Insect feeders raising guide | D colony
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, the host discusses the art of raising a healthy ant colony with a focus on Platylateralis, a fast-breeding species of cockroach used as feeders. The tutorial covers the setup of a feeder enclosure, the advantages of using Platylateralis over crickets, and the maintenance process, including egg harvesting and hatchling care. The host also shares tips on maintaining a thriving colony and the importance of cleanliness to prevent disease, ensuring a sustainable food source for the ants.
Takeaways
- 🐜 The video discusses the importance of feeders for ant colonies and the process of raising a healthy colony.
- 🍎 Ants are omnivorous and can eat a variety of foods, including rice, meat, and snacks.
- 📈 The speaker's youngest ant colony grew rapidly, producing alates in less than three months.
- 🦗 The video focuses on Platylateralis, a fast-breeding species of cockroach used as feeders for ants.
- 🔪 The enclosure for the cockroach feeders is made by cutting ventilation holes and covering them with mosquito screen to prevent predators.
- 🔨 Advantages of using Platylateralis over crickets include being quieter, less smelly, and easier to maintain.
- 🚰 A water source for the cockroaches is created using test tubes or a water feeder designed for bee colonies.
- 🍽️ The main food source for the cockroaches is dog food, supplemented with chicken feed.
- 🥚 The speaker harvests eggs from the cockroach colony weekly and discusses methods to speed up hatching.
- 🧹 Regular maintenance of the cockroach enclosure is necessary to prevent disease and ensure a thriving colony.
- 🔄 The process of transferring newly hatched roaches to the main feeder box and sorting them by size is explained for feeding different pets.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is about raising and maintaining a healthy colony of Platylatelis, a species of cockroach, which are used as feeders for ant colonies.
Why are Platylatelis considered a good choice for ant feeders?
-Platylatelis are considered a good choice for ant feeders because they breed fast, are noiseless, have less odor compared to crickets, and are easy to maintain.
What are some alternative feeders mentioned in the video besides Platylatelis?
-Some alternative feeders mentioned in the video include fruit flies, worms, crickets, and super worms.
What is the advantage of using a test tube setup for the water source of the Platylatelis?
-The advantage of using a test tube setup for the water source is to avoid the need to purchase water crystals and to prevent the roaches from drowning.
What is the main food source for the Platylatelis mentioned in the video?
-The main food source for the Platylatelis mentioned in the video is dog food, with chicken feed being used sometimes as a supplement.
How often should the Platylatelis enclosure be cleaned and eggs harvested according to the video?
-In the new and bigger enclosure, the video suggests cleaning and harvesting eggs once every two weeks due to the increased space for waste accumulation.
What is the recommended ratio of males to females in the Platylatelis colony?
-The recommended ratio of males to females in the Platylatelis colony is 30 males to 70 females to prevent fighting among males and ensure a healthy breeding population.
How are the newly hatched roaches transferred to the feeders box in the video?
-The newly hatched roaches are transferred to the feeders box using a paper cup, which makes the transfer process easier and prevents the small roaches from being eaten by larger ones until they are big enough.
What is the purpose of the wet tissue inside the container with the hatching eggs?
-The wet tissue inside the container with the hatching eggs provides humidity necessary for the eggs to hatch and also serves as a source of moisture for the newly hatched roaches to drink from.
Why is it important to regularly clean the Platylatelis enclosure?
-Regular cleaning of the Platylatelis enclosure is important to prevent the buildup of waste, which can lead to disease and death among the roaches, ultimately affecting the sustainability of the ant colonies they feed.
What is the role of the egg trays in the Platylatelis breeding box?
-The egg trays in the Platylatelis breeding box provide a place for the female roaches to lay their eggs and also make it easier to collect and separate the eggs from the adult roaches.
Outlines
🐜 Introduction to Ant Feeders and Colony Care
The video script begins with a greeting and an introduction to the topic of ant feeders, specifically focusing on how to house, care for, and successfully raise a healthy colony. The speaker discusses various options for feeders, including fruit flies and worms, and shares personal experiences with their 'payroll ants' which are not picky eaters. The rapid growth of one of the speaker's youngest ant colonies is highlighted, mentioning the production of alates in under three months. The main feeder of interest in this script is the Platylateralis cockroach, a fast-breeding species, and the video promises to compare this with crickets as feeders, noting some advantages of using Platylateralis.
🔨 Building a Feeder Enclosure for Platylateralis
The script continues with a tutorial on creating an enclosure for Platylateralis, a type of cockroach used as feeders. The process involves cutting ventilation holes in the cover of a bin, using a mosquito screen to prevent entry from larger predators, and securing the mesh with hot glue. The enclosure is designed to house a large number of Platylateralis to meet the demand of the speaker's fire ant colony. The benefits of using Platylateralis over crickets are outlined, including their noiseless nature, less offensive smell, and ease of maintenance. The video then shows the transfer of the cockroach colony to the new enclosure and introduces other feeder insects and pets kept by the speaker.
