joseofsa
Member
should this be in general discussion? anywho-
this message is mainly for those of you who inquired about my dragonfly project.
well it was going well the larva were sheding and eating. preprations for adults being done when i then came across information from dragonfly enthuisists that the larval stage can last from 4 months to 8 YEARS in certain species... yes years
. once the final shed(instar) is near they climb up a plant stem then their back splits open and the soft dragonfly emerges, spreds his wings, fills them with blood, lets the sun dry him, and hardens its carapace. it then flys away from its water source developes into a sexualy mature adult then begins searching for a water source upon finding it it breeds constantly till death or once it runs out of mates.
Care-
Diet:
fish fry/small fish/bloodworms/daphnia this is what i am feeding them. they are very crafty and fun to watch. very quick very agressive hunters.
Houseing:
multiple 10 gallon planted tank is what i'm useing. filled with 4inches of water from a local pond/stream i am slowly tapering them off this untill they can live on normal treated fresh water. some aquatic plants duckweed/banana plants/aquarium graval. a few sticks submerged so they can climb onto when final instar is reached/near
Temperment:
no canabalism witnessed but i would not say it does'nt happen. when i helped out at a fish farm they were considered a major pest and a few stories went around about very painful bites.
Overview:
i by no means consider my findings acurate/true/realiable i simply want to inform fellow chameleon keepers about the possible hardships of rasing this insect. if i can find the right species 6 months doesnt sound too bad a wait considering hundreds of dragonflys can be produced from one female and simple techniques can be used/created to have a yeararound population of dragonflys constantly being produced/hatching.
if anyone else is intrested in trying this i can provide links and detailed infromation to get you started.
here is a check list:
tanks that can hold water and have enough room for larva so possible cannabalism can be avoided
plants, graval
room for the many adults you will have(males my fight each other)
time maybe more than 8 months for one batch
money to buy feeders food for/and
larva
this next part is for those intrested in the steps taken leading to this moment
soooo i have very little info on this batch. they were givin to me from a friend who said "you raise chameleons? a friend said they like dragonflys... here are some dragonfly larva i caught." hands them to me, i'm happy thinking " i can help introduce a new food staple to the cham hobby" happyly takes the jars of larva, sets them up in a few ten gallon tanks, begins feeding, waits a few weeks starts planing/constructing adult tanks, nearly completes an idea, then strolls around the net looking for info on adult dragonfly care comes onto a dragonfly watch society, laughs to self, reads most info... eyes widen mouth dries heart stops upon reading "8 years"... regains heart control ect... emails the webmaster informing him of the typo, laughs to self wipes forehead... reads responce "no its correct"... heart stops again ect... barely regains heart function again... weeps and slugishly walks to the computer... logs on types findings...
jose
plz plz gimme your feedback and if you know somthing i said is wrong plz point it out and laugh at me
thanks
this message is mainly for those of you who inquired about my dragonfly project.
well it was going well the larva were sheding and eating. preprations for adults being done when i then came across information from dragonfly enthuisists that the larval stage can last from 4 months to 8 YEARS in certain species... yes years
. once the final shed(instar) is near they climb up a plant stem then their back splits open and the soft dragonfly emerges, spreds his wings, fills them with blood, lets the sun dry him, and hardens its carapace. it then flys away from its water source developes into a sexualy mature adult then begins searching for a water source upon finding it it breeds constantly till death or once it runs out of mates.Care-
Diet:
fish fry/small fish/bloodworms/daphnia this is what i am feeding them. they are very crafty and fun to watch. very quick very agressive hunters.
Houseing:
multiple 10 gallon planted tank is what i'm useing. filled with 4inches of water from a local pond/stream i am slowly tapering them off this untill they can live on normal treated fresh water. some aquatic plants duckweed/banana plants/aquarium graval. a few sticks submerged so they can climb onto when final instar is reached/near
Temperment:
no canabalism witnessed but i would not say it does'nt happen. when i helped out at a fish farm they were considered a major pest and a few stories went around about very painful bites.
Overview:
i by no means consider my findings acurate/true/realiable i simply want to inform fellow chameleon keepers about the possible hardships of rasing this insect. if i can find the right species 6 months doesnt sound too bad a wait considering hundreds of dragonflys can be produced from one female and simple techniques can be used/created to have a yeararound population of dragonflys constantly being produced/hatching.
if anyone else is intrested in trying this i can provide links and detailed infromation to get you started.
here is a check list:
tanks that can hold water and have enough room for larva so possible cannabalism can be avoided
plants, graval
room for the many adults you will have(males my fight each other)
time maybe more than 8 months for one batch
money to buy feeders food for/and
Code:
this next part is for those intrested in the steps taken leading to this moment
soooo i have very little info on this batch. they were givin to me from a friend who said "you raise chameleons? a friend said they like dragonflys... here are some dragonfly larva i caught." hands them to me, i'm happy thinking " i can help introduce a new food staple to the cham hobby" happyly takes the jars of larva, sets them up in a few ten gallon tanks, begins feeding, waits a few weeks starts planing/constructing adult tanks, nearly completes an idea, then strolls around the net looking for info on adult dragonfly care comes onto a dragonfly watch society, laughs to self, reads most info... eyes widen mouth dries heart stops upon reading "8 years"... regains heart control ect... emails the webmaster informing him of the typo, laughs to self wipes forehead... reads responce "no its correct"... heart stops again ect... barely regains heart function again... weeps and slugishly walks to the computer... logs on types findings...
jose
plz plz gimme your feedback and if you know somthing i said is wrong plz point it out and laugh at me
thanks
