bean weevils

[clive 82]

Hi guys, have seen bean weevils ( Callosobruchus maculatus ) being sold as food for slings. I believe they can also be used for some species of frog.
Was wondering if anyone has used them & if they are any good?
Also what feeders do you prefer for your slings?

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Sorry I have no clue about frogs (who knows, maybe) but as far as T's are concerned I've never saw those in Italy, suggested or for sale, by keepers/breeders as 'food for T's'.

Anyway I offer to my slings (and always offered) only live preys: millimeter sized crickets and B.dubia babies of my breeding.

 

[Trenor]

I've not used or heard of them being used as feeders for Ts.

I pretty much only feed B.dubia nymphs for my slings.

 

[Mini8leggedfreak]

I know it’s an old thread but I’m wanting to raise and sell these.
I use them for slings and I think they are great.
I have quite a few avics and the weevils climb so they always get them fast.

 

[EulersK]

I know it’s an old thread but I’m wanting to raise and sell these.
I use them for slings and I think they are great.
I have quite a few avics and the weevils climb so they always get them fast.

Interesting. How do they rank as feeders? Are they: prolific, diverse in size, harmless to spiders? Note that I include their larva with those questions. I see that they are not true weevils but rather actually beetles. This matters, because many beetles have very powerful jaws.

 

[Mini8leggedfreak]

I was told they don’t bite and are harmless, I did however see a video where they caused impaction to a baby dart frog.

Size is fairly small. I’d say around 1/8” or 3/16” long the adults get plump. Larva would be hard to get as they would be inside of the black eyed peas that they eat.
I also read that they are 30% higher in protein than crickets.
I can’t kill them as easily as I can kill pinheads so that’s why I’m breeding and keeping them.

I’m currently trying to gather info on them, hence why I replied to a 2 year old thread.

 

[lazarus]

I got a culture of bean weevils some time ago from TheSpiderShop just to try them out. Overall for me it wasn't a successful experiment, Bean weevils are very able to climb smooth surfaces and they can also fly, I've found them very hard to contain and had plenty of escapees. They are considered a pest and have the potential to infest your house, if they find any beans in your house they will lay eggs on them. They are very small and can only be used for the smallest slings like those of dwarfs Ts (an Avic 1st instar is large enough to eat newly hatched B. lateralis nymphs). The alternative that I've found was to search in my mealworms colony for the tiniest worms and feed those. If you breed mealworms there's no need to deal with bean weevils.

Are they: prolific, diverse in size, harmless to spiders? Note that I include their larva with those questions.

They seem very prolific I believe I've read somewhere that they go from egg to adult in about 4 to 8 weeks (depending on conditions). There's no variation in size, you only have the adults to use as feeders the larvae lives inside the bean so it's not practical to feed those, after emerging the adult will make a hole in the bean to get out.