The 'frog food for free' season is comming to an end here in the UK as winter draws in so it will be back to a mixture of cultured foods.
I know there is a potential risk in using wild food but in my opinion the benefits far outweigh the risk. So the frogs will have to wait until next spring before the diverse menu becomes available again.
Some of the 'plankton' that went down well this year (literally) included..........
frog hoppers (Cercopoidea)
alder beetles
leaf and grass weevils
native springtails (the largest at 6mm is Tomocerus longicornis which I am attempting to culture) these are big!
ground hoppers (Tetrix subulata)
lacewings
native woodlouse
numerous flies and wingless moths
I've never been tempted to put either spiders or ants in a viv!
The size of the plankton determined which frog species was fed what but everything from retics at the smallest to adult terribs at the other end of the spectrum has been fed on it.
Anyone else use it and what's you frogs favourites?
There's no such thing as a "wingless moth", do you mean a caterpiller?
No I mean what I said - wingless moths.
There are quite a number of wingless moths here in the UK - usually it's the females of the species, here's just a few - The Mottled Umber Moth (Hybemia defoliaria), the Early Moth (Hybernia rwpicapraria), the March Moth (Anisopteryx cescularia).
A wingless species that occurs in the US is the Live Oak Tussock Moth (Orgyia detrita). Another interesting family with flightless females is the Psychidae or Bagworm Moths. With about 25 member species in North America they are relatively small and poorly known although widely distributed.
Not only are there wingless moths there are moths that live underwater! The Water Veneer (Acentria ephemerella) is a truly amazing little creature. Males fly June to August, but wingless females live underwater (like the larvae) in ponds and slow-moving streams.
Cool bugs! I live in Texas, and have seen bagworms, but not adults, and i've never heard of a Live Oak Tussock moth. However, what I know about other crawlies would make your head spin! (unless you're an entomologist.) Hmm, check that, ARE you an entomologist?
As a practising consultant ecologist one of the important 'ologies' that reflect ecosystem health is entomology - so yes it is an important part of my role.
Graham - any reason that aphids didn't make it onto your list?
We had a great aphid year this summer (I use the word 'great' advisedly - my other half begs to differ...) and various different species formed a significant part of my frogs' diets. Easy to collect, I'd imagine they're quite calorific and the small ones are good for thumbnails that won't eat owt but springtails! A decent sized willow aphid represents quite a feast for a hungry azzie....
no aphids not on the list was just an oversight. I do use them occasionaly but i don't use 'willow aphids' afer a scary experience a few years ago when one managed to get its 'spike' lodged into the top of my young terribs mouths. I managed to free it but it did cause me to reconsider using them - even though like you say they are the giant of native aphids.
I'm out on springtail safari next week with a friend who is studying them as part of his PhD and we are going to see which natives are easy/possible to culture. I'll let you know how it goes.
I do use them occasionaly but i don't use 'willow aphids' afer a scary experience a few years ago when one managed to get its 'spike' lodged into the top of my young terribs mouths.
Good point! (pardon the pun......)
The star attraction this year in our garden were giant green juicy-looking ones, the likes of which I've never seen before - no shark fin on them!
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Meadow Plankton
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