Gryllodes sigillatus

[Xubby]

I've been debating making the switch from breeding Acheta domestica to Gryllodes sigillatus lately, and am curious if anyone here has any first hand experience with the latter. On paper, Gryllodes definitely sounds superior, but is the difference significant enough to warrant a swap. Or are they both just smelly, disgusting crickets?

[Arthropod Hunter]

I've been debating making the switch from breeding Acheta domestica to Gryllodes sigillatus lately, and am curious if anyone here has any first hand experience with the latter. On paper, Gryllodes definitely sounds superior, but is the difference significant enough to warrant a swap. Or are they both just smelly, disgusting crickets?

hi there , I tried to breed Acheta domestica before but they all died. But when i switched to Gryllodes sigilatus everything went fine and got a fine bunch of pinheads. Gryllus Field crickets are more easier to raise than house crickets. If you dont want a smelly bin , i suggest adding an inch of soil as substrate , the soil will absorb the smelly smell , giving you a odorless cricket bin.

[LilyPad]

Do not use substrate. Crickets will lay their eggs anywhere and they're harder to collect and move. It also makes it harder to clean unless you're planning to toss out eggs once a week when they lay them all willy-nilly around the bin.

[Arthropod Hunter]

Oops Sorry for that! Amy is right. Do it when its ok for you to leave them in a container with substrate for them to lay eggs and transfer them to another container to allow the eggs to hatch. This is what i do and they breed in large numbers. You can also place a cup or container of moist soil in the tank (without substrate) , take these containers out every week and place them in a separate tank (dont forget to mist it); after about two weeks ,they will hatch and you will see lots of pinhead crickets.
Terribly Sorry for the wrong info
anyway if you are interested of the container with substrate , here's a guide: (i do this because i need large supply of pinheads for my jumping spiders).
Odorless Breeding of Crickets

[Xubby]

Thanks for the comments. I don't have a massive demand for crickets, and have wondered if I could pull off a one tub system before. I don't really mind, but the four tub system I have now is... well... it takes up more space than I'd like. With Acheta being so cannibalistic I felt like it'd be a waste of time, but maybe Gryllodes are more suited for this? Do you just use a one tub setup, Jerome?

[LilyPad]

I gave up breeding because my cricket demand was low (about 2 dozen med-large crickets a week) and I couldn't take the smell anymore. I just buy enough for a week and supplement with occasional mealworms that I keep in the fridge in case I'm running a day or two late.

[JeffreH]

What makes you think Gryllodes are superior to Acheta?

I'm legitimately curious... I don't mess with crickets much anymore these days aside from picking up a few dozen from a show here and there to add variety to the diet. I haven't done much research on the differences between the two species, but would wager a guess that they are fairly similar as a whole (smelly, disgusting crickets). Even in cockroaches differences between species are rather small relative to comparisons between Orders/groups (i.e. crickets vs. roaches vs. moth larvae). I've raised Gryllus pennsylvanicus and found them to be just about as annoying as domestic crickets

What do you hope to accomplish with the switch? A feeder that is less smelly? Less cannibalistic? Less maintenance/space to keep? Maybe we could help you look into another feeder to fit the bill. I'm a bit biased on feeder roaches, but I know they aren't for everyone... Just like crickets aren't for everyone, lol.

[Xubby]

@Amy
That's pretty much where I am right now. Unfortunately, the nearest place I know of that sells crickets is an hour and a half away, so breeding made more sense than buying a thousand crickets other month online.

@Jeff
Why do I think they're better? Mostly bullet points made by people trying to sell me them, hah. I can't find much first hand info, unfortunately, so I'm just assuming what breeders (such as Ghann's farm) say is accurate. Supposedly Gryllodes live longer/are less cannibalistic (good for me) and smaller/less chitinous (good for my toad). If this means I could keep a steady population in a one tub setup, or chitin difference is more important than I'm aware, I'd be sold on swapping. If I'm going through the effort to breed crickets anyway, they might as well be the best species I can find, after all.

I might be over thinking it the choice, though. I've been guilty of that before.

I'm hoping to get a good cricket, a good roach (I have red runners/Dubias currently), and a good... something else, so as to provide decent variety. After half a year of trying, I've pretty much given up on my Woodhouse toad ever eating an earthworm. The stick insects I wanted are, annoyingly, all sorts of illegal. Maybe breeding slugs, if she'd eat those? Do you have any recommendation for a third choice? Preferably low maintenance, but I'm willing to work if the feeder is worth it.

