Has anyone heard of the cricket virus?

[fantasticp]

my understanding is that only domesticus breed plague fast

Really? We have billions of these outside at night at work

http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/orthopt/Gryllodes supplicans.htm

They can't breed that slow with the number of widows and wolf spiders they support there lol.

 

[esotericman]

It's real and it's called "Cricket Paralysis Virus" or CrPV (not the rabbit one).

I posted this on ATS:


http://www.fcla.edu/FlaEnt/fe89p282.pdf

http://mcb.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/14/4990

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC203617/

http://www.springerlink.com/content/t875624117511284/


It's an RNA virus, and it's found in more than a few insect species or a closely related virus is. It seems it was being described back in 1980.

I have not found CrPV to infectious to anything but crickets, lepidopterans, and drosophila.

As a hobbyist, I am more concerned with infected crickets passing the virus on to my invertebrates more than I am concerned with the lack of feeder crickets around. Having checked PubMed and BioAbs, I have found zero reports of this virus in any other groups. I would probably suggest those people who keep roaches as pets to wary though.

Michael Jacobi also chimed in here:

http://atshq.org/forum/showpost.php?p=185699&postcount=5

 

[lunashimmer]

It's real and it's called "Cricket Paralysis Virus" or CrPV (not the rabbit one).

I posted this on ATS:


http://www.fcla.edu/FlaEnt/fe89p282.pdf

http://mcb.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/14/4990

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC203617/

http://www.springerlink.com/content/t875624117511284/


It's an RNA virus, and it's found in more than a few insect species or a closely related virus is. It seems it was being described back in 1980.

I have not found CrPV to infectious to anything but crickets, lepidopterans, and drosophila.

As a hobbyist, I am more concerned with infected crickets passing the virus on to my invertebrates more than I am concerned with the lack of feeder crickets around. Having checked PubMed and BioAbs, I have found zero reports of this virus in any other groups. I would probably suggest those people who keep roaches as pets to wary though.

Michael Jacobi also chimed in here:

http://atshq.org/forum/showpost.php?p=185699&postcount=5

Thanks for posting these resources, esotericman.

 

[KenTheBugGuy]

hit

hit my supplier too now....even though not admitting. They said they are fixing thier facilities to avoid it and won't be able to supply my counts to thier full amounts for a few weeks. To me that says we have it but don't want anyone to know Luckily I started breeding a couple other things to try and supliment this. Silk worms and turkistans.

 

[KenTheBugGuy]

and

and from what I understand the virus does not transfer but who knows for sure as I am not a biologist and don't know much about that. My roach populations are doing fine though.

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

Just heard of this for the first time today. Tried buying some adult crickets at the show today and was informed about the virus. (explains why my LPS didn't have any last week either!) Never thought something like this could happen. :?

I don't need anywhere near the ammount of crickets that Ken needs but dang, this is going to make it alot harder to feed all of my T's. Only about half of them accept dubia roaches. Even though I dislike the things, I hope someone figures out a solution to the problem soon.

 

[xhexdx]

Get lats.

 

[BatGirl]

Petco vs PetsMart

I usually get my crickets from PetCo where, although a bit more expensive, they do last longer. I was told by PetsMart years ago that they irradiate their crickets to keep them sterile so they won't go breeding all over the place - and this radiation apparently also reduces their immune systems so they don't live quite so long either. Usually, of the crickets from PetsMart, 10% die within 24 hours, and just about all the rest will die within 4-5 days, so I never get more than a weeks worth at a time from them. Meanwhile, the crickets from PetCo all last for a week or two, with about 10% living longer than two weeks, so I'll get several weeks worth at a time from them.:clap:

 

[Malhavoc's]

not to sound cynnical or skeptical but wouldnt irradating crickets make them not only more epxnesive but potentialy harmful to any and all things that ingest it? for some reason I dont quite think that is what they are doing.

 

[fantasticp]

not to sound cynnical or skeptical but wouldnt irradating crickets make them not only more epxnesive but potentialy harmful to any and all things that ingest it? for some reason I dont quite think that is what they are doing.

Maybe that particular employee was experimenting with the breakroom microwave.

 

[Malhavoc's]

this is far more likely the case

 

[BatGirl]

they irradiate their crickets

Most of the processed food you eat is irradiated...:?

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodirradiation.htm

 

[xhexdx]

Most of the processed food you eat is irradiated...:?

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodirradiation.htm

1) Crickets are not processed food.
2) Crickets are sold alive - I didn't see anything in that link that said they irradiate living things.
3) Still doesn't answer the question regarding additional cost to irradiate crickets.
4) Why would petsmart care about whether their feeder crickets breed or not?

