My assassin bugs don't seem to be eating...

[Josh Boe]

Hello,

A couple of months ago, I bought myself a colony of five assassin bugs, (Apparently *Platymeris guttatapennis* so said the man who sold them to me), and so far I have not seen them eat a single thing.

I read online that they eat every few days, so for the first two weeks I was regularly putting in 5 meal worms. I then noticed none of them had been touched, so I tried locusts. Once again, none of them had been eaten so I then tried crickets, but still to no avail.
I also tried a variety of insects I found in my garden such as woodlice (Not an insect, I know) and even ants, but they did not want to eat them.
(Side note: I have tried a variety of sizes of food, bigger than them, smaller than them or the same size)

When I put any insect in front of them, the assassin bugs either ignore them by standing perfectly still, or move away from them.

I am getting concerned as its been almost two months, and they haven't eaten anything to my knowledge. Can someone please let me know what I can do to get them to eat?

Thank you for reading and I hope you can help.

 

[chanda]

After a couple of months, if they were not eating at all, I expect they'd be dead by now. Unlike tarantulas - who have a very slow metabolism and are well known to fast for months at a time - assassins typically eat much more often. I feed mine once or twice a week. (On the other hand, I have read that kissing bugs can survive up to seven months without eating - but I don't know if that extends to Platymetis.)

Take a look at their abdomens. If they have not been eating at all, they should be extremely flat. If they are plump or rounded, then they've been eating. It's possible that you're just feeding them a lot more than they can eat.

When you say that they haven't touched the prey, does that mean you are removing live insects from their cage, or are you pulling out dead ones? Assassin bugs don't chew and swallow their prey - they just liquify and slurp out the insides, then discard the remains - so an "empty" bug that they've fed on doesn't look all that different from one that died of natural causes - particularly one that's been allowed to dry a bit.

How big are your assassin bugs? Are they adults or nymphs? Nymphs are sometimes a bit more cautious about feeding, so they don't attack prey with the same gusto as adults, particularly if the prey is larger than they are. They also don't eat much - and will even share prey - so one good-sized cricket could easily provide a meal for several nymphs.

 

[Vanisher]

I am no expert, i have had those bugs in the past, and mine seemed to be arboreal. I dont think mealworm is the best prey. Try climbing insects like crickets. And yes, they need food way more often than tarantulas, so i guessing they have been eating like the above person wrote