New Feeder insect: Sun Beetle

[Tom Forman]

I am always on the lookout for new feeder insects and I recently discovered the sun beetle. I kind of already knew about it but was not further interested as it is a beetle.

However it turns out these beetles spend most of their life as a caterpillar like larvae that has been eating fruit all its life so sounds like just the addition I have been looking for.

I am tempted to wait till after the BTS just incase I can pick some up there.

Does anyone know if I will be able to buy insects at the expo??

any1 keeping these beetles?

[Peter Roach]

My local shop almost always has these larvea for sale as feeders.
I have tried them, verdict ? ...... OK.
Nothing special but they can burrow quicker than a mole on speed

[Richard Shah]

My local shop almost always has these larvea for sale as feeders.
I have tried them, verdict ? ...... OK.
Nothing special but they can burrow quicker than a mole on speed

Lol!!! That's pretty crazy. That is why I not wanna get any such worms, like meal worms, cuz I swear they are almost always likely to burrow?

[Tom Forman]

thx for posting peter.

i found a great new website, livefood warehouse

that is selling starter cultures for 3 pounds including postage.

How thick does the substrate have to be.

They seem slow growing but I'm sure they will be fun to raise.

Ps Rich, waxworms, mealworms and these worms are not worms at all, they are just called that. They are more of a caterpillar and they are amongst the easiest insects to keep. I only give my waxworms and mealworms a 1cm substrate so they can't burrow very far. I am hoping I can do the same with these beetles.

[James Box]

i flipping love mealworms, and so do most of my T's, even some of the larger slings!
they are less stress then crickets as they don't escape, so a nice supplement for variety.

will look into sun beetles.

[Rich.Harrington]

I found an easy solution to burrowing beasties such as maggots mealworms etc etc. I just take a thin piece of wire and threat the food item onto it, then bending the den back on itself. After that the food item cannot burrow away, yet still wiggles to attract attention.

It's worked perfectly for maggots for my slings, as any uneaten food I know about with it still attatched to the wire.


Credit for this one goes to someone else on this forum (I forget the name) from a different post.

[James Box]

that's fairly horrible, but i can see the practicality!

[Peter Roach]

thx for posting peter.

i found a great new website, livefood warehouse

that is selling starter cultures for 3 pounds including postage.

.

Come and find me on Sunday, I may have some.

[Tom Forman]

well like always I was too impatient and put my order through.

Let me just praise http://www.thelivefoodwarehouse.co.uk/ again.


My order arrived on time this morning. The owner of the site is very friendly and helpful. Postage is free. He stocks all insects you'd want.

I rate this site far better than livefood uk.

Infact it has just replaced the dartfrog site as my new favourite insect selling shop.


On to the grubs. They are fantastic! They are exactly what I have been looking for. I was looking for a caterpillar to raise for quite some time but the work involved in that is not nice and the "special" plants you'd need which don't grow in my area, same with silkworms, you'd need to plant a mulberry tree which was not going to happen.

So when I saw these, my heart jumped. They are massive caterpillars and they could not be easier to store or look after.

I am recommending them to all that own an adult tarantula. They are just the right size(big lol) and need as little maintenance as wax worms do.
Well maybe a bit more, but from what I can see even a 3 year old could successfully raise these, there is nothing to it,they just live in some soil like worms and you just chuck in the fruit and dog biscuits for them to eat.


I want each and evey one of you to ask yourself as soon as you read this: Why have I not got some of these super caterpillar beetles???

In my opinion they could easily become my Tarantula's main diet, I'm just not sure how fast they reproduce, I am suspecting that is their only weakpoint(well and one took a nibble at my finger lol) but we will see.


Hopefully you will all be able to buy some at the bts but if not then put them on your list.




Ps: Peter, why do you not like them more? They seem brilliant. Maybe I am missing something?

[Richard Shah]

Any idea how long they keep for, and do they keep as catipillars or do they go through their stages? I read somewhere (and this was to my surprisal, but understanding) that Mealworms are reared on food that sustains there worm stage, rather than allowing them to become Mealworm beetles?
I wouldn't mind getting some of these catipillars, but then I need to set up another accomadation, or ditch the crickets and use their tank!

