- 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 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.
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.
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.
How often should I Feed my beetles?
Even if you choose to fulfill your beetles’ nutritional requirements with commercial beetle food, you should still give fruits, vegetables, bark, and other treats to the beetles once or twice per week to give them some variety in their diet. Do these beetles need any lighting or heating?
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 death feigning beetles live?
eight yearsBecause blue feigning-death beetles are still plentiful and live for an average of eight years, Pittman said, zoos and other institutions usually just collect them from the desert for exhibits.
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
Can you keep just one blue death feigning beetle?
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.
What do blue beetles eat?
Both adults and larvae feed on the foliage of cultivated and wild mints, Mentha spp.
How do you know when a beetle is dying?
Three signs that a bug is dead: Lying on its back. Shriveled or dried up. Curled up.
How big do blue death feigning beetles get?
around 18–21 mmDescription. The blue death feigning beetle grows to around 18–21 mm (0.71–0.83 in) from head to abdomen. The species name verrucosus, meaning 'warty', refers to the characteristic bumps on the beetle's elytra.
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.
How long does it take for beetles to starve?
But at room temperature, they are unlikely to survive for much longer than three months. Nymphs and young bed bugs starve within two weeks to a month. You can force bed bugs to starve by fitting a mattress encasement.
How to get rid of blue death feigning beetles?
Add 2 inches (5.1 cm) of substrate to the bottom of their habitat. 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.
How to get rid of beetles in my yard?
Strip off some small pieces of the bark with a sharp knife. Put the bark in the beetle habitat. Replace it with fresh bark every month. If you have several beetles, be sure to break the bark into a few pieces and scatter them around their habitat so everyone can have a chance at finding some.
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.
What does it mean when a blue death feigning beetle is active?
Blue death feigning beetles are diurnal, meaning that they are active during the day and sleep at night. They like to be safely hidden away at night.
Why is it important to keep beetles off of substrate?
It is important to keep the food you feed your beetles off of the substrate to prevent mold growth.
How to make a beetle hide?
Provide hiding places. Add some branches and twigs to the habitat. You can provide your beetles with a hiding spot by simply leaning a piece of bark against the side of the cage. You can also buy a wooden half log from a pet store to use as a hiding spot. A toilet paper roll that is half buried in the substrate works too.
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.
How to keep beetles away from my house?
Place the adult beetles in a container filled with 2-3” of dry sands. Keep the beetles at room temperature and low humidity. Feed them with dead insects, dog biscuits, or carrots.
Why does the Color of My Blue Death Feigning Beetle Turn Black?
The body of blue death feigning beetles is coated with a layer of wax, which gives it an unique blue color. When the wax is in contact with water directly, or indirectly due to high humidity, the color will turn dark.
Why cover a beetle housing?
You should cover the housing with a lid if you need to protect your beetles from pets or children. Ensure the housing is well ventilated if you are covering it with a lid.
Why is it so hard to breed blue death feigning beetles?
Breeding the blue death feigning beetles is very challenging, mainly due to the difficulties in inducing pupation. Not much is known about the life cycle of this beetle, and not many people have successfully bred them.
How to make a beetle cage?
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 hi de and climb . If you were keeping more beetles in the same container, make sure you increase the numbers of decors so that all beetles have a place to hide.
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 long does a blue dying beetle live?
That’s because it can live for as long as ten years. Unfortunately, this only serves to make it even more popular as an exotic pet.
Where does the Blue Death beetle live?
Furthermore, the great majority of its population appears in the northwest section of the continental United States.
Do scientists know much about invertebrates?
Yet sadly, for the moment, scientists studying the incredible invertebrate do not know much about this insect. This fact comes as something of a surprise, given recent developments. That holds true due to the fact that the species is rapidly becoming quite popular in the pet trade.
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…