Phasmids and mullberries

[Stylopidae]

I noticed some mullberry sprouts in my ex-raspberry planter. Will phasmids eat mullberry leaves?

 

[bugmankeith]

The only species I know of that eat mulberry would be silkworms.

 

[Gigas]

Mulberryis one of thhose plants everything eats IME, not too sure about phasmids though. try feeding one mulberry for a month if it suffers no ill affects try it with the rest

 

[Stylopidae]

Mulberryis one of thhose plants everything eats IME, not too sure about phasmids though. try feeding one mulberry for a month if it suffers no ill affects try it with the rest

I don't keep phasmids...yet. I'm not going to keep phasmids until I can grow food for them.

 

[Gigas]

Well, Raspberries are a good feeder plant for phamids as are loganberry leaves. The most common feeder plant is the blackberry or bramble plant, not sure if you get them in the US but i assume you do, they basically grow like weeds, 3 established plants can easily feed a large colony of phasmids if you switch between bushes after a certain amount of foliage has been taken(making sure you leave shoots and young leaves).
Alternatively if you keep the species Carausius morosus, Extatosoma tiaratum, Eurycantha calcarata, Heteropteryx dilatata, Aretaon asperrimus, you can feed them on oak and hawthorne leaves

 

[Stylopidae]

Well, Raspberries are a good feeder plant for phamids as are loganberry leaves. The most common feeder plant is the blackberry or bramble plant, not sure if you get them in the US but i assume you do, they basically grow like weeds, 3 established plants can easily feed a large colony of phasmids if you switch between bushes after a certain amount of foliage has been taken(making sure you leave shoots and young leaves).
Alternatively if you keep the species Carausius morosus, Extatosoma tiaratum, Eurycantha calcarata, Heteropteryx dilatata, Aretaon asperrimus, you can feed them on oak and hawthorne leaves

I'm considering getting a ficus...would that work for most phasmids?

 

[Gigas]

I amnot really an expert but the waxy texture of the leaves would leave me to think not.

 

[lychas]

yea, i wouldnt think a ficus would work either, not sure if your allowed them or if the american phasmids would eat em but what about a small eucalyptus??

 

[Mendi]

The question is what species of Phasmids are you thinking of culturing? Blackberry and raspberry is pretty much accepted by all, some will eat Ivy, many like oak and fruit tree leaves, and some live on privet, and there is one that only eats ferns.

But generally the species you will easily find in the US are easy to feed. And you can always buy eucalyptus seedlings and seed from ebay for those down under sticks

 

[Stylopidae]

The question is what species of Phasmids are you thinking of culturing? Blackberry and raspberry is pretty much accepted by all, some will eat Ivy, many like oak and fruit tree leaves, and some live on privet, and there is one that only eats ferns.

But generally the species you will easily find in the US are easy to feed. And you can always buy eucalyptus seedlings and seed from ebay for those down under sticks

Any I can get my grubby little mitts on. I've had trouble culturing raspberry and can't find any instructions on rearing bramble, although I'd assume I'd have trouble with both.

I've tried from seeds and plants for raspberries and both were meant with failure.

I have access to a gigantic rose bush, though.

I've decided not to culture phasmids until I can raise my own food.

 

[Mendi]

Wild blackberry and raspberry normally grow best on the edge of the woods/tree and a field, and the majority of people consider them highly invasive plants and work quite hard to kill them out. Maybe you are tending to yours too much and killing with kindness

And you can learn a little how to grow a bunch of plants at www.gardenweb.com Its a forum, article reading, and even place to exchange plants and things. Great site... Enjoy your visit

 

[Jonathan]

Hey,
I have had the best success w/ Ivy. They eat it more so than even bramble. All the bramble that I have tried to transfer has died. Ivy on the other hand grows like weeds. I am haveing some success w/ the Ivy, and plan on using this overwinter. In a few month's, there will be limited access to leaves where I come from, so this is a must.
I found a large number of people who have Ivy in their yards that don't use pesticides etc.
Jon

 

[Stylopidae]

Hey,
I have had the best success w/ Ivy. They eat it more so than even bramble. All the bramble that I have tried to transfer has died. Ivy on the other hand grows like weeds. I am haveing some success w/ the Ivy, and plan on using this overwinter. In a few month's, there will be limited access to leaves where I come from, so this is a must.
I found a large number of people who have Ivy in their yards that don't use pesticides etc.
Jon

What type of ivy? I have poison in my neighborhood, but I'm fairly certian that's not gonna work.

 

[Acro]

Mullberry

Yes, many sticks will eat the mullberry leaves it is a widely accepted food plant such as rose and black/rasp berry. I have raised a few different species on it. There are also a few different species of mulberry and all are accepted. Hope this helps! Message me if you would like to talk more about it.

 

[Ganoderma]

Hedera sp. Ivy is what many people use. mine ate it but preffered blackberry. i was keeping #10's, not sure if people still go by that list...?

 

[Jonathan]

Hi,
Yes, Hedera:
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...bnw=116&prev=/images?q=ivy&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=
Jon

 

[Canfire]

phasmids look so ownzors

 

[xelda]

I've had trouble culturing raspberry and can't find any instructions on rearing bramble, although I'd assume I'd have trouble with both.

Bramble itself isn't any single type of plant, which is probably why you're not able to find any instructions. You should look for how to raise blackberry, which is the most common type of bramble used to feed phasmids. There are a lot of caresheets out there, both for raising them and for getting rid of them since they make a mess when it's berry season and animals will plant some of the berries. Basically they need to be kept outdoors where they can get a lot of sunlight. What you want to look for are blackberry under the genus Rubus. Most nurseries sell thornless hybrids, which phasmids don't seem to go for.

Rose leaves work excellently though, especially because it's easy to find smaller leaves for baby phasmids but at the same time you get nice chunky leaves too for the adults. Look for the dark green leaves like this: http://rskphotography.com/photoblog/index.php?showimage=160

Oak leaves are another good alternative but only for the adult or near adult phasmids since smaller nymphs have a hard time chewing them.