tecrecycling Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 While caring for my various roach colonies I found an out of luck molted male P. Vanwaerebecki being cannibalized by his brethren. He was damaged very badly so instead of letting him go to waste I decided to test the limits of my mantis. Here are a bunch of pictures the results. http://s1368.photobu.../?sort=3&page=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Awesome pictures. It's so weird that they cannibalize each other when freshly molted; I found two of my young portentosa eating another (possibly a sibling) despite the fact that there was food available just inches away. He was still moving around a bit though his head was already gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecrecycling Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Yeah, same here, except the molting male appeared to be in his last adult molt, he was actually laying on the food dish and 2 smaller 2nd or 3rd instar nymphs were eating through his back actually I was kind of horrified until I thought of the opportunity to feed the mantis something much larger than what he's used to. That's the first thing we learn when working with these creatures. They will consume almost anything, I've been feeding my Pycnoscelus Surinamensis my used tea bags and they seem to love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 They will consume almost anything, I've been feeding my Pycnoscelus Surinamensis my used tea bags and they seem to love them. I feed mine dead crickets and any dead roaches I find in my other tanks that aren't being eaten. They're basically the roach version of piranhas. Definitely my favorite species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecrecycling Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Its funny that you describe the p. Surinamensis as reminding you of piranhas I've often thought the same thing. I have a lot of plants in my house and I am extremely cautious when handling and containing this species But, they are definitely my favorite to feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cariblatta Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Wow! That's a big meal! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecrecycling Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 LOL! It didn't finish it. The toad helped him with the left overs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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