# Bean bettles



## bsr8129 (Sep 23, 2010)

How do u harvest bean bettles from their culture?


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/60638-bean-beetle-collection-2.html#post526406

Ed


----------



## erik s (Apr 12, 2010)

I use the empty cup method...what I do is I culture my bb's in the 16oz plastic cups....take your producing culture and pour it into another 16oz cup, there will be beetles clinging onto the previous cup..... tap into your tank, then repeat!!!


----------



## Dizzle21 (Aug 11, 2009)

Mine are in a 32oz delicup. I have a couple slightely crumpled coffee filters in the cup. I put the culture in the freezer for no more than 30 sec. Pull it out and the bb are not moving. Pull out a coffee filter and tap it into the tank or dusting cup.


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

If you use a mesh top like in the link I posted you can remove virtually all of the emerged beetles from the cultures which goes a long way to preventing the bottom layer of the cultures from molding. If you prevent the bottom from molding, you can actually get more than three emergences from as single culture (and small emergences for up to six months past that point with smaller and smaller beetles). 

Some comments,

Ed


----------



## mad6291 (May 28, 2012)

Where could one obtain a starter culture of these feeders?? I have not been able to get ahold of them. Any info is appreciated, thanks!!


----------



## erik s (Apr 12, 2010)

If you were in California I could send you some...


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

mad6291 said:


> Where could one obtain a starter culture of these feeders?? I have not been able to get ahold of them. Any info is appreciated, thanks!!


You will need to find someone in your state that has a culture. It is illegal to ship them between states without the proper permits. 

Ed


----------



## mad6291 (May 28, 2012)

The chase just got better. ..


----------



## motydesign (Feb 27, 2011)

if you put your location in one of us might be able to help


----------



## Reef_Haven (Jan 19, 2011)

Ed said:


> If you prevent the bottom from molding, you can actually get more than three emergences from as single culture (and small emergences for up to six months past that point with smaller and smaller beetles).
> 
> Ed


Ed,

Are you adding new beans after each emergence? My beans are completely depleted after a much smaller second emergence; or maybe you start your cultures with fewer beatles initially.
I usually get two or three beatles emerging from each bean on the first emergence. By the second emergence, there is usually not enough bean left for the beatle to fully develop.


----------



## motydesign (Feb 27, 2011)

possibly try using less beetles on the set up of the culture? or use more beans maybe.


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Reef_Haven said:


> Ed,
> 
> Are you adding new beans after each emergence? My beans are completely depleted after a much smaller second emergence; or maybe you start your cultures with fewer beatles initially.
> I usually get two or three beatles emerging from each bean on the first emergence. By the second emergence, there is usually not enough bean left for the beatle to fully develop.


\

I do not add new beans to the established culture. I seed the new cultures with beetles sieved from the older cultures. I get multiple beetles from each bean as well. The only time I don't get a good second emergence is when I don't sieve the beetles out of the culture and the bottom of the culture molds. 

Here are two pictures of the first emergence and the second emergence. The third picture is the yield I get from the first emergence using the mesh to screen them out of the beans. You can see the new cultures set up next to the older cultures in the second picture. 

Ed


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

motydesign said:


> possibly try using less beetles on the set up of the culture? or use more beans maybe.


If you use too many beans you can have the beans mold as well. The larva are metabolizing the starch in the beans and one of the waste products is water...

Ed


----------



## mlitton (Dec 14, 2008)

Ed said:


> If you use too many beans you can have the beans mold as well. The larva are metabolizing the starch in the beans and one of the waste products is water...
> 
> Ed


I second this. My cultures were doing well so I thought more beans =more beetles. What I ended up with was a funky soup. Cut back on the beans and they're doing great again.


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

*Re: Bean beetles*

am trying to figure out a method for continuous propagation of the beetles..I have my first culture from Jeremy (a lot escaped unnoticed overnight from a less than totally secured top...) ...and have divided that culture into three, with new beans in two of the cultures. So how do I start to create a flow of beetles?? Do I need to get another culture, divide that...and perhaps a third culture which would also be divided??


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Actually if you use the same method to harvest the beetles as I do, you can easily set up new cultures just like you do with fruit flies. In my experience the buildup of material in the bottom of the cups leads to increased risk of mold in the bottom layers of the culture. This can also lead to the lower layers of the culture ending up like a solid chunk. 

Ed


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

well, if I were having better success with FFs. perhaps the culturing of the beetles wouldn't be as important...but that isn't the case...sometimes I get good production and now with the current weather, things aren't so great. Perhaps if I had a better understanding of the life cycle, timing of larva emergence, etc., I could better plan on a continuous supply...I've read the obvious threads but perhaps I'm missing some that you could direct me to...thanks for the imput.


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Judy S said:


> well, if I were having better success with FFs. perhaps the culturing of the beetles wouldn't be as important...but that isn't the case...sometimes I get good production and now with the current weather, things aren't so great. Perhaps if I had a better understanding of the life cycle, timing of larva emergence, etc., I could better plan on a continuous supply...I've read the obvious threads but perhaps I'm missing some that you could direct me to...thanks for the imput.


Hi Judy,

with bean beetles, you aren't collecting the larva since they are only found inside the beans (they burrow in from the egg). Instead you are collecting the beetles themselves. The life cycle is approximately 30 days and the beetles once they have emerged have a lifespan that runs close to 14 days. This makes it very easy to always have some on hand to feed out. 


Here is a culture manual on them http://www.beanbeetles.org/handbook/handbook.pdf 

Does that help? 

Ed


----------



## mad6291 (May 28, 2012)

Thank you for the information regarding obtaining these feeders. I have updated my location for future reference and help. Cheers


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

thank you, Ed, for that PDF--it will be my bedtime reading tonight...


----------



## RibbidyReptiles (Jul 14, 2012)

Hi, I'm new to the hobby and was wondering if bean beetles could be a staple diet for PDF and if so which is more nutritious bean beetles or fruit flies. Thanks!


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

There isn't any data comparing them as a food source to fruit flies. 

Some comments,

Ed


----------

