# a weevil feeding day pic heavy



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

well i feed them out like 2 times or 3 times a week 
a pile of weevils , man these things produce like no tomorrow
















who says u cant dust weevils?








chow time
































By somecandianguy, shot with Photosmart M415 at 2008-11-11


----------



## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

Nice! My mantellas and auratus love bean beetles!


----------



## IndianaJosh (Jun 20, 2008)

Where do you get your weevils from?


----------



## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

Craig, were you ever able to tell if your two beetles are the same species? Are they producing at the same rate?
-mark


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

im in canada , one group i ordered from ontario and the ones pictured just kinda showed up in some stored black eye beans before i got the other ones in but a day after i bought and ordered them.
going by the totally difrent productions between the 2 types im quite sure they are not the same.
there are folks here on db that do have them if your looking for them
craig


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

markbudde said:


> Craig, were you ever able to tell if your two beetles are the same species? Are they producing at the same rate?
> -mark


you beat my post lol
they produce very difrently , i get mild production from the maculatus{im not complaining and am happy to have these, more is better right}, and i take as much weevils in the pics 2 or 3 times a week from say 20 ish active cultures, i mean i have a few more started but didnt count those.
im not heating these either at room temp for me thats about 23 or 24 c right now.im starting to get issues with humidity on my delicups thought because im just using regular non vented lids , need to get me some vented ones.and its not that i have had these all that long either mark i pmed you in the first few days of finding them
craig


----------



## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

Just post a wanted ad for bean beetles and someone will respond.


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I can't wait to try these... I think we need a good write up on breeding them.


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

klye youll love them super cool

write up on breeding 
put 2 inches og blackeyed beans in delicup add a dozen or so beatles put top on sit on top rack of shelf wait 3 weeks give or take and feed out that simple
yea i know its kinda basic but it really is that easy
craig


----------



## sNApple (Mar 19, 2007)

somecanadianguy said:


> you beat my post lol
> they produce very difrently , i get mild production from the maculatus{im not complaining and am happy to have these, more is better right}, and i take as much weevils in the pics 2 or 3 times a week from say 20 ish active cultures, i mean i have a few more started but didnt count those.
> im not heating these either at room temp for me thats about 23 or 24 c right now.im starting to get issues with humidity on my delicups thought because im just using regular non vented lids , need to get me some vented ones.and its not that i have had these all that long either mark i pmed you in the first few days of finding them
> craig


hey did you give me the maculatus ones?


----------



## Catfur (Oct 5, 2004)

kyle1745 said:


> I can't wait to try these... I think we need a good write up on breeding them.


Here is the ultimate write up on breeding bean beetles:

Add beans, add beetles, wait. 

Oh, and make sure you culture them in something like an insect cup or a mason jar with a coffee filter top, so they have air, and can't escape.


----------



## Logqan (Sep 24, 2008)

I have some on the way to me! can't wait to start breeding and feeding these!


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

Catfur said:


> Here is the ultimate write up on breeding bean beetles:
> 
> Add beans, add beetles, wait.
> 
> Oh, and make sure you culture them in something like an insect cup or a mason jar with a coffee filter top, so they have air, and can't escape.


mine are in normal deli cup lids it works fine but i lose the old culture to humidty, i need to order insect tops lol
craig


----------



## asilsdorf (Sep 7, 2005)

Kyle,

PM me if you want some. I'm here in Columbus and have a few cultures going.




kyle1745 said:


> I can't wait to try these... I think we need a good write up on breeding them.


----------



## crb_22601 (Jan 12, 2006)

Just curious on how you get the beetles out. Do you just pick them out one by one or is there an easier way?


----------



## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

I just tap them into a 1 gallon ziplock, dust and then feed out to my mantellas and auratus. 

Kyle, check out BeanBeetles.org/Bean Beetles: A Model Organism-Home Page - it has everything you will ever need to know about culturing these buggers.


