- Make sure the beetles always have fresh fruit. Place a few small pieces of fruit on their food dish.
- Give the beetles fresh vegetables. Blue death feigning beetles are omnivorous, which means they will eat nearly anything you give them.
- Add variety to the beetles’ diet with vegetables and grains and other treats. Add small amounts of moistened dog and cat kibble or grains to their food dish.
- Put tree bark in the habitat to let the beetles eat like their wild counterparts. Find trees with lichens growing on the bark.
- Buy commercial beetle food for a mess-free solution. Find special beetle food at your local pet store or online.
What do Blue Death feigning beetles like to eat?
Blue death feigning beetles are omnivorous, which means they will eat nearly anything you give them. They often enjoy chopped carrots, celery, and lettuce. Give them 1 or 2 small pieces (about the size of your fingernail) at a time. Remove any uneaten pieces after 2 days.
What is the best substrate for Blue Death feigning beetles?
Blue-Death Feigning Beetles, since they are desert animals, do well with a dry desert substrate. Play sand is a good option.purchase it locally if you can, as it is much cheaper that way. You can get 50 lbs. for under $5 USD, at least in my area.
Can Blue Death feigning beetles be kept as pets?
Blue death feigning beetle is a small beetle species that can be kept as pets. It is easy to take care of, it requires small space, it doesn’t bite and it is cheap to own one. Most importantly, unlike other beetles, it can live for many years.
Can blue death feigning beetles eat bananas?
Food/Water: Blue death feigning beetles can eat various fruits and veggies, as that makes up most of their diet. Some safe fruit veg includes but is definitely not limited to: carrots, apples, lettuce, potatoes, strawberries, bell pepper, bananas, and so much more!
How long do blue death feigning beetles live?
eight yearsBlue death-feigning beetles have been known to live for as long as eight years, although predators that get wise to the beetles' act can shorten that life span considerably.
Do blue death feigning beetles eat plants?
0:152:02Blue Death Feigning Beetle - Cincinnati Zoo - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo you think oh yeah i've seen bugs. Uh-uh. This is from the southwest u.s desert. It's called theMoreSo you think oh yeah i've seen bugs. Uh-uh. This is from the southwest u.s desert. It's called the blue death feigning beetle not fainting feigning. Now how about that for a name. Blue death feigning
What do feigning death beetles eat?
Blue Death Feigning Beetles are decomposers in the wild. They will eat anything they can find such as fruits, vegetables, insect jelly and dead insects. Blue Death Feigning Beetles are scavengers and prefer having food available at all times.
What do blue beetles eat?
Both adults and larvae feed on the foliage of cultivated and wild mints, Mentha spp.
How do you know if a beetle is dying?
Generally, a bug on its back indicates that it is dead. If an insect is on its back, its instinct is to kick itself right-side up. If an insect is on its back too long, it will dry out and die....Three signs that a bug is dead:Lying on its back.Shriveled or dried up.Curled up.
Can beetles starve to death?
Eventually the insects do become weak and unable to procure food or water for themselves, and death most likely comes from dehydration or starvation for most insect species.
Are blue death feigning beetles social?
Blue death feigning beetles are communal insects. Although they are not always seen in groups throughout the day when they are looking for food, these insects can live in groups.
Do blue death feigning beetles dig?
Females will dig an inch or two down and will lay hundreds of eggs, usually in spring to summer. In the wild the female beetle would wander over a wide area to lay her eggs but in a small container they are highly concentrated.
What do blue death beetles eat?
Give the beetles fresh vegetables. Blue death feigning beetles are omnivorous, which means they will eat nearly anything you give them. They often enjoy chopped carrots, celery, and lettuce. Give them 1 or 2 small pieces (about the size of your fingernail) at a time. Remove any uneaten pieces after 2 days.
How to keep blue death feigning beetles from drying out?
Blue death feigning beetles are desert creatures, so the humidity should be kept low. Simply lightly mist the habitat with water once per week to keep it from drying out completely. The color of the beetles is based on the relative humidity.
What substrate do blue death feigning beetles prefer?
Because blue death feigning beetles are desert beetles, they prefer a sand based substrate. Play sand alone works fine, but many people like to mix in coconut fiber, or dead leaves into the sand. Do not use a dirt-based substrate. It can accumulate on the beetles' feet and become hazardous to their health.
What color are beetles?
Beetles living in a habitat with higher humidity will turn a blackish color, while beetles that are kept in low humidity, are bright blue. Lower humidity means more colorful beetles. If you live in an area of high humidity, you may want to invest in a hygrometer to measure the level of humidity in the terrarium.
Why do carrots need to be buried?
Bury carrots in the habitat to encourage breeding. These beetles are notoriously difficult to breed successfully. However, burying a few carrots in the habitat and keeping the substrate around them moist can help get your beetles to breed and provide a food source for the larvae when they hatch.
How many beetles can you keep in a tank?