[JeffreH]

It's okay, I over think everything as well Better to be well-prepared!

Ghann's has been in the business for a long time and is a trustworthy company from what I've heard through the grapevine. If they make the claim that Gryllodes are better for these reasons, then a noticeable difference may actually exist, given the amount of time Ghann's has been working with each species (and the [presumably] millions of each they've produced). Id say go for it if you are set on breeding crickets... but further advice on that matter will have to be given by someone with more experience in that area

As for an alternative third option...

This time of year is a particularly good time to rear silkworms (Bombyx mori) because mulberry leaves have already started to come in. If you live in an area where mulberry grows, and you know you can harvest plant material safely without fear of any chemical -cides or sprays, silkworms may be a decent option. These guys are notoriously expensive... but a big factor in this cost is the artificial chow requirement. They will only feed on this artificial chow or mulberry leaves, otherwise they will not thrive.

It may be possible to order a small amount of food and eggs periodically (or attempt to breed them, they aren't too difficult). The chow would be needed for the first week or so of life, but once they reached their 2nd instar they should be able to handle mature mulberry leaves, and you could harvest the rest of their feed from outdoors for free. They do require a little maintenance, however. They need to be fed at least once, preferably 2-3x daily. They also excrete quite a bit of frass and some silk waste, but this isn't a big deal with some forward planning (e.g. you can rear them on plastic grating so that frass falls through the holes but larvae and food remain on top).

The benefits of silkworms is they are (arguably) the most nutritious feeder out there. Soft bodied, very high protein to fat ratio, high in calcium, and they contain an enzyme called serrapeptase that is known to reduce inflammation and arterial plaque, and promotes calcium absorption. This makes for a bit of a trade-off: a more expensive, slightly more demanding feeder in exchange for nutritional benefits.

Another possible option might be an additional cockroach species... there are dozens available they make good feeders. However, most roaches have very similar nutrient compositions... so it may be better to go with another type of insect to promote a more varied diet, especially since you already have two species.

Soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) are another option, and I'm told they are quite easy to rear. The larvae are soft-bodied and fairly nutritious, plus very high in calcium (sold under the names "calci-worms", "repti-worms", and "phoenix worms"). If you are into composting, some companies actually sell large soldier fly colonies in special pods meant for composting ( BSF bucket composter v2.1 » Black Soldier Fly Blog and Home Page - BSF Farming ). While I've not done this, it seems pretty easy. The adults are wasp mimics, but are totally harmless and also safe to feed. I would wager blue bottle flies (Calliphora sp.) wouldn't be all that difficult to rear on a artificial or 'safe' diet as well... both larvae and adults could be fed in this case, too... but you'd have to look more into it. I know some mantid keepers feed them and/or rear them.

It's too bad he doesn't like earthworms, those would be perfect for you. Slugs may work and I wouldn't think they'd be all that difficult to culture. I'd imagine you'd just keep them in an enclosure with a substrate that holds some moisture and offer produce for them to feed on. Maybe someone else has more experience with them... I recall at least one thread going into a little detail on slugs if my memory serves me right (try a forum search).

[Xubby]

Thanks for the in detailed reply; definitely some stuff to consider. There's actually a row of lilacs locked in battle with a few mulberry trees on the property, so silkworms might be worth looking at.

[Arthropod Hunter]

Thanks for the comments. I don't have a massive demand for crickets, and have wondered if I could pull off a one tub system before. I don't really mind, but the four tub system I have now is... well... it takes up more space than I'd like. With Acheta being so cannibalistic I felt like it'd be a waste of time, but maybe Gryllodes are more suited for this? Do you just use a one tub setup, Jerome?

Sorry for late reply. I use two tubs , the first tub i place the female cricks for them to lay eggs , and the second tub i place the female in there to lay eggs again. The first tub , i remove the females after a week to allow the pinhead crickets to hatch. I dont buy male crickets because females are often gravid on pet stores.

[Xubby]

I didn't notice where you were from and was completely lost as to why your pet store had Gryllodes. They're a bit harder to find state side.

No worries on the late reply, thanks for taking the time to.