Updates on grasshoppers

[Andee]

Grasshoppers are doing great, they are eating everything from my garden with gusto. Everything from kale, mustard leaves, red leaf and butter lettuce, beet greens, and pea greens so far!

Also been finding a lot of cut worms and cabbage white worms because its thats season, so Prince Neptune is getting a lot of safe soft bodied wild feeders if they are big enough. I dont use pesticides or chemical based fertilizers so he has been spoiled.

 

[Andee]

Grasshoppers have been relocated into a larger container. That was a process they are massive now. Growing so fast compared to what they used to be. Probably about 1/3 of the adult size. Just had a dubia birth from a new colony. Got a new heating element for my top shelf for my discoids. The peppered roach babies are growing and a lot have molted to adult stages or close. The silkworms are growing fast, this batch of african strain is leaf fed only. Lots of meal worm beetles no larvae signs yet, but seen some mating so hopeful. Ivories are going strong, and lots of supers doing what they should

 

[MissSkittles]

That’s a lot of bugs! Glad they’re all growing, reproducing and just doing their buggy things.

 

[Andee]

That’s a lot of bugs! Glad they’re all growing, reproducing and just doing their buggy things.

Im looking forward to when i can sell some and provide for others but current they are keeping everyone well fed here and happy. Plus im just thrilled to watch them. The jumping spiders i raise are just getting to the point where they are old enough to start trying things other than ff.

 

[Andee]

Ran a health check on the colonies yesterday, here is some pics

 

[elizaann2]

Wow!!!

 

[Tkrd69]

Remember when it was keep the bugs out of the house, now we raise them in the house

 

[kinyonga]

Hello @Andee …can you tell me what the species names are of all those insects please?

 

[MissSkittles]

Ran a health check on the colonies yesterday, here is some pics

But…but…you’re touching them! With bare hands! Excuse me a minute…

 

[Andee]

Hello @Andee …can you tell me what the species names are of all those insects please?

Do you want the pedistrian names or the scientific?

 

[Andee]

But…but…you’re touching them! With bare hands! Excuse me a minute…

They are so sweet though!

 

[MissSkittles]

They are so sweet though!

Oh-kay. Sure. Uh huh. I am very fond of my colony but in the almost 4 years of keeping them, I have not once let my bare skin come in contact with an adult roach. I just can’t. The little nymphs I don’t mind, but once they get big and wings…nope.

 

[Andee]

Lol i love the adults the most. Not nearly as skittish as the nymphs. But the largest species i have is the size of my palm

 

[kinyonga]

Do you want the pedistrian names or the scientific?

Voth if it’s not too much trouble. It’s just that we can‘t keep many in Canada so I don’t know them all.
I kept (male) hissers as pets back in the day before they stopped them from being kept too.

 

[Andee]

Dubi, blaptica dubia
Dwarf hissers, elliptorhina chopardi
Halloween hissers, elliptorhina javanica
Red runners, shelfordella lateralis
Death's head roaches, blaberus craniifer
Giant peppered roaches, archimandrita tessellata
Headlamp roach, eblaberus serranus

All in order

 

[Beppo]

But…but…you’re touching them! With bare hands! Excuse me a minute…

For real! I find stragglers all the time and I used to shriek when I’d see a bug in my house. Now I just scoop them up, “oh hey there little dude you escaped”

 

[Ghostbirb]

Ran a health check on the colonies yesterday, here is some pics

Super cool! My brother would be screaming with horror if he saw this lol!

 

[elizaann2]

Super cool! My brother would be screaming with horror if he saw this lol!

I showed my husband the pictures of the roaches and he freaked out. So funny.

 

[kinyonga]

Dubi, blaptica dubia
Dwarf hissers, elliptorhina chopardi
Halloween hissers, elliptorhina javanica
Red runners, shelfordella lateralis
Death's head roaches, blaberus craniifer
Giant peppered roaches, archimandrita tessellata
Headlamp roach, eblaberus serranus

All in order

Thank you @Andee …I really appreciate you giving me both names!
Funny but in the old days…I used to think red runners were some kind of earthworm!

 

[Andee]

Anytime! I love talking about the roaches and despite how supportive my family and friends are, only here and my invert forums really get it