# Culturing Bean Beetles



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Those of you that use bean beetles know that they are a valuable food source.Those that don't should consider at least trying them.When you try them for the first time it's fun to watch,because the frogs will eagerly go after them because of the way they move.Usually the frogs will spit them out because they don't know what to make of the harder bodies,but after a few attempts they usually pig them up.They are not good for very small frogs or most thumbs,but tincs and anything bigger than a thumb will relish them.Even if it's a back up to ffs in case they crash.
They don't smell which is always a good thing. Bean beetles are super easy,cheap,and clean as far as cultures go.

I did an experiment a while back to see if there were any other beans that would work as well as Black eyed peas. After trying about 15 types of beans,some peas,and whole corn I found one interesting discovery which I use to this day and wanted to share.I found that whole green peas worked very well,better than I or anyone else would have thought.They take a little longer to emerge from the whole peas than the black eyed peas but boomed and reboomed just the same which I found to be great because when the black eyed peas were done with their first boom the whole peas were just starting to boom.Now when I culture my bean beetles I use both black eyed peas and whole peas in every culture to lengthen the life of the culture itself.The whole peas are also a bit cheaper which is another plus.

Culturing them is very easy and clean.I first start with a ff cup.I then fill the bottom of the cup with about 1 inch~ of black eyed peas,then add about 1 inch~ of whole peas.This is all the substrate you will need.I add about 50+ bean beetles and a coffee filter upside down.Leave the beetles in there.They do not eat at this stage of their life and will lay eggs and die after about 10-14 days.From this point on it's just a waiting game.After approximately 4-5 weeks(depending on temperature) they will start to boom and you start the process all over again.After you seed your new cultures you are left with a lot of yummie treats for your frogs.The whole peas will extend the life of the culture.The culture will boom again in another month so don't throw them away after the first boom.If strategically done right(start a new set of cultures aprox. every week),you will have a steady supply and never run out for very cheap.When I seed a new culture with my fresh emergents I tap the cup on the side so the beetles fall onto the coffee filter then tap what I want from the filter into the new culture.When I replace the filter into the original cup I put it back int the cup like you would in a coffee maker so when I want to feed I just simply tap the cup and the beetles fall into the bottom of the filter like a little bowl making it easy to empty them into a dusting cup with no frass.Some people modify lids with smaller holes so they can collect the beetles without the beans but it also collects frass which I prefer not to have in my dusting cups which is why I use the filter method.I hope this helps,enjoy your beetles.


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