If you own a praying mantis, you’ve probably found yourself standing in the pet store staring at a tub of wax worms and wondering if they’re safe to feed to your little predator. The short answer is yes, praying mantis can absolutely eat wax worms. But there’s a little more to it than that, and if you want to make sure you’re feeding your mantis properly, then keep reading. We’re going to break down everything you need to know about wax worms as a food source for your praying mantis.
So What Exactly Are Wax Worms?
Before we get into the details, it’s helpful to know what wax worms actually are. Wax worms are the larvae of the wax moth — specifically, two closely related species that are commercially bred: the Lesser Wax Moth (Achroia grisella) and the Greater Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella). They’re small, creamy-white, and look a bit like chubby little caterpillars. And yes, they’re widely available at most pet stores and online, which makes them a very convenient feeder option for mantis owners. If you’re just getting started in the hobby, it’s worth checking out our guide to the best praying mantis species for beginners before deciding on a feeding routine.
Are Wax Worms Good For Praying Mantis?
Yes and no, and this is where it gets interesting. Wax worms are perfectly safe for your praying mantis to eat, and most mantids take to them enthusiastically. The problem is that wax worms have an extremely high fat content compared to most other feeder insects — around 25% fat by composition, which is significantly higher than leaner feeders like crickets or roaches. That means if you feed them too regularly, your mantis can start putting on too much weight, which is the last thing you want for a healthy, active predator.
So think of wax worms the same way you’d think of a treat. You wouldn’t eat ice cream every single day and expect to stay in great shape, and the same logic applies here. According to Keeping Insects, wax worms should be considered an occasional extra rather than a staple food source, just like mealworms. The bulk of your mantis’s diet should come from leaner, higher-protein feeders like flies, roaches, and locusts. You can read more about what praying mantises eat to get a better picture of how to build a balanced feeding routine.
That said, there are situations where wax worms genuinely shine. If your mantis has gone off its food for a while, offering a wax worm can sometimes be the thing that gets it eating again since they’re so palatable and enticing. They’re also a great option if your mantis is on the smaller or thinner side and needs to put on a little weight, as their concentrated fat content makes them particularly useful for underweight animals or those recovering from stress.
The One Big Problem With Wax Worms
Here’s something a lot of people don’t think about before they drop a wax worm into their mantis’s enclosure. Praying mantis spend most of their time hanging high up in their enclosure, waiting for prey to come to them or flying past. Wax worms don’t fly and they don’t climb very well either. That means if you just toss one in and let it loose, there’s a very good chance it’s going to crawl to the bottom of the enclosure, burrow into the substrate, and disappear completely before your mantis even notices it’s there.
So the best way to feed wax worms to your praying mantis is to use forceps or feeding tweezers. Pick up the wax worm and hold it within striking distance of your mantis. Wax worms wriggle around nicely when gripped with forceps, which is usually enough movement to trigger your mantis’s hunting instinct. If you’ve never hand-fed a mantis before, it helps to first get comfortable with how to hold a praying mantis so you can handle the whole process calmly. Most mantis will snap at it pretty quickly once they spot the movement.
If you’d rather not hand-feed, you can place the wax worms in a small shallow dish inside the enclosure. Just make sure the dish is positioned high enough that your mantis doesn’t have to come all the way down to ground level to reach it. Some mantis simply won’t bother coming down to hunt, so placing food at their level is always going to be the better approach.
What About Wax Worm Moths?
Here’s a fun bonus that a lot of mantis owners don’t realize. If you buy a tub of wax worms and leave them long enough, they’ll eventually pupate and hatch into wax moths. And those moths? Your mantis is going to absolutely love them. Moths flutter around the enclosure and trigger the exact kind of aerial hunting behavior that mantis are built for. So if you’ve got a species that strongly prefers flying prey, like a Ghost Mantis, letting some of those wax worms pupate and hatch into moths is actually a brilliant feeding strategy. Just make sure your enclosure is secure before you let moths loose inside it.
How Long Do Wax Worms Stay Fresh?
One of the best things about wax worms as a backup food source is that they’re incredibly low maintenance compared to other feeders. You don’t need to feed them or water them to keep them going — wax worms live off the fat stored in their own bodies and don’t consume food during the larval storage stage. Wax worms generally last around 2–3 weeks when stored in the door of your refrigerator, as the fridge door is the warmest spot in the fridge. Dubia.com recommends the fridge door specifically because standard fridge temperatures can actually be too cold and kill the worms — the sweet spot for keeping them dormant and healthy is around 50–55°F.
Just make sure you check the tub regularly and remove any dead ones, since dead wax worms will cause the rest of the batch to deteriorate much faster. Other than that, they really do take care of themselves, which is why so many mantis owners like to keep a small tub on hand as a reliable backup.
Only For Larger Mantis
One more thing worth mentioning. Wax worms are not suitable for very young or small mantis nymphs. Baby mantis in their early instars are far too small to tackle a wax worm and need to be fed appropriately sized feeders like fruit flies first. Save the wax worms for once your mantis has grown to a more substantial size and can comfortably handle larger prey. Dubia.com’s care guides recommend that feeder insects should be no more than one third of your mantis’s body length as a general rule, and wax worms are no different. If you’re unsure about what size prey is right for your mantis at a given stage, it’s also worth reading up on do praying mantises shed their skin — understanding the molting process will help you track instar stages and know when your mantis is ready to graduate to larger prey.
Conclusion
So can praying mantis eat wax worms? Absolutely. They’re safe, easy to store, and most mantis go crazy for them. Just don’t make the mistake of using them as a primary food source, because their high fat content means they’re better suited as an occasional treat or supplement. Use forceps to hand-feed them so your mantis actually gets the chance to catch them, and keep a tub stored in the fridge door so you always have a backup ready when your other feeders run out. Do that, and wax worms are going to be a really useful addition to your mantis feeding routine. And if you’re wondering whether your mantis drinks water between feedings, the answer is yes — keep a light misting routine going alongside any feeding schedule to keep your mantis healthy and hydrated.