- Joined
- Jun 6, 2007
- Messages
- 470
A few months ago someone posted a thread here where they were raising an earwig colony. I thought it was pretty damn interesting and never even considered raising these guys because I didn't know you could raise a "colony".
Here is a link to another member's journal:
http://www.insectboards.com/t3-earwig-journal#1274
Well I caught 3 and put them in an empty spaghetti sauce jar will a little layer of dirt. 2 females and 1 male, you can sex them by their pincers. Males have curved C shaped pincers while females have straight pincers.
I put them all together and let's just say it didn't end well. The 2 females always faught, usually with the largest female being the victor. After 1 day the male was being eaten by the largest female.
A few days after the largest female laid eggs!
Unfortunately all the eggs were gone, I notice that she would scramble to protect the eggs whenever I checked the jar. She would also wander off short distances. I thought she was in search of food, but they she didn't eat anything I offered, she's usually a voracious eater. The other female would also accidentally stroll by and they would get into a little tussle, the bigger female always wins of course.
The other female laid eggs also and they too were gone soon after.
I'm assuming she ate them due to stress of being in close proximity to each other. I read that nesting females can bully another female out of her clutch and eat them or sneak a bite when she isn't looking so that's a possibility.
She's laid again and it's been about 3 days and they're still with her so fingers crossed that they'll hatch.
These guys are voracious eaters! They eat about anything from veggies, fruit, grains, but they especially love hunting prey to my surprise! I've thrown in moths and little caterpillars and they would bite on to them and bring their bodies around to pinch and cripple whatever they prey happens to be almost like a scorpion. They also hold them behind with their pincers and carry them around when they aren't eating it. These guys are alot more interesting than I thought they were.
These guys do need a lot of space and hiding places though or they will fight and cannibalize. They're social tolerance is limited, but they can tolerate one another as long as they respect each other's space. Though social tolerance may vary from species to species. The ones I have aren't very friendly to one another.
I'll see if I can put up more pictures if anything happens. I'm planning on catching some more outside and getting a larger enclosure. I'll probably use sand instead of soil so I can see them easier. These guys are pretty easy to bait as well. I put a large piece of fruit under a brick outside and after 1 day they're swarmed with earwigs. I heard putting cardboard or olive oil under an object works extremely well also.
Here is a link to another member's journal:
http://www.insectboards.com/t3-earwig-journal#1274
Well I caught 3 and put them in an empty spaghetti sauce jar will a little layer of dirt. 2 females and 1 male, you can sex them by their pincers. Males have curved C shaped pincers while females have straight pincers.
I put them all together and let's just say it didn't end well. The 2 females always faught, usually with the largest female being the victor. After 1 day the male was being eaten by the largest female.
A few days after the largest female laid eggs!
Unfortunately all the eggs were gone, I notice that she would scramble to protect the eggs whenever I checked the jar. She would also wander off short distances. I thought she was in search of food, but they she didn't eat anything I offered, she's usually a voracious eater. The other female would also accidentally stroll by and they would get into a little tussle, the bigger female always wins of course.
The other female laid eggs also and they too were gone soon after.
I'm assuming she ate them due to stress of being in close proximity to each other. I read that nesting females can bully another female out of her clutch and eat them or sneak a bite when she isn't looking so that's a possibility.
She's laid again and it's been about 3 days and they're still with her so fingers crossed that they'll hatch.
These guys are voracious eaters! They eat about anything from veggies, fruit, grains, but they especially love hunting prey to my surprise! I've thrown in moths and little caterpillars and they would bite on to them and bring their bodies around to pinch and cripple whatever they prey happens to be almost like a scorpion. They also hold them behind with their pincers and carry them around when they aren't eating it. These guys are alot more interesting than I thought they were.
These guys do need a lot of space and hiding places though or they will fight and cannibalize. They're social tolerance is limited, but they can tolerate one another as long as they respect each other's space. Though social tolerance may vary from species to species. The ones I have aren't very friendly to one another.
I'll see if I can put up more pictures if anything happens. I'm planning on catching some more outside and getting a larger enclosure. I'll probably use sand instead of soil so I can see them easier. These guys are pretty easy to bait as well. I put a large piece of fruit under a brick outside and after 1 day they're swarmed with earwigs. I heard putting cardboard or olive oil under an object works extremely well also.
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