# fruit beetle grubs



## Mrs dirtydozen (Sep 5, 2008)

just got some of these, whats best to feed them on


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## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

Ours are in well broken down rotten white wood (oak, beech, etc.), leaf mold from same, mixed with peat and a little sand, if your going to feed them to animals then avoid oak due to it's high tannin content. They'll also eat fruit placed on the top of the substrate (but this can lead to fruit fly issues if not removed regularily and they will pull it under the sufrace.). A little Bakers Complete Dogfood in the substrate mix will give them some protien, they can be cannabilistic sometimes.
Substrate wants to be about 4-6" deep.


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## Mrs dirtydozen (Sep 5, 2008)

gonna try grow them on to beetles for summat to do lol
They are on soil/peat at the mo which i what they came in, is this no good?
Whats the best fruits to put in or will they eat andything


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## lynneowen1 (Jun 5, 2008)

sub sounds fine lol.......they need rotted wood and leaves to make their cocoon out of/and they eat it too lol.........mine luv cucumber/mango/oranges.


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## Mrs dirtydozen (Sep 5, 2008)

dont wanna sound thick but where is best place to get rotten wood and leaves from, especially leaves, most stuff i would consider to be rotten is wet lol
do i just get a load of leaves out the garden that have fell off the tree? What about the wood


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## lynneowen1 (Jun 5, 2008)

its a bugger to find lol i hunted in the woods for dead wood .................and the leaves yes whats fallen on the ground are gr8


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## Mrs dirtydozen (Sep 5, 2008)

got loads of leaves in the back garden lol will have to wait on the wood.
thanks for the info guys

How long do they normally take to coccoon and then hatch


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## TheSpiderShop (Apr 5, 2006)

The leaves need to be decayed into leaf mould. If you scrape back the top layer of leaves from last year and collect the leaves and earth from underneath this is leaf mould. Collect rotten hard wood that you can easily break apart from your hands. Crumble and break both down as fine as possible and mix together to create a mulch.

For this and other small species I wouldnt bother adding peat or sand. Peat tends to be used for bulking out the substrates and your only going to need a small amount. Sand is usually added into the substrate for larger species as its helps strengthen cocoons, smaller species like Pachnoda are fine without it.

The Pachnoda grubs supplied as livefood come in layer of soil which is unsuitable for the grubs to it which results in small, weak lifeless adults which is a shame as it puts people of rearing other larvae. I imagine they do this so you buy more rather than breed your own as they are pretty prolific. The care and correct substrate is vital to produce healthy beetles. If you buying beetle larvae from a shop or specialist supplier ask them what they are keeping them on. If they are not using decayed leaf mold and rotten wood they are best avoided.


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## enlightenment (Dec 14, 2006)

Mrs dirtydozen said:


> will have to wait on the wood.


I am _so _tempted to say something I shouldn't!

So I won't.

:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## macro junkie (Oct 27, 2007)

you need some of this..im going to buy some my self..at the min i have a flower beatle feeding on coca fiber..Not good! heres the link - Flower Beetle Substrate - 3ltr for Egglaying & Rearing Suppliers of Arachnids and other quality Invertebrates


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## Slinkies mum (Jul 15, 2008)

My problem is that I can't use anything that may contain oak as it would make the grubs toxic to my bluey. I did manage to find an organic compost which has been fine tho as the grubs I bought have cocooned and hatched with no probs and the beetles must be laying eggs cos of the number of adults suddenly appearing. I keep Pachnoda marginata but I've recently put some P. Sinuata grubs in and I'm waiting to see how they do.


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