Choose a glass or plastic tank. You can keep about 3-5 beetles in a habitat that size. Give the beetles plenty of room to wander around. Remember that a bigger space is always better. You can buy a glass terrarium or plastic critter keeper from a pet store, but a plastic storage bin also works.
How to keep beetles off of substrate?
Add a food dish. One small ceramic or plastic food dish should be able to hold enough food for many beetles. If you have a larger colony of beetles, you might want to consider adding multiple food dishes. It is important to keep the food you feed your beetles off of the substrate to prevent mold growth.
What do blue death feigning beetles eat?
The blue death feigning beetles are scavenger. They feed on decomposing plant and animal materials such as leaf litters and dead insects. They like protein. You can feed them with dead mealworms and/or crickets that can be obtained from pet stores. Alternatively, you can feed them with dog biscuits.
Where can I find blue death feigning beetles?
Like many other insects, you can either get it from your local pet stores (especially if you are living in the Southwestern United States) or from online stores.
Why is the death feigning beetle blue?
The blue coloration on the beetle is caused by the wax on its body which protects it from the hot sun. In their natural environments, predators such as desert tarantula eat what they kill.
How to tell if blue death beetles are male or female?
It is quite difficult to tell them apart though. To sex the blue death feigning beetles, look at their antennae under a magnifier. The antennae of male beetles look conspicuously hairy compared to that of the female beetles. The hairs on the antennae of the female beetles are tiny and barely noticeable.
How many beetles can a gal container hold?
A 1 gal container can house 2 beetles. The beetles do appreciate more space because they like to explore around. Fill the container with dry sands for about 2-3 inches in depth. Some people do add in a small portion of coco fiber, ~10-20%. Add some rocks and cactus skeletons for the beetles to hide and climb.
How long can beetles survive starvation?
While the beetles can withstand starvation for up to 2 to 3 months, you should always provide them with sufficient food.
When can I turn on the light on a beetle?
The light can be turned on at day time when the beetles are active, and off at night when the beetles are resting. The beetles can be kept at room temperature as they are adapted to hot and cold weathers in the desert. In the winter, I would use a heat mat to provide them additional heat during the day time.
What are the characteristics of blue death feigning beetles?
Other Characteristic Features: The blue death feigning beetles exhibit sexual dimorphism with visible differences seen in males and females. The male species are a little smaller than their female counterparts. They also have bristled red hairs on their antennae that can be seen under proper lighting.
Where does the Blue Death beetle live?
It mainly inhabits the desert regions of the southwestern parts of the United States.
What is the white larva of a beetle?
The white larva is large and grub-like. Blue Death Feigning Beetle Larvae. Pupa. Not much is known about the identification and description of the pupae. However, they closely resemble adults and the pupal phase takes place in the colonies within the soil where the larvae and adults thrive. Egg. The eggs are small and pale white.
Why are beetles blue?
These beetles appear powdery blue because of wax secretion that saves them from getting dehydrated in the desert climate by lessening their chances of losing moisture. Moreover, it also acts as a shield protecting the beetles from excessive heat in their habitats.
Do blue death feigning beetles need water?
Because of their long lifespan, hardy nature, and easy-maintenance, the blue death feigning beetle has become a popular pet choice. They do not require additional humidity and would suffice with a dry sand substrate. These beetles also do not need water dishes since they eat fruits and even cat and dog food.
Enclosure
Lighting/Heating
- Blue Death-Feigning Beetles are quite hardy, and can live long lives at room temperature with ambient light. However, they may be more active if the temperature conditions are similar to those they encounter in the wild. I use enclosures with metal screens, which allows me to provide heat and light from a lamp. For my small my bugarium, I use heat and light with this fixture: I use a 2…
Substrate
- Blue-Death Feigning Beetles, since they are desert animals, do well with a dry desert substrate. Play sand is a good option.purchase it locally if you can, as it is much cheaper that way. You can get 50 lbs. for under $5 USD, at least in my area.
Decor
- In addition to a dry, sand substrate, Blue-Death Feigning Beetles appreciate plenty of rocks and pieces of wood to climb on and to hide among. Cholla cactus skeletons look decorative, and naturally occur in the habitat of Blue Death-Feigning Beetles: You can also collect your own decor, but make sure it does not introduce any unwanted creatures to your beetles’ enclosure.
Breeding
- Blue Death-Feigning Beetles will mate and lay eggs often in captive conditions, as long as you keep males and females together. The larvae look a lot like mealworms, although they get larger. The difficult part about captive breeding BDFBs is that the larvae don’t tend to pupate. Dean Ryder cracked the code on this one. In this thread, he indicated how they will pupate when isolated in t…
Coloration
- Healthy Blue Death-Feigning Beetles kept in appropriate humidity and good ventilation have a light blue color to them, from the waxy secretion that protects them from the sun. If the beetles get wet, they will temporarily become much darker in color. It only takes a few days for their color to return to normal. If your beetles seem to dark, yet u should probably improve ventilation and/or r…