Leaf insects
Dec 20, 2019 14:49:02 #
Have presented a few problems. Mortality high.
Have got egg hatching OK. Warmth and humidity and venting all critical to getting out of egg.
Then eating. They eat hanging upside down. The branch has to be elevated. I finally have them eating rose. One has shed.
The container for rearing must be escape proof. I use Rubbermaid. I vent the box with four 1/2 " holes covered with a stainless steel screen over the holes.some pics.
Have got egg hatching OK. Warmth and humidity and venting all critical to getting out of egg.
Then eating. They eat hanging upside down. The branch has to be elevated. I finally have them eating rose. One has shed.
The container for rearing must be escape proof. I use Rubbermaid. I vent the box with four 1/2 " holes covered with a stainless steel screen over the holes.some pics.
Dec 20, 2019 15:01:29 #
newtoyou wrote:
Have presented a few problems. Mortality high.
Have got egg hatching OK. Warmth and humidity and venting all critical to getting out of egg.
Then eating. They eat hanging upside down. The branch has to be elevated. I finally have them eating rose. One has shed.
The container for rearing must be escape proof. I use Rubbermaid. I vent the box with four 1/2 " holes covered with a stainless steel screen over the holes.some pics.
Have got egg hatching OK. Warmth and humidity and venting all critical to getting out of egg.
Then eating. They eat hanging upside down. The branch has to be elevated. I finally have them eating rose. One has shed.
The container for rearing must be escape proof. I use Rubbermaid. I vent the box with four 1/2 " holes covered with a stainless steel screen over the holes.some pics.
I have to finish here. I believe I am going to get a new computer. Getting to be a pain.
Hope this is 'something completely different'.
Bill
The hatching chamber
(Download)
Five alive
(Download)
Offering a food selection
(Download)
One of the wee beasties
(Download)
Dec 20, 2019 18:50:45 #
Interesting! Best of luck with those. Did not know they ate rose leaves.
Dec 21, 2019 10:10:57 #
Amazing and truly something quite different. You have a great talent of collecting and rearing so thanks for sharing your ventures.
Dec 21, 2019 10:21:02 #
Nice set and narrative Bill. Good luck with the rearing. I may try rearing some Ode nymphs, larvae or naiads as you prefer next season. I need to talk to some people at Nymphfest 2020 who do it regularly to see what they feed in the aquatic stage. I went out to collect some nymphs yesterday and the creek was frozen.
Merry Christmas.
-Doc
Merry Christmas.
-Doc
Dec 21, 2019 11:59:18 #
docshark wrote:
Nice set and narrative Bill. Good luck with the rearing. I may try rearing some Ode nymphs, larvae or naiads as you prefer next season. I need to talk to some people at Nymphfest 2020 who do it regularly to see what they feed in the aquatic stage. I went out to collect some nymphs yesterday and the creek was frozen.
Merry Christmas.
-Doc
Merry Christmas.
-Doc
Mosquitoes are an easy choice on the Delmarva peninsula.
A quart jar half full of water with a pinch of thatch( the secret ingredient) will soon be your food source. Set a few jars a week or two to keep supplied. Use a sponge type filter in the rearing container and start that off with a pinch of thatch. This starts the bio- action. Squeeze filter under tepid water when realy dirty and replace.
All this you may know, but a general FYI. Gambusia are a good source of tiny minnows.
I did this as a kid and the adults eclosed in my room, only to roam the house till seen. My parents were OK with this for the most part.
Thanks to all who commented and a happy holiday season to you and yours.
Bill
Dec 21, 2019 13:13:49 #
Mosquito larvae immediately come to mind, like Bill says. What is more, they conveniently re-stock their own larder. They are probably an ideal choice. Pet stores that keep freshwater fish will often have live 'blood worms'. These are small red annelid worms that look like tiny earthworms. But they live in water. Some muck on the bottom of your aquarium is all they need to thrive, but not too much since you don't want them to hide too well. Also a couple cubes of freeze-dried tubifex worms can be placed in the aquarium. Also available at pet stores. This is normally dead fish food, but there are eggs in there that will hatch and eventually start a colony of tiny live, semi-transparent worms that stick out of the muck. Getting that going will take time.
I have reared other predators (mantises, spiders), and find the task of regularly going out to collect live prey to be pretty tedious.
I have reared other predators (mantises, spiders), and find the task of regularly going out to collect live prey to be pretty tedious.
Dec 21, 2019 14:41:57 #
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