phoenix worms

[javier]

will phoenix worms breed?If so,how fast?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

It isnt easy persay.
Premium crickets sells a device to make it easy, but I havent tried it.

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Feeders]

 

[javier]

I meant if I tossed some wheat bran /calcium in a cricket keeper,and kept it moist would they breed?If so what are the requirements?

 

[burt1016]

I remember reading something about the breading of them. Don't quote or anything but I believe they need compost/feces to breed.

 

[wes]

Phoenix Worms is a trade name for the larval stage of the black soldier fly. You would have to let them become flies in order to breed. There has been very little success in getting them to breed indoors, and that being in greenhouses. They burrow in the ground to begin metamorphosis, so before they pupate, their instinct is to leave the feeding medium. They will die if they can't get out. The product Tom was referring to is the BioPod, and it costs a little under $200. You regularly add scraps of food (or feces? -- yuck!) in to feed them. The BioPod allows the dark larvae (the most nutritious) to escape into a bin where you can either feed them to your beardie or scatter them around the ground. Then hope they mate and lay their eggs in your BioPod. If you live in climate zones 7-10, they may already be native.

 

[bluesoda025]

Lol, now I know why most people don't try to breed them at home. Just the thought of having fly larvae and feces around my house is revolting enough. Plus, my parents would probably disown me. :lol:

 

[wes]

Just to clarify, you don't have to use feces. I know I wouldn't unless I was really, really, really into vermicomposting.

The adult flies are kind of interesting. They don't have a functional mouth, so they aren't landing on feces/carrion to eat and spread diseases. They live as flies solely to mate and lay eggs near (not on) decaying food. They live as adults only 5-8 days.

Black soldier flies have been reported in Vancouver, so you might already have them by your house. They aren't like houseflies at all.

 

[bluesoda025]

Hm, that's actually not so bad. I didn't know the adults only lived for such a short period of time. I guess whenever I think of flies, I think of those nasty common houseflies/bluebottles... We've had a housefly problem in the summer for the past couple years. I don't know where they are coming from.. they just seem to appear from our windows (even though they're screened and closed..) and sometimes it would be so bad that there's up to 8-10 of them in the house at a given time.
I have never seen soldier flies here though, although it's still pretty cold right now so I'm guessing I won't be seeing many insects until June or so anyways.

 

[burt1016]

Sorry about my post. I swear I read about it on some forum.

 

[javier]

Ok,I am looking for something to feed my dragon that I wont have to keep buying,that isnt 1000 bucks,and that wont take forever to breed...........................oh and not roaches.is there anything out there that meets those requirements,even comes close?

 

[bluesoda025]

Ok,I am looking for something to feed my dragon that I wont have to keep buying,that isnt 1000 bucks,and that wont take forever to breed...........................oh and not roaches.is there anything out there that meets those requirements,even comes close?

Crickets or superworms (not sure how long they take to breed though, and only feed superworms to a dragon that's at least 16" long)? Either of those are among the cheapest feeders and it's relatively easy to breed them compared to more difficult feeders..

 

[burt1016]

Ditto above ^^^ Nothing else is really easy to bread. Silkies are hard to breed but are definitely worth it.

 

[javier]

how long till I can feed if I order 250 1/2 in?(And that will only happen if i can convince my mom to let me...she isnt phenatical about the idea as of now.)