Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK, everyone, I know this is a pretty low ebb for insect activity, but I know spring is coming because my cats are shedding what look like more whole cats, and the basement is starting to fill up with Box Elder Bugs.

This spring I am eagerly awaiting the hatching out of my new crop of Bean Weevils. What beetle projects does everyone have going?

Hi all, my latest project is a rotten log. I brought it in and have it in a tank, with lots of leaf litter, and rotted wood so rotted that it feels like soil in your hands. If you find a really ripe log, it can be picked apart by hand, or by wedging a little garden trowl in it and seeing who lives there. If you find a lot of good stuff inside, the log is very ripe. Try finding a log that has been there for a long long time, that way, what you bring in the house will be much more mature, as some beetles take years to become adults. We are having a lot of fun on this project, watching to see what wakes up from hibernation. Spray the tank, or mist it daily to keep the humidity high. I have foil over the top also to keep the humidity up. The coolest thing we have seen is with the black light, we have about 20 millipedes that glow neon. bye now, Jen

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Neon millipdes? Coolness! Whereabouts do you live? Probably some exotic tropical zone >>sigh

NO, just in missouri. And the other night we were out in the woods, and turned off the flashlight, and we could see little glowing things in the leaf litter, I guess they were lightning bug babies. I found the funny neon millipedes inside a rotten rotten log, so rotten you could crumble itwith your hands. I have them in my tank now, I saw 2 of them cuddled up together, like spooning each other. It didnt look like mating. I really like having the tanks in the house, then we get to watch the behavior.

WELL, My own bettle season has opened at last! I just went out and inspected the Bettle Box - literally a cardboard packing box filled with beans. I opened the flap and saw a truly magnificent Bean Beetle perched on the rotten cardboard, surveying his domain. I was struck by how big he was compared to the ones I received in that box from the friend who mailed them to me by mistake. They came out of rattletree (locust) pods, and were about 1/4" long. This guy had to be 25% larger, very fat and sassy. I suspect he hatched out of one of the much larger beans I provided them to overwinter in -- a sack each of Limas and Red Kidneys. The bug guide does not explain whether it is possible for bigger beetles to come from bigger beans, but it certainly makes sense in a way. The first crop may have been undersized. They came from the desert, which can't offer very good pickings to a vegetarian beetle.

One thing I like about Bean Weevils is that they are furry.