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

pics say 1000 words, and cant get rid of tad pic sorry


----------



## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

is there a website that sells these guys?
and what is the nutritonal content of these beetles as opposed to fruitflies springtails, and pinhead crickets?

oh.. and will the uneaten beetles be of any concern to any kinds of plants? or do then only eat and use beans?


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

ok todays feeding to show continued production , ps dusted with herpivite this time hence the dif color 








By somecandianguy at 2008-11-14








By somecandianguy, shot with Photosmart M415 at 2008-11-14








By somecandianguy, shot with Photosmart M415 at 2008-11-14
to be honest i see very little in the way of uneaten ones the frogs tends to gorge them selfs so far, no plant damage seen by me
craig 
look in want adds i do belive theres a post now


----------



## wimpy (Dec 14, 2006)

Which frogs won't take them? Are you feeding them to thumbs? I've tried Phoenix worms many times but most all my frogs just spit 'em out. Tried crazy beetle larvae with mostly the same result.


----------



## AlexRible (Oct 16, 2007)

wimpy said:


> Which frogs won't take them? Are you feeding them to thumbs? I've tried Phoenix worms many times but most all my frogs just spit 'em out. Tried crazy beetle larvae with mostly the same result.


you beat me to the punch, I was just about to ask if any frogs don't like them. It seems like some of mine can be picky eaters. Also I have heard stories that alotta darts don't like beatles for some reason.


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

wimpy said:


> Which frogs won't take them? Are you feeding them to thumbs? I've tried Phoenix worms many times but most all my frogs just spit 'em out. Tried crazy beetle larvae with mostly the same result.


feed to sparlingly because of size
almriante pum
bojra vent

feed in large numbers 
tinc alanis
tinc cobal
tinc new river
3 types auratus
tricolor
leucomelas
vittatus
and what ever else i left out , basically i dont have a frog thats said no to them, i never had luck with phoneix worms either well minimal luck
craig 
im sure people can add to the eat them dont eat them list


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

Interesting...

How long has everyone been feeding these guys to their frogs?

Also, how many cultures do you have going at one time... Hate to think how many I would need to have going at the same time to feed mine


----------



## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

somecanadianguy said:


> feed to sparlingly because of size
> almriante pum
> bojra vent
> 
> ...


Azureus will def. take them with great gusto.


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

melissa68 said:


> Interesting...
> 
> How long has everyone been feeding these guys to their frogs?
> 
> Also, how many cultures do you have going at one time... Hate to think how many I would need to have going at the same time to feed mine


i have about 20 active cultures im feeding out of and about 15 i just started , i have had them since june been feeding since then.they can produce almost as much as hydie i think so its well worth it for me , more so beause it eases the strain on my flys.
i know this is frowned upon but i have 2 cbb auratus my babys that were about 6 months old 2 months ago , i have fed them nothing but weevils 2 or 3 times a week , i notice no difrence in thier feces or anything really, if i see any changes in health or behavoir ill change things {very familar with auratus} i want to see if these things could be a main food source, i do dust them too.
think of it this way 5 bucks for beans 10 ish for a starter culture a couple bucks in delicups and lids , its worth a try right? 
and for the people wanting me to sell them , this is not an add im in canada and WILL not ship these to the usa i simply love these things and how easy i find them and hope a few others will give them a try.they last a long time since june i had to dispose of four cultures thats it , the rest i just add more dry beans too.
for disposal i would strongly recomend frezing beans and container for a minimum of 72 hrs to ensure death.
pms for questions are cool and there are more people working with these i wish theyed jump in and give thier opinions too.
craig


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

btw...is that a New River tinc in your photo? Just wondering, didn't realize there were some in Canada.

Melis


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

melissa68 said:


> btw...is that a New River tinc in your photo? Just wondering, didn't realize there were some in Canada.
> 
> Melis


yup thats new river , my friends had a lot of luck breeding them there are even some of his at the vancouver aquarium, they have made thier way all around bc quite possibly further.
mark pepper understory also recenlty brought some in aswell for sale
craig


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

I have a wc pair that have breed for years. Just don't see them often & most confuse them with Azureus. Different blues... . 

