Dubia escaping, what up with that?

[GailC]

For the last week and a half I've been finding male dubia around the house, never females or nymphs. I'm sure they are fluttering/flying out of the tub seeing as how the egg crates are pretty close to the top and I don't always use the lid but why all the sudden? They have plenty of food, water, heat and females.
I've been extra careful the last few days to snap the lid tight but I think the 1/2" wire I have on the lid for ventilation is letting them crawl through. I'll glue some fine screen over it tomorrow and see if it helps but I'd still like to know why the little beasties want out.
I went to check on them tonight and a whole bunch of males are up top as high as they can get, looks like they are plotting their escape.

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

Like in Jurassic Park when they say "Nature finds a way".

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

Like in Jurassic Park when they say "Nature finds a way".

NAH UH UH YOU DIDN'T SAY THE MAGIC WORD!!!

Technically it's "Life finds a way" :} . Lol I've watched it too much.

Anyway, for the OP, have you tried lining the rim of the container with vaseline or that clear packaging tape? It is very possible that they can climb the wals and squeeze under the lid(I've seen hissers do it).

 

[JC]

Hehe, happens to me too. You need two do any one of the following:

1. Put them in a taller tub.
2. Remove some of the things they climb on and anything that gets them close to the top.
3. Or simply, put a lid on them.

You can cut a big hole on the lid and replace it with mesh.

 

[MIC]

Like in Jurassic Park when they say "Nature finds a way".

It was exactly what i thought, when i read the post!!!

 

[GailC]

I have bug barrier and a lid, I'm more curious are to why they want to escape and why its only the males.

 

[arachyd]

If you watch them long enough you'll see them squabbling for the best spots to perch on the egg crates. The males tend to bully each other, although not as viciously as some other species. The urge to travel is probably nature's way of thinning out the colony and spreading the gene pool to other colonies at the same time. Mine seem to go through phases where a lot of them spend time leaping up and trying to fly and then it slows down for a while.

 

[JC]

I have bug barrier and a lid, I'm more curious are to why they want to escape and why its only the males.

Well, my guess is.

1. They have wings.
2. They are more athletic than females.
3. They are very active.

These are reasons why you may be finding that only males escape. Perhaps they are not trying to escape on purpose and its just that they are more capable and find themselves outside. Maybe you are not doing anything wrong at all.

 

[scottyk]

Male Dubia are definitely territrial based on my observations. Your colony probably reached a "critical mass" that is triggering the behavior.

I have a few tarantulas that really go for the adult males, and I always make an effort to feed as many of them off as possible. My opinion, based soley on my observations and no actual testing, is that once the males reach a certain density it stresses the whole colony out. This seems to cause a decline in birthrate.

Mine are tightly covered so I have to watch that a bit more carefully. My wife is already crazy cool about my various bugs. I don't want to push my luck with a mass exodus in the bedroom closet

 

[Rochelle]

Male Dubia are definitely territrial based on my observations. Your colony probably reached a "critical mass" that is triggering the behavior.

I have a few tarantulas that really go for the adult males, and I always make an effort to feed as many of them off as possible. My opinion, based soley on my observations and no actual testing, is that once the males reach a certain density it stresses the whole colony out. This seems to cause a decline in birthrate.

Exactly right. :clap:
The extra males are heading out to stake out new territory, now that there aren't enough "territories" in their current container. Feed off the extra males until you have about 1 male per 10 females. Even this is a very generous ratio for dubia.

 

[radicaldementia]

I used to have this problem as well. I found that if you leave the container open, as soon as you turn out the lights the males start jumping out. They can actually jump quite high and almost achieve flight. I sleep in a loft bed and there's been a few times where I'm about to fall asleep and suddenly I hear a flutter and a dubia lands on me

I was able to stop this by 1. Replacing most of my container's lid with window screen and always keeping it on, 2. reducing the male population so they are less inclined to seek out territory.

 

[GailC]

I wondered if it could have some thing to do with the population. I'll thin the males down and add a few more egg crates.

 

[billopelma]

Happens to me also, I don't usually bother with a lid but when they start flying around I snap it on for a while. Seen a few that could fly across the whole room, though the majority only flutter down at an angle from where they started.
Mine will sort of 'swarm' every so often, covering the whole top surface and doing those ritual like dances, putting the wings up and jumping/fluttering off edges then climbing back up and repeating. It's like they're showing off. You can hear the commotion from another room when they really get going.
Goes on every night for a week or so then abruptly ceases and things go back to "normal". In my case it doesn't seem to have anything to do with population density other than there needs to be a bunch of males.

I've found that everything appears to be cyclical with both these and many other species I keep, a burst in babies, a burst in mm's, they eat like crazy, they slow down...

Bill