Formaldehyde Safe for Feeder Insect Diets?

[Dave]

So I've been researching a lot of artificial insect diets, including hornworms and painted lady butterflies, and I find a main ingredient in many of the diet recipes is Formaldehyde (or 10% buffered Formalin), and since I'm aware that it's a carcinogen, I wanted to ask the opinions of our experts here if such a diet would be safe to feed to insects intended to be fed to chameleons and other reptiles?

I figured it was some sort of preservative for the recipe, and the recipes seem to require about 40 ml of 10% buffered formalin per 1/2 lb of dry mix. Any experiences, plus or minus?

 

[kinyonga]

What insect diets include formaldehyde?

 

[emilybier]

That is weird :/ I'd just stick to what people have used successfully around here.

 

[Dave]

Hornworms. http://insected.arizona.edu/manduca/rear_diet_mix.html
http://www.entm.purdue.edu/entomology/outreach/recipe/artificialdiet.pdf

 

[Olimpia]

Huh, interesting. Makes me curious to look up where else Formalin or Formaldehyde is used in food.

 

[Eltortu]

Is it use as a preservative?...

 

[kinyonga]

Maybe this will help...
http://www.eco-usa.net/toxics/chemicals/formaldehyde.shtml

 

[Eltortu]

Kiyonga has the anwser!

 

[ataraxia]

on the second link from purdue university. i dont see where they actually use it in the solution.

I wouldnt use it.

 

[kinyonga]

ataraxia...look under "Components"...5th one down...formalin.

I remember years ago we were having problems losing lizards including chameleons and I looked up the chicken feed that was being used by the cricket breeder...it contained formaldehyde. When he stopped using it, the lizards stopped dying. It was never really proven....it could have been something else. I remember when I looked up the chicken feed (not on a site put up by the chicken feed producers, but in a university study) it said something that made me think that was what was happening...but as I said...it was never proven.

 

[ataraxia]

i see it in the list of ingredients but not when they prepare the artificial diet.

 

[Dave]

It's combined with the rest of the ingredients.