june bugs

[kmgcantswim]

so my house is slowly becoming infested with june bugs and i was wondering if it was okay for my chameleon to eat them

 

[kmgcantswim]

i would really like to know before i offer it to him

thanks

 

[iLik3LIzards]

i say nay.

 

[Texas Ranger]

Ewww. That is the one bug besides bees and spiders that I cant stand. I will play with dubias all day. But those other 3 give me the creeps.

 

[jdog1027]

Junebugs have a very unpleasant noxious smell about them; I wouldn't do it personally.

 

[kmgcantswim]

so that's a no?
i just liked the idea of hi9m eating something i can find with no problem instead of me having to go to the pet store and buying him food

 

[iLik3LIzards]

something about june bugs just says no. i imagine theyd be bitter like lady bugs.

theres a member on here, sandrachameleon, she writes amazing blogs and theres one on wild insects and im pretty sure june bugs is on the list, its a HUGE list.

feeding wild insects is usually a bad idea because of parasites.

 

[kmgcantswim]

that's good to know ill look up that list when i get home from for
ill avoid the june bugs. i don't wanna do anything that may harm my little guy.
thanks for the help

 

[iLik3LIzards]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/213-use-wild-caught-insects.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20060503233712/www.chameleonjournals.com/husbandry/

well they on the good list. i would defently gutload them for a few days first. get all the nasty previously eaten junk outa there.

 

[kmgcantswim]

ha how interesting. ill defiantly do that. im not even sure that my chameleon would like them but im interested to find out. i live in Houston and in the summer there are so many of them around here

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I fed a few once. They have hard shells and a lot of chitin so aim for the smaller june bugs because your cham will really have to chew it up and that may be hard if it's too big.

 

[iLik3LIzards]

yeah just read the cautions below.

i also always like to refer to this blog:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

 

[fluxlizard]

I feed june bugs to my lizards here and there during the summer.

I never noticed a noxious odor about them.

We are talking about the same beetle right? The big green ones?

 

[Cainschams]

I feed june bugs to my lizards here and there during the summer.

I never noticed a noxious odor about them.

We are talking about the same beetle right? The big green ones?

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. People around here refer to the yellow type beetles as June bugs around here when in fact they are the shiny green ones.

 

[Cainschams]

feeding wild insects is usually a bad idea because of parasites.

Why are 3/4 of chameleon keepers afraid to feed wild bugs Its just as easy for commercial food to carry parasites also. The benefits of WC bugs out weighs the risk of parasites and other problems any day. Ive been feeding mine WC bugs since I started keeping chams around 8+ years ago. I feed all kinds of wild bugs from various spider species, moths, butterflies, various hopper species etc. Know what you are feeding and that they come from a pesticide free area.

 

[Texas Ranger]

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. People around here refer to the yellow type beetles as June bugs around here when in fact they are the shiny green ones.

Really? Down here (as far as I know) our June bugs are a redish brown color and are very stupid. They fly into anything and fall staright to the ground. Like a brick.

 

[kmgcantswim]

well everything was very helpful im probably going to catch some tomorrow and see how it goes

thanks

 

[chdwckvnstrsslhm]

JUNE bugs? in March?

Am I the only one who thinks it's odd for June bugs to be showing up in March?? lol

PS the shiny green ones are either Japanese beetles or fig-eater beetles.

 

[fluxlizard]

No the shiny ones are june bugs where I live.
They are about as big as the the last segment of your thumb.

Japanese beetles are much smaller and more metalic looking.

Looking for these pics I did find out that in different parts of the country people refer to different (and incorrect) beetles as june bugs. A type of scarab beetle for example, and those brown beetles I think we incorrectly call potato bugs around here for another.