Bean weevils - Acanthoscelides obtectus?

[niccoliherp]

I think that is the species name, but I'm not sure. I recently got some of these from a friend at a reptile show. Originally they were just for my darts, but they are so easy to breed (just need a fruit fly container and black eyed peas) that I was thinking about using them for my baby day geckos (P. mad. grandis). I have already tried them out and the little gex love them.

The only thing is that I don't know and am having trouble finding information on the nutritional content of Bean Weevils. Has anybody heard of these? Does anyone have any information or resources regarding their nutritional quality?

Thanks

 

[niccoliherp]

No one has any info? I was told they were relatively new to the hobby, but I figured someone would have some sort of info.

Well, I emailed my friend to see if he's got any info on their nutrition. If he does, I'll be sure to post it here.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Ryan, I've never heard of them. Sounds like they're small though. Perhaps check in some of the amphib forums. They're probably used more for frogs and such. In the mean time, if the grandis like them, I can't imagine it will hurt them to use the weevils as at least part of a varied diet. And if you find more info, please post it back here in this thread. It's always nice to find new, alternative, food sources.

 

[niccoliherp]

Hey Ethan,
I figure theyre more popular for frogs, which is why I got them in the first place. I am only going to use them as an additive in my guys' diets until I know more about their nutrition. And as soon as I get some more info I'll let everyone know. I figure they would be great food for many of the smaller geckos. They're about twice the size of Drosophilia hydei fruit flies, so theyre a bigger smaller food item, if that makes sense. I will check around at other sites to see if anyone knows about them.

 

[niccoliherp]

Ok, so heres a species name that I found on DendroBoard.com: Callosobruchus maculatus.

And here is the subsequent thread link: http://www.dendroboard.com/food-feeding/topic36888.html

The nutrition of these beetles is discussed, but not directly. The basic thing that I could pull from the thread is that most people offer them as a part of a varied diet, which is always good. I was planning on doing that with them anyways, but I didn't know whether or not they would be good for the base food item instead of some other insects (like fruit flies). I will probably post on DendroBoard.com to ask about it.

 

[invertkurt]

Assume the same nutrition as something like an adult mealworm beetle or similar hard-bodied insect. The only reason I would hesitate to make them a base food is that they are eating only one food themselves, correct? The more varied the diet of the prey item, the better.

 

[niccoliherp]

Thats pretty much what I was thinking. You could probably use a variety of different beans in one culture to vary the diet of the beetle larvae. Each larvae only uses one single bean. Also, the adults don't eat anything apparently. Interesting... They discussed the use of different foods for the beetles as a means of controlling nutritional value of the adult beetles at the DendroBoard.com link that I provided earlier.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

These are a great alternate food source for a varied diet, along with firebrats if you're willing to culture those.