Complicated insect challenge?

[Andee]

I am looking for a species of insect I can buy commercially... whether actually sold as a feeder or not doesn't matter, that I can raise into a prospering colony for my various reptiles. Silkworms are probably one of the more complicated species I have dealt with, the only reason I haven't delved back into the grasshoppers is because my species needs about 3-4 months long of a diapause and I don't want to deal with it after having hunt them down.

I was interested in possibly doing cabbage whites or looper catepillars if I can find enough of the wild loopers in the backyard I have access to. Now is definitely the time of year. I don't think raising either would be too hard and I think I would enjoy it.

With silkworms at the moment I have hit the kind of genetic stage where I am breeding certain strains I have with certain other strains to get healthier worms. Right now I am looking for something that I can find (preferably commercially) that I can kind of study while I breed them. I want them to be more complicated than the average dubia roach or something I just leave in a bin. But I don't want them to take up a huge amount of room if possible, like rows of deli cups for mantids, or hornworms/hawkmoths need?

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[kinyonga]

Have you tried praying mantises?

 

[Andee]

Yeah most species of mantids take up too much room with the amount of deli cups they need. The only species I would have interest in are the colonial species, which are next to impossible to get. I have only seen violin mantids offered as a colonial species in the US.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

How about those flying green Chinese beetles. You want something weird, there it is.

 

[Andee]

You mean scarabs? I have done them, not exactly in the figeater family, I did a different species who was more interested in rotting oak and oak leaves, and fruit etc. They were actually really easy. But I have had a hard time finding them anymore. And I can't use them as a feeder sadly at all >.< but I would love to raise them again. Beetles are something I fell in love with a long time ago. It's just with my partner... the only insects seem to have to be feeders.... so it's gotten to the point of trying to find some absolutely amazing insects that give me a bit of challenge the way the beetles did and silks did for a bit, but it's harder to think of species I can also use as feeders. God if I had free reign I would have so many species otherwise XD

 

[kelly_girl199]

I wnat grasshoppers. I wish people sold them I the U.S. Buddy loves them.

 

[Andee]

I think you have to buy them specifically in your state.... I want to be able to get some and sell them too for those people who want/need them. But I have had a hard time finding people in my area who need them so I have never actually gone through the perfecting of breeding my local grasshopper species. Plus my grasshoppers aren't the kind where you can just throw some romaine in and leave them alone. The guys/girls I have had need growing greens, though the greens I have fed them in the past are super easy to grow in tiny pots on a windowsill and just rotate the pots in and out. I used three different types of sprouts, and sand for them to lay eggs in, with oat germ and wheat germ for them as a dry food.

 

[kinyonga]

Seen these?
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainab...your-own-insects-for-food-katarina-unger.html

 

[Andee]

omg I would love to raise bsfl >.< it would be amazing, but it's so hard to do in my opinion otherwise.