Insects in cool temperatures

[AlphaTen223]

I am going to have the opportunity soon to get some more insects but I can not figure out what I want to get. I live in my basement and since I am not able to control the thermostat it is fairly cold. I’d say around 65 degrees at coldest but probably closer to 68 and I was wondering what non preparatory insects would be good to get with this temperature. I have isopods and want to move to other species so preferably beginner species of insects/Arthropods other than isopods

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Roaches.
There's lots of variety.
Many can tolerate temps in the 60's fine.
Just throwing it out there.

 

[Polenth]

Mealworms.

 

[TimmmyTarantula]

You could start a lady bug colony they can do well in cool conditions

 

[AlphaTen223]

You could start a lady bug colony they can do well in cool conditions

That sounds fun, do you know where I could purchase some and what they require for breeding?

 

[AlphaTen223]

Mealworms.

Are they very prolific, also what species would you recommend?

 

[TimmmyTarantula]

That sounds fun, do you know where I could purchase some and what they require for breeding?

To be honest I can't give you any specific info I've never raised them. If you google lady bug kits they commonly sell them fir kids as like classroom projects kind of like how they sell butterfly kits. I just know they do well in cool climates but I cant imagine they are hard to raise a colony. Just do some research if it sounds interesting I do know it can definitely be done! Sorry I cant be of more help

 

[AlphaTen223]

To be honest I can't give you any specific info I've never raised them. If you google lady bug kits they commonly sell them fir kids as like classroom projects kind of like how they sell butterfly kits. I just know they do well in cool climates but I cant imagine they are hard to raise a colony. Just do some research if it sounds interesting I do know it can definitely be done! Sorry I cant be of more help

It’s all good, definitely sounds like it would be a fun project however it is not one I will start now.

 

[Matts inverts]

That sounds fun, do you know where I could purchase some and what they require for breeding?

Hello. I’m not sure about breeding but I know you can get them at garden stores like Home Depot or lows. Common mealworms, African night crawlers, or red worms do perfect in those temps. If you can set up a tub compost system, you can farm the worms, the compost is perfect for the garden and if you know anyone with chickens or lizards, they are perfect feeders. I made 200 off farming insects for feeders. As for mealworms, a ton of feed shops and reptile stores have them. They are super prolific. Some people end up with the mealworms in there barn or grain. Don’t collect wild ones but I’m just saying, they can survive in a lot of conditions. If you can set up heating on a controlled thermostat, you can get a ton of roaches and millipedes but the heater has to be on the side of the tank if needed. If it’s on the bottom, even on a thermostat, the millipedes naturally burrow to escape heat so they might dig into the uth. 72 is ideal heat for most species of millipedes though. Most roaches can survive but won’t breed in that temp range you described

 

[Polenth]

Are they very prolific, also what species would you recommend?

Their full name is yellow mealworm beetles (Tenebrio molitor). They're the ones sold as feeders. You can keep all the life stages together and they breed well. You already have woodlice, so if you get excess larvae, just prekill them and feed them to the woodlice.

 

[AlphaTen223]

Their full name is yellow mealworm beetles (Tenebrio molitor). They're the ones sold as feeders. You can keep all the life stages together and they breed well. You already have woodlice, so if you get excess larvae, just prekill them and feed them to the woodlice.

Good to know, I will look more into it but I might get these, thanks.

 

[Smotzer]

You’re really not that limited by what you can keep with ambient temperatures my house is around 68 and when I was on the east coast it got regularly down to mid 60’s. there are tons of NW temperate and other adaptable Arthropods from Aranea, theraphosidae, Isopoda, Diplopoda, smaller stone Chilopods, some Coleoptera like mentioned above, tons of Blattodea, some Mantodea and Phasmatodea, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Collembola, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, I could increase the list ad nauseum. If you kept feeder colonies you could keep predatory Arthropods ans that’s why included them in my above list anyways. And there are ways to keep anything more sub/tropical/xeric by creating heated cabinets, space heaters near enclosures, heat an outside tub, etc. really come down to what you want to keep and and what you want to keep them for. At least in my eyes.