It's Japanese Beetle time here ...

[shrink9]

It's Japanese Beetle time here and I was wondering........there must be something that they are useful for. Do you think that the chams would eat them? My understanding is that they live as grubs before emerging as beetles. I hate them with a passion (as do our roses) and would feel like I was getting apt revenge if the chams would eat them.

What do you all think? I know about the risks of feeding wild-caught insects. Just wondering.

Allen

 

[chris]

you should do some research and see if the kinds of plants they eat are toxic.

 

[opihiman]

beetles are kind of hard with chitin in their shell which may make them more difficult to digest. possibly if the were mashed up they would make a good meal but then there are still the hard parts of the shell to worry about though. Still I would think that they are high in protein.

very thought provoking idea though.

OPI

 

[ToniandGizmo]

Ten years ago, my female veiled was outside getting her sun, and a japanese beetle landed on her tree. She ate it before I could stop her. She stopped eating almost immediately after that happened. A day later, she pooped out the beetle (still intact). She died two days later. These beetles have very strong mandibles and I'm sure it literally ate her up inside. Widget was 6 years old at the time. I'd bought her as a tiny baby! It's taken me 10 years before I was ready for another chameleon. I still think about her and miss her

My lesson learned? Never, never will I put my cham out unless he's in his protective cage.

 

[merumontanus]

Are you saying that the chameleon swallowed the beetle whole without chewing? I'm having a very, very difficult time believing that.

 

[ToniandGizmo]

Widget DID crunch down on the shell, I saw her do it. you could hear the cracking/breaking sound . Then she gulp it down. She showed absolutely NO signs of choking or suffocating. She went about the rest of the afternoon and evening and got into her night spot when it was time sleep just like she had done for the last six years. The next morning, she had pooped it out. It was pretty easy to see it. It did not look like a regular cham poop. It was the partially chewed beetle covered in clear slime.

That morning, she would not eat, but drank a little the first few hours, by that evening she'd darkened and was hiding. I found her dead the morning after that

My husband accidently sat on one of those and he said the bite it gave him felt like a bee sting! It actually raised a red bump.

I was worried as soon as I saw what she'd done.

 

[ToniandGizmo]

Just for the record. What we call Japanese Beetles out here in SoCal are those bright metallic green ones that like to hit you upside the head when they fly.

 

[redlupin]

The green ones are Chinese beetles...or so thats what the kids at my school call them anyways But the real name is the metallic green fig beetle. Heres a pic to avoid anymore confusion.

 

[shrink9]

Here is a photo (from internet) of the Japanese Beetle

I hope that this helps with any confusion.

Allen

 

[Edward Kim]

All arthopod exoskeletons are made of chitin (ie flies and beetles). So I would imagine that the thickness of this structural amino sugar would determine whether it is killed (via chomping) or digested properly.

On the other note, Redlupin nice pic the the fig beetle I feed them to my chams all the time and they devore them with gusto and are completely digested.

ed

 

[ToniandGizmo]

It wasn't a Japanese Beetle after all!

Thanks so much for clearing this up. Widget ate what I now know to be a Chinese or Fig Beetle. It was a fatal choice for her, and a lesson learned for me. Always keep your cham safe while enjoying the outdoors.

 

[spearsre]

Some beetles...

have a natural toxin that can make birds stomachs hurt and curbs feeding habit and if enough are eaten can kill. However, maybe the beetle had been poisoned by an insecticide prior to landing on your chams cage Just a thought. Sucks either way.

 

[redlupin]

I feed them to my chams all the time and they devore them with gusto and are completely digested.

ed

Do you catch them outside or do you breed them?

 

[jejton]

Widget DID crunch down on the shell, I saw her do it. you could hear the cracking/breaking sound . Then she gulp it down. She showed absolutely NO signs of choking or suffocating. She went about the rest of the afternoon and evening and got into her night spot when it was time sleep just like she had done for the last six years. The next morning, she had pooped it out. It was pretty easy to see it. It did not look like a regular cham poop. It was the partially chewed beetle covered in clear slime.

That morning, she would not eat, but drank a little the first few hours, by that evening she'd darkened and was hiding. I found her dead the morning after that

My husband accidently sat on one of those and he said the bite it gave him felt like a bee sting! It actually raised a red bump.

I was worried as soon as I saw what she'd done.

Are you sure both were Japanese beetles? I mean I catch them by hand all the time. Dont discount the possibility that the beetle she ate was toxic, either from pesticides or plant toxins ingested.

 

[ToniandGizmo]

Jejton - What I found out through these posts is that Widget ate a CHINESE BEETLE - the metallic green one in the picture.

Yes, you're right, it could have been due to pesticides that were consumed by this beetle. They are pretty tough insects and very well could have been stronger than the pesticide that it could have consumed. Either way, I will NEVER put my cham outside again without protection from the bugs: