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Christmas beetles as feeders for lepisiota

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 12:21 am
by AntsSA
I was wandering if I could catch Christmas beetles (tons of them) and create my own feeders by breeding them

Re: Christmas beetles as feeders for lepisiota

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 8:30 am
by Batspiderfish
Their larvae are soil-dwelling root-feeders, so they would be difficult or impossible to culture in large numbers, in captivity.

Re: Christmas beetles as feeders for lepisiota

Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 9:13 am
by AntsSA
True
but the beetle as a feeder?

Re: Christmas beetles as feeders for lepisiota

Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 12:25 pm
by Batspiderfish
Feeding wild insects to your ants is unwise, since we don't know what the food has been exposed to. Many insects are resistant to chemicals and pesticides, so built up toxins can make their bodies poisonous to ants.