# Confused flour beetles



## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

I'd like to start a culture of CFBs, but I'm not sure if they fly or not. I had a real nightmare with drugstore beetles a few years ago in an apartment, and want to make sure it's not repeated. 

I already culture dark mini-mealworms (no, they're not the same thing) and springtails. I'm a big fan of having backup cultures of other species in case the FF cultures should suddenly go sour like I've heard happening to others. I've had a few cultures die early but a mass die off has never happened to me, knock on wood, but I want to be prepared if it does.


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## JoshKaptur (Feb 17, 2004)

they do not fly.


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## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

Thanks, now I can buy some.


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2004)

I wanted to relate my dissapointment with flour beetles. I have ordered cultures from two different sources when they arrived they were nothing more than flour and 10 or so live beetles and dead exoskeletons of larger insects. I thought maybe there were live eggs or larvae, but one month later, still nothing. Can anyone suggest a dealer with consistent results?


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2004)

Flour beetles are, IMHO, a pain in the ass. They take a signifigant ammount of time to get going to a usable point, require alot of work by seperating the adults aqnd placing them into fresh flour containers every so often. They also seem to have an impact on allergies as alot of people I know (myself included) have had sneeze fits when trying to sift out larva for feeding. They also dont move around a great deal when exposed from the flour and surely dont seem to be able to survive the humid, wet conditions very well as mine always died within hours of being placed in a feed dish (the ones that weren't taken due to not moving). Not trying to steer you away from them and I'm sure others will disagree...just stating my experience with them. Best of luck!  

-Bill J.


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## JJuchems (Feb 16, 2004)

I am getting a few cultures from a friend. I do have one question, do they bite? This may sound dumb but I am allergic to insect bites pretty bad. It will not kill me or anything I just swell up at the bite pretty bad sometimes. 

Later and Happy Frogging,
Jason Juchems


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

I haven't had much luck with them either. However they are handy, you can just leave them in a container of medium... for who knows how long and if you need them...say between ff hatches they'll be there. I find waxworms to be a better thing, if they get a little big, my terribilis or day geckos still gobble them up, no problem. :wink: Every thing I've tried feeding them to absolutly loves them. However, they (like the flour beetles) should not be a staple item.


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## steelcube (Mar 17, 2004)

> Arklier wrote: I had a real nightmare with drugstore beetles a few years ago in an apartment


What does drugstore beetle look like?

SB


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## Ryan (Feb 18, 2004)

I heard of G&B auratus died from eating wax worms?


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## Ed Martin (Mar 25, 2004)

Bill, thanks for accurately capturing my frustration with confused flour
beetles. I'd rather spend a half day collecting termites than an hour trying
to sift the larvae from the beetles, only to have them die within the hour. I've had cultures going for years by just starting them fresh with new adults, but they are really only around for emergencies. 
ED


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## benmz (Feb 18, 2004)

Matt Mirabello told me of a technique he uses to get only larvae and no beetles. Once your original culture gets going. Have another container ready with medium. Sift the entire first culture with mesh that is small enough to get the beetles, any larvae that fall through don't worry about. Put what you have in the strainer (beetles, some larvae and no medium) into the next culture. Leave the 1st culture for about a week or more depending on temps. The beetles would have laid eggs there and smaller larvae would have made it through the strainer. After about a week or so. Sift the first culture again. You should find it teeming with larvae that can't make it through the sifter. THere you have it. Larvae and NO beetles to separate. You can keep moving the beetles back and forth. The process takes about 10 minutes for me.

-Ben


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## Homer (Feb 15, 2004)

Jason,

I've never had a problem with cfb's biting. However, I've seldom touched them. I feed cfb larvae once per week or so to my tincs and leucs, and the frogs really love them. It seems to be a great way to pack some weight onto any frogs that might be a little skinny.

I agree that they can be a little slow to get started. However, I had four 1/2 gallon containers going, and I could rotate them to get more than enough for 12 adult tinc-type frogs once per week (about 20-30 cfb larvae per frog per week). I simply took a wide sifter, sifted out the flour, and let the larvae wriggle through the screen onto a margarine lid. Then, I place the lid inside the terrarium, and it's chow time! The beetles get tapped back into the culture to lay more eggs. I've seen them alive in the terrarium for 3-4 days later as long as they stayed in the lid. If they get wet, they're dead in a few minutes.

I had some frogger friends over a few weeks ago who swore they would never use the flour beetle larvae again because of the hassle. After they watched me feed my frogs, they were happy to leave with some of my cultures and a sifter. We'll see if they bring the cultures back the next time they visit, or if they really like them! However, I would agree that it takes a lot of media and recovery time for cultures to be able to feed substantial amounts to a large collection. However, I don't have the problem of having a large collection (yet :wink: ).


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## 4thecrue (Feb 18, 2004)

Hi , guys i am just curious as to what medium you all are using, homemade? If so im looking for some ideas for a mix. I would like to start some new cultures.

Thanks , Damon


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## khoff (Feb 18, 2004)

1/2 whole wheat flour
1/2 white flour
a little yeast

Thats it.


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## AZDR_A (Mar 20, 2004)

*Confused Flour Beetles*

We have been using CFB for feeding for eight years. I think they are the easiest food to culture by far. I use 2 parts SIFTED(be sure to sift before mixing)Whole Wheat flour, 2 parts white flour and 1 part Brewers yeast. I then charge my cultures every 3-4 months with a about a 1/4 cup of brewers yeast. I only sift the cultures every two weeks. It may take some longer depending on the tempature you are keeping them at. I do have a major decrease in production in Dec and Jan, but other than that i keep mine in the Garage (which gets really warm) and they love it. One other thing to remember is not to get them moist or humid! Make sure what ever type of container you are using has a little air flow. I personally use the Sterilite shoe boxes. There is also more info on our website as to how to sift them.


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