Wait until they get full size. My female's nick name is Bertha....she is big!!


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

melissa68 said:


> I have a wc pair that have breed for years. Just don't see them often & most confuse them with Azureus. Different blues... .
> 
> Wait until they get full size. My female's nick name is Bertha....she is big!![/QUOTE
> tell me about it lol he/she is about 6 now its mom was a monster
> craig


----------



## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Just noticed something interesting that I thought I would share. For the first time tonight, I fed both weevils and FF's at the same time. Dusted 'em up together and dumped the works into the azureus tank as usual. Both frogs ate only the weevils until they were mostly gone - only then did they move onto the FF's. 

Intriguing. 

I'm attaching a couple pics of the carnage.  



















Craig, have you tried this yet? Feeding both at the same time?

Cheers,

Mike


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

Are the weevils a little bigger than the hydei? I have noticed that my tincs & azureus will ignore smaller food and eat the big stuff first. They will also eat stuff moving around first as well. 

Are they more active than ffs too?

Interesting observation. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

melissa68 said:


> Are the weevils a little bigger than the hydei? I have noticed that my tincs & azureus will ignore smaller food and eat the big stuff first. They will also eat stuff moving around first as well.
> 
> Are they more active than ffs too?
> 
> Interesting observation. Thanks for sharing.


The weevils are quite a bit bigger then the FF's so that may indeed be what's going on. 

IME they both move around quite a bit - the weevils being a bit slower moving than the FF's.


----------



## sNApple (Mar 19, 2007)

craigggg you never answered my question


----------



## housevibe7 (Sep 24, 2006)

I also feed these guys and my terribillis think it is their birthdays.... They are normally fairly voracious anyway, but these make them leap across the tank to get to them... I didn't even think of dusting them. Good idea.


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

IMO - frogs are pretty greedy. They always seem to go to for the biggest food in the tank & only if it is moving. 

When I feed wax worms this behavior is very obvious. They will walk right by small wax worms to the biggest ones I drop in. Just wondering if anyone else had noticed that or not.



afterdark said:


> The weevils are quite a bit bigger then the FF's so that may indeed be what's going on.
> 
> IME they both move around quite a bit - the weevils being a bit slower moving than the FF's.


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

sNApple said:


> craigggg you never answered my question


hey sorry wade missed this completly ,you have the ones i have pictured and found,the others i have are just getting going now for me.
craig 
ps man just call if i forget to awnser ya lol


----------



## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

somecanadianguy said:


> pics say 1000 words, and cant get rid of tad pic sorry


Yeah, sifting them out is the way to go.


----------



## MJ (Jun 16, 2005)

melissa68 said:


> Interesting...
> 
> How long has everyone been feeding these guys to their frogs?


Melis,

I've been feeding these to my frogs for about 18 months now and they are superb the frogs go nuts for them as mentioned and they are great for finicky eaters they just seem to create a unbeatable feeding response 

Seem to be popular as when I do my bug cocktail feeding the frogs go right for the weevils/beetles and there's a few other insects to choose lol


----------



## adrian72 (Mar 5, 2008)

I would like to put my 2 c in. I have also started feeding BB for the last month or so and my frogs are happy and fat for it. I tried Hydi and had very poor result with culturing them and once the BB culture got started there is no stopping them. I have given cultures to my friends to get them into BB. Easy to culture and feed by far easier than FF. No mixing of media and waitin forit to cool down and all that stuff. I place a cardboard toilet roll tube in the culture for the BB to climb on and take that out to feed. What a great food for frogs. If anybody needs any then please PM me.
Adrian


----------



## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

Here is a silly question.
Are the weevils the same as beetles?


----------



## basshummper (Jan 13, 2008)

Bcs TX said:


> Here is a silly question.
> Are the weevils the same as beetles?


yep, same thing


----------



## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

I have been looking online for these and all they have are the rice flour beetles if anyone knows of a supplier of these in the states would you pm me?


