree..its even more apparent here in calif....they are extremists for everything , especially insects..i don't know how many times i have wanted to run a pest guy off the road.....in my house i have widows...so i don't worry to much with pest bugs...mostly because any pest species roach or flies get eaten by my many t's or scorps.....its funny what one sees as a pest the other sees as a future food source...lol...besides people are just not knowing..if they destroy one... another one becomes a problem!! there needs to be a balance....which is why i feed mantids to some of my reptiles and inverts..usually the mantids when i catch them dont live more then a few weeks..soo i just treat my animals when they do become available .....soo i dont practice this as a rule more of just a treat....

cool, widows in the home!! Since moving to illinois ive quickly become the streets 'bugman' I have the neighbours asking me whats this bug? all the time, and that really because they now catch them and bring tham too me instead of crushing or spraying as they did before!! Its amazing how few inverts they knew even in their own neighbourhood. i assumed wrongly that most men (and some women) would have been bug catchers as kids and knew a mantis from a walking stick!

treeweta.

 

[jayer10]

i've heard of more people getting nematodes and parasites from store bought or self bread items. Not many, or never have i heard of any ones t or other petting getting parasites from wc prey.

 

[Alice]

yes, all wild living animals have parasites - internally and externally. as long as the concentration of parasites is kept to a certain level, this should pose no problem. if your t's immune system is somehow weakened, however, parasites might multiply quite quickly to an amount that will kill the host. that's also a problem with wc reptiles - the stress of being caught and shipped often weakens them so that the parasites they cary as a normal part of their lives become able to kill them.

 

[HuonHengChai]

I wouldn't even try, donno what kind of pesticide the poor fella wes exposed to

 

[demode]

this is the most stupid thing I've ever heard... mantis a pest?? Mantis and arachnids are the solution.. they eat unimaginable amounts of "pests" every day!