 

[moose35]

come on..........dosen't everyone know petsmart blasts thier feeders with burmese cobalt gamma rays.


moose

 

[BatGirl]

irradiation of crickets

Crickets are irradiated for sterility (i.e. possibly to try to keep the things from filling up your pet's tank with hundreds of those pesky baby crickets that end up driving your pet nuts and dying in the water bowl - and remove bacteria), but this also lowers their life span (so they can sell you more crickets?) - also scientific experiments indicate the irradiated crickets have cognitive issues as well...

Butter worms are also irradiated (required for importing from Chili - removes bacteria) .

Use a 'search engine' and read up guys before you start bashin' :?

 

[Malhavoc's]

Im orry I have to re-itterate XHexDx's points

"1) Crickets are not processed food.
2) Crickets are sold alive - I didn't see anything in that link that said they irradiate living things.
3) Still doesn't answer the question regarding additional cost to irradiate crickets.
4) Why would petsmart care about whether their feeder crickets breed or not?
"

the link you gave us doesnt mention crickets at all, can you give us reference to the carriers proclomation that they do irradiate crickets? because even if the points you say are functional, it is aso an issue of COST versus worth, and lets face it, a penny worht circket aint worth it to irradiate.

 

[lunashimmer]

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120076725/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

This is an old (from 1971) article I found online by Googling "living crickets irradiated". I do believe that you cannot irradiate something that's alive. Unless it's with super low radiation levels--think xrays, CAT/PET scans, MRIs, etc--and the level low enough to NOT kill an insect would probably be impossible to calculate.

I am off to buy crickets at the LPS. Non-irradiated, living crickets.

Oh, and LOL Moose--"burmese cobalt gamma rays". I heard that kind of radiation gives guys cobalt blue...balls!!!

 

[BatGirl]

This thread is so dumb and bores me...

I do believe that you cannot irradiate something that's alive. Unless it's with super low radiation levels ... and the level low enough to NOT kill an insect would probably be impossible to calculate.

Exactly what are your mathematical credentials to make this 'it is impossible' statement? Apparently their irradiation is low enough to miss sterilizing all the crickets yet high enough to prematurely shorten the life of some crickets.

I didn't see anything ... they irradiate living things.

Butter worms are living things that are REQUIRED by LAW to be irradiated, and subsequently are sold still alive for comsumption by pets. Crickets are living things that also get irradiated for other purposes... plants which are living in a sense also get irradiated and stay 'living'.

______________________________________________

I'm tired of 'baby-sitting'... go ask PetsMart yourself and quit being such XHexDx brown-nosers.

 

[Crysta]

although as this article states its possible.
http://www.astm.org/Standards/ISOASTM51940.htm


sorry must comment,
batgirl you're going to have half the bored on ignore in a month. lol, how childish are you to put it in your signature? And it seems the only people you ignore are the ones who point out your faults. I guess you are the 'I am never wrong' type of girl.

 

[Malhavoc's]

my statement stands, despite batgirls claims I could not find any legitmate paperwork or publication of crickets being irradated in pet stores, nor could I get any emials back from the branch manager narest me at such a claim, I would be willing to press it further, if the attitude was not clearly derogitory and arguementitive. Mind you, I've stepd on x's shoes a few times, there is a time to understand when you are wrong, or done know, and a time to share belief, that is what lets us advance as a whole-chaanged theory and the like.

It tempers the best forumale to b halanged, but all you are doing batgirl is al out inflamatory and detramental and spreading hearsay I have nothing left to say on this matter until you an give me some paperwork or something feesable.


4.3 Factory-reared insects may be treated with ionizing radiation, such as gamma radiation from 137Cs or 60Co sources, or X-rays or electrons from accelerators. Gamma irradiation of insects is usually carried out in small, fixed-geometry, drystorage irradiators (6-8). Dosimetry methods for gamma irradiation of insects have been demonstrated and include useful procedures for mapping the absorbed dose throughout the volume of the insect canister in these small irradiators (ASTMPractice E 2116 and Ref (9)) as well as large-scale gamma irradiators (ISO/ASTM Practice 51702 and Ref (10)).

4.4 Specifications for irradiation of factory-reared insects include a lower limit of absorbed dose and may include a central target dose and an upper limit. These values are based on program requirements and on scientific data on effects of absorbed dose on the sterility, viability, and competitiveness of the factory-reared insects.



Tis unfortunatly is a bit vague, they mention motly using the irradation to experiment and test various types of radiation if I read it correctly but the term ;factory insect' is far to vague for my liking.