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but since these are considered a pest species and can be harmful with crops there are some rules/regulations regarding shipping them.





Bcs TX said:


> I have been looking online for these and all they have are the rice flour beetles if anyone knows of a supplier of these in the states would you pm me?


----------



## bothriechis83 (Oct 7, 2008)

I have a very effective way of separating them from the beans. Take a 16oz deli cup and drill a bunch of holes in the bottom. Make the holes just smaller than the size of the beans. Set this cup in a 32oz cup. Pour the beans into the upper cups and shake the cup to seperate them. Very easy.


----------



## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

I read on the internet they are illegal in US and Canada. Probably why I am having such a hard time finding a culture.


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

The waiting is killing me... I had a couple adults when I got mine, but they are dead now and Im waiting for the next round so I can make more cultures. Just hoping they are ok as so far nothing. Its only been about 3 weeks or so. Ive read it can take 5+ weeks with room temps.

Melissa if I get these going ill get you some.


----------



## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

lol I know how you feel Kyle, I have zero living adults at the moment. I swear I've killed the culture every time but when I least expect it, its teeming with them again. If you make enough small cultures and offset the timing you can keep them going non stop. I'm not that organized though.


----------



## Logqan (Sep 24, 2008)

My culture of bean beetles came in the mail a couple weeks ago and all the adults inside were dead due to freezing to death. This was very dissapointing but I held on to the culture just in case eggs pulled through. Now I have two cultures and 100s of adults making eggs. I have thrown a few in here and there to see how the frogs like them and no mantella/dart I own has turned them down.....I set my cultures on the edge of my cable box so they stay a little warmer than room temp.

point is they are worth it and easy to culture.


----------



## CharleyT (Nov 29, 2008)

I have a question. Are you feeding adult beetles, or the larvae? The photos (to me) appear to show an adult beetle.
Charley


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

CharleyT said:


> I have a question. Are you feeding adult beetles, or the larvae? The photos (to me) appear to show an adult beetle.
> Charley


yup adult beatles or weevils call them what u like , the larve stay in the beans till they get bigger
craig


----------



## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

Same experience. It took about 5 weeks but now my cultures are booming again. Wild!


----------



## TDK (Oct 6, 2007)

I took one culture 2-3 weeks ago and have started 9 cultures--one being in a 1 gallon coffee container and set all on top of my cable box for the heat (like someone before in this post stated earlier) and it looks like they are going to explode. Much easier and less messy than fruit flies. This is a good addition for feeding your collection.


----------



## skips (Dec 15, 2008)

melissa68 said:


> Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but since these are considered a pest species and can be harmful with crops there are some rules/regulations regarding shipping them.


I would also like to know if there are any regulations restricting these. I got mine at a show and have seen them at the taylor michigan show and the cleveland ohio show. They seem like the perfect feeder. If they're anything like mantids they probably are regulated by APHIS and might not be technically illegal, but are probably interstate or country shipping restricitions. It always seems that no one really knows what APHIS thinks is legal or illegal. Not even the APHIS.
I do know that there are tons of species of weavils. Alot if not most of which are very host specific. They use them as a biological control in my area to take care of invasive eurasian water milfoil. They only eat that specific plant and leave all the rest.


----------



## iridebmx (Oct 29, 2008)

will they tear up your viv? i heard some beetles will rip anything apart


----------



## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

how often are you guys pulling from your cultures? i harvested a bunch from my cultures a few weeks ago and they have yet to be producing more than just a scattered ammount of beetles.... am i not keeping them warm enough? they are at 70 +/- 5 deg 

also i never really saw an explosion just a gradual increase over a week of adults...


----------



## TDK (Oct 6, 2007)

SOMECANADIANGUY--what you have shown in the first pics are actual weevils and not bean beetles--correct? Are you breeding the weevils in black eyed peas as well? The local feed and seed store has corn that has weevils in them but they didn't produce so well for me in corn and now I wonder if they may produce better in black eyed peas. Any thought from you and anyone else? Go to your local feed and seed and see what kind of beetle/pest they may have in their grains.


