Preparing for the cricket plague...

[adawinters]

That's a relief... and I feel a little guilty, now, for (inadvertently) spreading misinformation!

In defense of my misinformation, at the time that I first started seeing posts about it, my cricket store was out of all but the smallest crickets (which according to the myth o' virus were less affected), thus my readily belief in "lore." Sigh. I feel a bit sheepish now.

[Kurt]

I wouldn't believe any rumor until its in print in a reputable publication or web site, and a forum like ours and anybody elses does not count, as anyone can post it.

[adawinters]

I'm aware of that; Thing is that I spend 9 months of the year being a responsible researcher, of sorts, so the 3 months when I have more leisure time to poke around online and chat about animals, I am a little less thorough. (Sigh -- the burnout from a PhD program. I'm also studying for comprehensive finals in August, so I feel obligated to have any formal reading I do function as prep for that fun ol' test. I should also mention that this is all in the humanities, so my work-life-research and my play-life-research don't really overlap).

Admittedly, I fell for the myth simply because it was widespread. It's a good think y'all are around to keep the myths in line. I knew this was the right place to ask.

[Paul Rust]

I think it is great that you brought it up here because as you said it is widespread and people are freaking out about it. The good thing about this forum is we are not inclined to make knee jerk statements and we are careful that good information is passed on. I didn't really think you stated anything in panic mode, you were just looking for alternatives whitch is always a good idea. Even though it is probably a husbandry issue, the result may be the same, a cricket shortage may be on the horizon because of it.

[Deku]

Mealworms and superworms are high in something called chittin, which is like gum to reptiles. They cant fully digest it. I wouldnt feed them mealies all the time. Waxworms are good. Red wrigglers are by far best high protein, low fat. I myself bought some pheonix worms at an expo. There is a place online that sells feeder insects. Personally since I own turtles, I can opt for dead insects. :P Lol e.i. they arent too picky. Roaches are good as well high in protein. If I were you, dont breed them. Just buy them and pop em in. I know what you're going through. In puertorico these mofo roaches were HUGGGE the size of a freaking rat, and worse part was THEY FLEW! I would get my bat whack them, light em on fire. If they were in the kitchen, my parents knew I wouldnt eat ifI saw one crawl around. So they had to heavily spray, and buy new foods because I would have rather starved myself than eat in a house thats infested. I was like 10, so yeah. xD I was extremely finicky. Iam not afraid an ymore but I dislike them. If I see one I still burn them. Or put them in hot boiling water, or acid. Yeah yeah thats cruel to roaches, but if you had a flying roach fly up to you and land on your face when your 10years old. Lol

[adawinters]

Well, since you were brave enough to share your roach story, Deku, I will share mine. As I mentioned, I lived in NYC on the first floor of an apartment building. (For those of you not in the know, 1st floor = above the trash compactor/basement area i.e. right above where roaches love to hide and play). We had those regular little roaches, and what we call waterbugs, the big 1.5-2 inch, flying yuckies. (I think in the south the terms are reversed? I've also heard the biggies referred to as palmetto bugs.)

Ok. So... roaches love kitchens. On more than one occasion, I would get a drink of water in the middle of the night, and wake up a moment later with a waterbug (i.e. big freakin thing) on me. (Once, I woke up with one in my cleavage.) Mind you, this all was during my ever so impressionable childhood. I eventually learned to turn the light on and count to ten before entering the kitchen, and over time, the neighborhood got classier, and the new management started some manner of annual pest control, because it's nowhere near as bad now when I go visit my father in that same apartment. In fact, I don't think I've seen any roaches there in the last few years.

So... roaches are seriously out of the question for me. Put me in the middle of a swarm of spiders, bees, rats... you name it, and I'm fine. One roach will give me insomnia for nights.

On that note, back to the original question: who's got dirt on silkworms, butterworms, or phoenix worms?