[Dane]

I recently found a fantastic source of dampwood termites near my house, and assuming the recent humidity keeps up, I should have a ready supply of termites to feed my growing collection. Even the jeuv. Vents can easily eat them. My question is, are termites an acceptable substitute for flies? I've been combining them with the ff's I have, but it would be simpler to just collect termites weekly.

 

[Arklier]

As long as they are dusted, I don't see why they couldn't be a staple diet. I'd still keep FFs on hand though, just in case. Termites can dissapear without warning.

 

[bbrock]

They're a great food source but very fatty so be reasonable about using them as a staple. I'm told by a friend of mine who is an entomology professor that damp woods termites are the most likely to produce secondary queens from workers. If you have a good supply, I would try to trap a huge number with a cardboard trap and set up a culture that you don't feed from to see if you can have some luck at getting a queen to appear. If you do, you'll be the envy of all froggers.

 

[jbeetle]

I have a culture of dampwood termites that is over a year old. I collected them, fed off some, and then got lazy and didn't feel like going through the wood looking for them to feed off... so here they are a year later lol.

 

[geckguy]

I actually have a termite culture, and so far it seems to be producing well, although I have stopped checking on them so I dont mess up their tunnels. Last time I checked there was 9 queens in there. I suggest setting up a culture, just because they are a great supplemental feeder.

 

[Arklier]

Would anyone be able to sell starter cultures?

 

[Dancing frogs]

I think I was told it was illegal to ship a queen, but who checks every termite to make sure?

 

[Guest]

I'd be willing to pay for a starter culture of termites if you want to send a good number of them down my way :lol:

 

[snmreptiles]

I'd be willing to pay for a starter culture of termites if you want to send a good number of them down my way :lol:

Same here!! I could split it with you Chantel!

-Shelley

 

[Guest]

I'd be more then happy to split it with you Shelly. If we can find someone willing to ship some to us in a large enough quantity. :lol: I can just set them up in large sterilite boxes in my crawlspace and forget about them for a few months and let them set up their own colony. My frogs would be in heaven.

 

[Dane]

Yes, as far as I know, dampwoods can have multiple surrogate queens per colony, so that in the event of the primary queen's death, one will replace her. Everytime I collect, I get 4 or 5 of these pseudo-queens along with the feeder workers. I would be willing to ship some as soon as the rains in my area stop if anyone would like to try their hand at culturing them, but does anyone have any info on the legality of it? I suppose I could just send them in unmarked packaging, but I don't know how big of a no-no that is.

 

[geckguy]

It is illegal to sell termites without the proper permits. I dont think you will have a problem though, just dont post a add, just keep it confined to pms.

 

[Guest]

hey dane i live in temecula maybe i can come by and grab a starter culture from you.

 

[Dane]

sent pm's.

 

[benmz]

It is absolutely illegal to sell or even ship termites without USDA permits. They are considered by authorities to a majpr pest. Millions of dollars are spent every year by homeowners trying to prevent them from eating their houses away.

However, us froggers are smarter than that. We know that if the wood in your house is not wet you have little or nothing to fear. I would really be careful about shipping these tasty treats. Being regulated at a federal level you could face some stiff fines if caught. No laws about collecting them or passing them along for free though, just not sending through the mail or other shipping services.

 

[Ryan]

Shipping termites is a pretty big deal you all should be ashamed :lol:

:wink: lol

 

[Guest]

We're not shipping anything :wink:

We're discussing frog food.

 

[Ryan]

Kinda an inside joke i guess...

 

[jkinsey]

How much are the termites going for?

 

[Dane]

Well, the feds are on my tail, I've been running termites and cocaine out of mexico, so if you want a culture it's gonna be $5000. Jk.