[Katherine Heathcote]

There's a care sheet for Pachnoda beetles here http://www.bugshed.co.uk/pachnodacaresheet.htm
If you just want to keep the larvae alive until you feed them off, you can keep them in an ice-cream tub. If you want to keep adults and breed them, you will need something like a 30cm plastic tank. They are quite interesting creatures in their own right- you can watch them go through the stages of their life cycle including complete metamorphosis.

[Peter Roach]

Ps: Peter, why do you not like them more? They seem brilliant. Maybe I am missing something?

I have very limited time and prefer to open the pot/ container and drop a maggot or roach in and then forget about it. Having been bitten by one of these larvea and now know how hard they can bite I wont be leaving one of these in with a spider without supervision. Also as I have a few thousand roaches on hand which are just as good nutritional wise ......and FREE.
Another reason is the price, you paid £3.00 for 10 grubs which is 30p each. I have around 240-250 spiders of varing sizes (mostly juvs) to feed that amount would cost an arm and a leg, even at cost price (which I get them at ) it would still cost too much.

[Richard Shah]

There's a care sheet for Pachnoda beetles here http://www.bugshed.co.uk/pachnodacaresheet.htm
If you just want to keep the larvae alive until you feed them off, you can keep them in an ice-cream tub. If you want to keep adults and breed them, you will need something like a 30cm plastic tank. They are quite interesting creatures in their own right- you can watch them go through the stages of their life cycle including complete metamorphosis.

Yes that probably would be, and thank you for giving me this advice. I'll don't think I'll be using them though, cuz they seem to pose more of a threat than a cricket, taken from what Peter said.

Thanks Katherine!

I have very limited time and prefer to open the pot/ container and drop a maggot or roach in and then forget about it. Having been bitten by one of these larvea and now know how hard they can bite I wont be leaving one of these in with a spider without supervision. Also as I have a few thousand roaches on hand which are just as good nutritional wise ......and FREE.
Another reason is the price, you paid £3.00 for 10 grubs which is 30p each. I have around 240-250 spiders of varing sizes (mostly juvs) to feed that amount would cost an arm and a leg, even at cost price (which I get them at ) it would still cost too much.

10 grubs; oh okay that is really bad! Nah, forget these, I won't be using them; especially cuz they seem quite dangerous to the T....
And, can you be so sure that you get them at cost price? You never know, the original dealer may have sold it cheap to the other dealer who sold it on to yu for the 'cost price' - or at least what he piad for it.

Sorry if any of my grammar or writing seems strange, but I'm extrremely tired... lol!

Thanks Peter, and you too again Katherine!

[Peter Roach]

Any idea how long they keep for, and do they keep as catipillars or do they go through their stages? I read somewhere (and this was to my surprisal, but understanding) that Mealworms are reared on food that sustains there worm stage, rather than allowing them to become Mealworm beetles?
I wouldn't mind getting some of these catipillars, but then I need to set up another accomadation, or ditch the crickets and use their tank!

Richard, they are not catapillars, they are grubs which live underground and burrow immediately they are unearthed.

Where did you read that mealworms are fed a food that retards their life cycle ?

Generally mealworm breeders in the US feed mealworms a hormone to get them to a bigger size but I havent heard of any in UK that do.

There are 2 types of 'mealworms'. The normal or standard mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) which is easy to keep grow and breed and readily pupates into beetles and the 'giant mealworm' ( Zophobas morio) which will NOT pupate if kept with other mealworms and so can be kept indefinately if fed an adequate diet.

[Peter Roach]

can you be so sure that you get them at cost price? You never know, the original dealer may have sold it cheap to the other dealer who sold it on to yu for the 'cost price' - or at least what he piad for it.

I may buy some spiders/scorps online at the price advertised but for almost all livestock/equipment and live/frozen food ? I havent paid retail price for so many years I cant remember