Cicadas - Plentiful Feeder Source

CNorton said:
So why doesn't anyone see this as a huge opportunity and sell these to us?
Watch these Cicadas

If anyone knows a viable outlet/source please do share.
Click to expand...

I don't think they would pass thru post office / UPS very well with the noise factor. Maybe someone can freeze dry them. I know I could get my guys to eat them, with a little artificial insect movement.
 
I was just thinking if I lived in TN, hey here is mother nature throwing me a bone. Now let's start shipping these out!

Ha! Yeah, I'm not talking about a long term feeder sandra! I would pay $20 if someone shipped me over 10 or so cicadas. If people from TN heard me say that I'm sure they would think I was nuts.:rolleyes:
 
Oh dang I think either this year or next there's supposed to be cicadas hatching in iowa. Are they safe to feed to my cham? The dog I used to have was a weiner dog and he used to catch these and play with them then eat them lol
 
Well, pretty much all insects are illegal to ship over state lines without permits, but people are more willing to ship certain insects. I would imagine this one would stand somewhere near the grasshopper stuff.
 
We have had an emergence here in central Alabama of 'Plague like proportions' over the last 3-4 weeks. They are different than the average ones you see every year here. These are much smaller and have a bright orange wings and blood red eyes. They appear to be what is called a 17 year cicada. Normally we have a species that is much larger and have a forest green color to their eyes and body. They also have an inverted 'W' shape on their backs. There are literally hundreds of dead bodies and living ones everywhere. Some of the trees here have hundreds of shells on the branches. I'll post some videos of them that I took about 2 weeks ago when I have some down time this weekend.
 
I'm pretty sure planet earth had a segment about them, they are supposed to be good eating for everything even fertilizer for trees.
 
Depending on the cicadas, there can be every year or two, every 17 years, or a number of durations in between. I could see feeding our local cicadas to parsonii, Oustalet's, verrucosus, etc. - the really big guys - but would be worried about giving them to most species because they are huge. That said, my veiled female, Bea, caught one outdoors last year before I knew what she was up to. She was only six months old and the thing looked at least as big as her head, but she got it down with no problems.
 
Those are Periodical Cicadas, after emerging from thier nymph stage they only live a very short time as a cicada, from my experience about a day because of this they would not be practical as a commercial feeder. Also depending on the colony it will be a 13 to 17 year wait for thier emergance. Only 14 broods of 17 year cicadas and 5 broods of 13 year cicadas are known to exist, they swarm very locally. I know where one of the broods is and they last emerged in the summer of 2004......6-10 more years to wait for this fantastic feeder. Until then the Dogday cicada, which is present every year, is larger, and lives longer, will have to due. Note; I would only feed cicadas to very large chameleons, as they are made up of a lot of shell and there's an impaction risk. I only give them to my full grown bearded dragon.
 
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