# Staggering cycles of bean weevils



## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

So, I've got bean weevils, and like them for my larger frogs...what I don't like is that I get enough of them to feed 3 times the large frogs I have for a week and a half, then none for around 6 weeks.
I would like to have staggered cultures so that I can feed from them somewhere closer to every 2 weeks.
I currently keep them at room temp.
Thinking of trying putting a culture in the fridge for a week or two (gotta love being a bachelor) and at the same time, a culture in the hot water heater closet (around 82F all day, all year round). Plus, a standby culture at room temp just in case.

Any other suggestions?


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

Dancing frogs said:


> So, I've got bean weevils, and like them for my larger frogs...what I don't like is that I get enough of them to feed 3 times the large frogs I have for a week and a half, then none for around 6 weeks.
> I would like to have staggered cultures so that I can feed from them somewhere closer to every 2 weeks.
> I currently keep them at room temp.
> Thinking of trying putting a culture in the fridge for a week or two (gotta love being a bachelor) and at the same time, a culture in the hot water heater closet (around 82F all day, all year round). Plus, a standby culture at room temp just in case.
> ...


Yep, we were in the same situation. Now we just try to make a new culture or two every week right along with the fruit fly schedule. I haven't tried slowing them in the fridge yet, but don't see why that wouldn't work. I would just try to chill them for a few days to start and 82 degrees should knock about a week off the culture time too. A fresh culture with just fresh eggs might hold up better to the fridge treatment, but I would be curious to experiment with both the eggs and incubating larvae. Since I'm not a bachelor at the moment I'll let you do the experimenting though  Please do keep us posted on the results.

Thanks Brian!


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## EricT (Nov 10, 2007)

Make 3 times as many cultures as you will ever need. Then split them on a staggered sched.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

Already tried that, hence having 3 times as much as I need during the week and a half morph period.
Doesn't accomplish what I want.


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## Corpus Callosum (Apr 7, 2007)

Aside from making one culture right when the beetles morph out, you can harvest a few beetles and keep them alive longer in a separate container by giving them a water/food source. Then make another culture with them two weeks later. The fridge method sounds like it would work well too, as long as it's not too cold and kills them. Once you get two cultures staggered by a two week or so gap it gets easier to keep a perpetual harvest. 

Keep us posted!


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## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

I try to set a couple up every week. One new thing I'm trying is to set up a culture with just a few beans. In 1 week add more beans and a few more beetles. Do the same in another week. Do this for a month or two. My guess is the culture will hatch for a longer time and even out the blooms and busts.


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

Michael Shrom said:


> I try to set a couple up every week. One new thing I'm trying is to set up a culture with just a few beans. In 1 week add more beans and a few more beetles. Do the same in another week. Do this for a month or two. My guess is the culture will hatch for a longer time and even out the blooms and busts.


Very clever! I wonder how many larvae each bean can support?? If your goal is to creat a slow and steady stream of beetles that sounds like it would work. The only problem I can forsee is that you will be stuck adding beans and beetles endlessly to your culture to maintain that steady bloom. Probably a good way to go if you only have a few frogs to feed and don't want to be over run with 100's of beetles all at once. Good idea!


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## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

My fridge method didn't work. I'd refer to Corpus' method for staggering as probably the best way to do it.

-Nish


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

I suspect from observations that one larvae per bean is likely.

I add 1/4 cup of beans at 1 week intervals and harvest the beatles using coffee filters. Works great. 

Every 6 weeks I toss the 'old' cultures and start them with a fresh set of beans. I have about 12 cx going at anytime...in staggered stages of new beans/ old beans/ few bean-many beans etc.

They still boom and bust, but it is more a function of me being consistent [or not] then the beetles cycle.

Staggering and adding beans at intervals is the way to go.

Best,


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## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

Just as an aside, I don't have many large darts (only auratus and leucs atm). My leucs don't like these things. What frogs do?

The leucs will eat them but they work at swallowing them and will stop eating after a few of them. There will be at least a few sitting around for a while whereas if they were hydei they'd be gone.

-Nish


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## salix (Mar 28, 2008)

I feed them to my terribilis, citronellas, reeds & azureus, they all seem to love them.


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

Lets remember that each individual frog will have some say in this too...  Some frogs may perfer a Big Mac and some just can live without the Wopper. Some like pepsi, other have to have coke... 

The key points to remember are to try feeding the new food items when they are HUNGRY! Not after you just fed them 3000 hydei that morning or the day before. You should also give them at least a few cracks at the new food (when they are hungry) too.

Case in point. My girlfriend told me she has hated peanut butter her entire life. Can't stand it. Won't touch it. She also loves chocolate. I mean LOVES it. I tried for months and months to try and get her to eat a reeses peanut butter cup. She finally gave in and hated it. I talked her into trying it a second time. No go - gross... Then a few weeks later she had a chocolate craving with no chocolate in the house. It was an emergency, so she tried sucking the chocolate off a couple peanut butter cups. She threw the defiled peanut butter away after the first few - these were the little bite sized ones  Well... low and behold... guess who loves peanut butter cups now??? The moral of the story is to just give them a few chances and make sure they try it when they really want some food. It's funny how your attitude can help you decide what you like and what you don't...


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## syble (Mar 20, 2007)

these things crash eventually?!?! I think the culture i got missed the memo... I got the first culture in the beginning of november, it was an old one, I took weevils from there and put them in 4 or 6 other cultures. The key to getting continuous production it probably a combination of mixes of beans (some hatch faster) and adding adults to the cultures a couple times. 

I harvest mine with a strainer, i sift the beans, toss the sifted ones all in the same container, and then devide them up into how ever many cultures I started with. I get continual production can harvest a couple times a week. My frogs don't seam thrilled by them, they eat them but they still do the whole stomach heave thing, its alarming to watch.
Sib


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