Macumba(The Melleri) Eats a Hawkmoth....His Favorite!

[jpowell86]

Macumba eats hawkmoth on Vimeo

• jpowell86
• Dec 11, 2015
• 1

This is "Macumba eats hawkmoth" by Joel Powell on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and...

 

[Dave Bolamperti]

Hey jpowell86,
Watching Chams hunt is my one of my favorite things about caring for these predators.
Looks jungle like, nice setup. Thanks for sharing
Dave

 

[brownie64]

Cool! He is a very good looking fella. If I ever get the room for it I've got to get me one of these,

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Wow, very nice! Thanks for sharing!

 

[ChamDE86]

I'm with Dave! It's still fascinates me watching them eat, even after seeing it for hundreds and hundreds of time.

 

[Lathis]

Hahaha! I didn't even see him until he moved!

 

[MSMorgan]

Very cool!

 

[jpowell86]

Thanks guys! He fascinates me daily!

 

[Alexander1]

Wow the moth and that Cham are huge! Awesome Cham man

 

[jpowell86]

Wow the moth and that Cham are huge! Awesome Cham man

Thanks man! He keeps growing and growing!

 

[Direwolf]

I returned to this post just to re-watch the video of Macumba! Gorgeous cham and wow, that's quite the meal I just can't believe what a beautiful Melleri Macumba is...very cool!

 

[jpowell86]

I appreciate that Direwolf....very much!!

 

[d3s5]

Great video! I have two Melleri and neither one will eat a hawk moth but they both LOVE the pupae!

Deb

 

[BayChams]

Hahaha! I didn't even see him until he moved!

Me too!

 

[jpowell86]

Great video! I have two Melleri and neither one will eat a hawk moth but they both LOVE the pupae!

Leave it to Melleri to be picky beasts. It's hilarious that yours will not eat a hawkmoth because Macumba won't eat a hornworm for anything. It drives me crazy. So I always have to keep a bin of pupating hornworms for him!

 

[d3s5]

Leave it to Melleri to be picky beasts. It's hilarious that yours will not eat a hawkmoth because Macumba won't eat a hornworm for anything. It drives me crazy. So I always have to keep a bin of pupating hornworms for him!

I didn't mean to imply either will eat a hornworm - they won't touch them! In fact, they get annoyed when I even attempt to show them one or put one on a branch. I've even tried different color hornworms - more blue and more green. It's only the pupa they love. It's interesting to know other Melleri won't eat hornworms, though.

Deb

 

[JaniP]

Awesome!! He looks fantastic!

 

[jpowell86]

I didn't mean to imply either will eat a hornworm - they won't touch them! In fact, they get annoyed when I even attempt to show them one or put one on a branch. I've even tried different color hornworms - more blue and more green. It's only the pupa they love. It's interesting to know other Melleri won't eat hornworms, though

Ahhh, I'm on the same page now. How interesting. I have never tried feeding the pupa. Just like you, I have tried every variation in color I can find. There was one time that I thought Macumba was going to eat one, but he basically just bit it(as to just kill it) and dropped it on the ground. Mine too become postured and defensive at the sight of a hornworm. I am going to have to try the pupa idea. Do you just hold them near the proboscis so the back end does it's little wiggling thing? I'm just wondering what movement grabs their attention?

 

[d3s5]

Do you just hold them near the proboscis so the back end does it's little wiggling thing? I'm just wondering what movement grabs their attention?

I just lay them flat in my palm. They don't move at all. Just like when I feed snails - they don't move at all either. I'm not sure what it is about them that they recognize them as food, but both my Melleri eat them quickly!

Deb

 

[jpowell86]

I just lay them flat in my palm. They don't move at all. Just like when I feed snails - they don't move at all either. I'm not sure what it is about them that they recognize them as food, but both my Melleri eat them quickly!

How completely strange. The hawkmoth's pupa cycle is completely subterranean. So weird that they would even recognize the pupa as food. I wonder if butterflies in their native area that pupate attached to the under sides of branches are recognizable food items? I'm definitely giving this a try tomorrow!