----------



## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

i belive them to be weevils yea but havent confired anything yet. yup use black eyed beans 
no problems at all so far with plants or any thing tank wise.

i can hit the same culture every few days once they really bloom.
my best results are not to harvest at all in the first week of bloom and then they really explode.
craig


----------



## bmasar (Dec 13, 2007)

Haven't had a chance to work with these yet, but it seems like another advantage of BBs is that they don't escape from a tank as easily as FFs. Is this correct?


----------



## skips (Dec 15, 2008)

It depends, at least for me. My heidii never escape because they never fly. My melanogaster escape frequently (maybe 1-2/feeding) because they do fly when I'm tapping them into the cup with the powder. The bean beatles escape, but I have no idea how. It seems like people have come up with better methods of feeding them out than I use.


----------



## bmasar (Dec 13, 2007)

skips said:


> It depends, at least for me. My heidii never escape because they never fly. My melanogaster escape frequently (maybe 1-2/feeding) because they do fly when I'm tapping them into the cup with the powder. The bean beatles escape, but I have no idea how. It seems like people have come up with better methods of feeding them out than I use.


I'm referring to escaping from the tank. I was assuming by the look of them that the beetles are too big to squeeze out of the mesh.


----------



## skips (Dec 15, 2008)

bmasar said:


> I'm referring to escaping from the tank. I was assuming by the look of them that the beetles are too big to squeeze out of the mesh.


Right! well, I cant speak to that from experience. I've got the top of my tank seran wrapped. I dont know though. My weevils are about 2 mm wide whereas my grating is about 3.5 mm. It doesn't seem like there's much a heidii could fit through that a weevil couldnt.


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Still waiting on mine to boom, I want these to do well which is maybe why im so impatient. I think I have had them about 4-5 weeks now.


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

kyle1745 said:


> Still waiting on mine to boom, I want these to do well which is maybe why im so impatient. I think I have had them about 4-5 weeks now.



I have had mine since the middle of November and nothing has hatched yet - been a little disappointed so far.


----------



## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

patience is def key with these guys. I just saw my first few adults since november two days ago, last night I had about 20, expect about 50+ tonight.  Sometimes a little jump in temp helps get em going.


----------



## bobtpa (Aug 21, 2006)

The adult beetles in the culture I received mid-October didn't survive (we had an extreme early cold snap). I kept the beans just in case. That culture has been sitting on my desk for about 10 weeks with no signs of life. Much to my surprise when I came in this morning there were 20-30 beetles running around among the beans! So, don't give up hope!


----------



## rozdaboff (Feb 27, 2005)

For those still waiting for blooms, my suggestion would be to keep them warmer. I place my cultures on top of my light fixtures [a surface temperature reading showed ~95F]. This keeps the beans warm - and I think gets the larva to grow and morph faster. I get blooms every 3-4 weeks. I only have 4-32oz cultures - but when they bloom - you can hear the beetles moving about from any part of the frog room.


----------



## TDK (Oct 6, 2007)

Bean Beetles--my cultures have exploded and I have fed my Azureus, Leucomelas and Mantellas twice now, 2 days in a row. The first time they were a little hesitant but ate but the second time they have ignored them. Anybody else having the same happen? What I thought was a great addition to my food supply may not be after all. I'm not ready to give up but maybe only offer once or twice per week. What's your thoughts on this?


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Ill have to find a warmer spot, but today I decided to cut a bean open to make sure I was not waiting for the heck of it. In a single bean I found 4-5 thriving larva... I'm guessing I do not have too long to wait based on their size.

Patients is not one of my strong points...


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

I have placed mine on top of a light fixture as well - was thinking about trying to cut a few open as well. 

Figured something was going on based on the sheer number of holes in the beans. There were not that many holes when I first got the culture.


----------