📦 Maintenance and Breeding of Platylateralis Feeders
This section of the script details the maintenance and breeding process of the Platylateralis cockroaches. The speaker describes the setup for water and food sources, using dog food and chicken feed as the main food sources. The process of transferring the cockroaches to a new enclosure is explained, emphasizing the ease of moving them compared to crickets. The importance of maintaining a balanced sex ratio for breeding is discussed, with the speaker aiming for 70% females and 30% males. The video also covers the collection of eggs, which are hatched in a separate container with controlled humidity. The newly hatched roaches are kept separately until they reach a suitable size for transfer to the main feeder box. The script concludes with a demonstration of the cleaning and maintenance routine for the feeder colony, emphasizing the importance of cleanliness to prevent disease and maintain a thriving colony.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Feeders
💡Ant Colonies
💡Platylateralis
💡Feeder Farms
💡Ventilation
💡Mosquito Screen
💡Maintenance
💡Egg Trays
💡Water Source
💡Dog Food
💡Harvesting Eggs
Highlights
Introduction to the topic of ant feeders and their importance in raising a healthy ant colony.
Discussion on the variety of feeders available, including fruit flies and worms, and the adaptability of ants to different food sources.
Personal experience sharing on the rapid growth of an ant colony fed with a diverse diet, including everyday meals.
Introduction of Platylateralis, the fastest breeding species of cockroaches used as feeders.
Comparison between Platylateralis (Lats) and crickets as feeders, highlighting the advantages of Lats.
Demonstration of creating a feeder enclosure with proper ventilation to prevent moisture buildup.
Use of mosquito screen and hot glue for securing ventilation holes to protect feeders from predators.
Advantages of using Lats over crickets, including noise level, smell, and ease of maintenance.
Transfer of the Lats colony to a new, larger enclosure to increase production for the ant colony's consumption.
Description of the current setup for Lats breeding, including the use of test tubes for water and dog food as a food source.
Process of egg harvesting from the Lats and the importance of maintaining a clean environment for egg development.
Technique for hatching eggs using a wet tissue to provide necessary humidity and a paper cup for housing newborn roaches.
Rationale for transferring newly hatched roaches to a separate container before introducing them to the main feeder box.
Explanation of the sorting method for different sizes of roaches to cater to various feeding needs of pets and ant colonies.
Demonstration of the maintenance process for a healthy Blatta lateralis feeder colony, including cleaning and feeding routines.
Importance of preventing disease in the roach colony to ensure a sustainable food source for ant colonies.
Conclusion summarizing the key points of the video and an invitation for viewers to engage with the content.
Transcripts
[Music]
good day buddies
i hope you and your family are doing
fine and safe out there
today we will be talking about feeders
for our ant colonies
on how to house and take care of them
and how to be successful in raising a
healthy feeders colony
welcome to d colony
when we're talking about ant feeders we
got a lot of options to choose from
from fruit flies to worms cause some
ants will really
eat anything you gave them just like my
payroll ants
these guys are really eating everything
i offer to them
i almost try feeding them my everyday
meals like rice
meat and snacks they're not picky in
terms of food
and they're really booming in numbers
now maybe
with a thousand workers more or less in
just 11 weeks
as one of my youngest ant colony they
are now producing alates
they matured so fast in less than three
months
going back to our topic me myself
aside from having ant farms i also have
some feeder farms like
crickets culture super worms farm
but for today we will be focusing on
roach specie named platylateralis
the fastest breeding specie of the
cockroaches
shout out to the some of you who
requested for these feeder raising video
and some also asked what's the better
feeder between lats and crickets
for me they're both great and feeders
they breed fast
but lats had some advantages in some way
that we will discuss later
[Music]
for now let's make our feeders enclosure
first
we got a two large bins here cause i
just decided to upgrade my feeders
production recently
cause my main fire ant colony are really
eating a lot of them
like my fire ants that's consuming a
dozen of lats a day
anyway we are going to cut a ventilation
on the cover to avoid moist inside the
enclosure
and i will also use a drill to make the
starting point of our cutting tool
[Music]
i'm using a coping saw here but we can
also used a cutter or sharp knife
for cutting the vent
we are using a mosquito screen to cover
the hole
not for preventing mosquitoes but to
block
large predators like lizards cause
they're also interested in consuming our
feeders
we will just used a hot glue in
attaching the mesh to the cover
and now guys going back on wallets is
better than crickets in my opinion
first crickets buddies are noisy
especially at night while lats are just
noiseless all day
[Music]
second laps have smell but crickets are
way way evil smelling
in fact i'm using substrate on my
crickets but they still smell extremely
bad than the lats
i should know buddies cause i keep them
both
and third lats are easy to maintain
cause while doing the maintenance on
crickets
they will be jumping everywhere if
you're not so careful on moving them to
another setup
to clean their container about the lats
maintenance
i will discuss it later on this video
buddies
and our feeders upgraded enclosure is
done
we can now transfer my lats colony here
they're on the backyard buddies so let
me just take
them we also have my other feeder
insects here
and i also have a pet skink buddies but
she's not visible right now
sorry for the messy glass we have here
cause i haven't clean it for a while
anyway let me lure her for us to have a
look
here she is guys say hello
to the fat skink i named ally
we also have my super worms cultures
here
my springtails and isopods breeding
boxes
the darkling beetles over here
and our lats at the top and this small
container beside them is some baby
native roaches that im trying to culture
anyway let's get the lats inside
so here's my current lats breeding box
there's a lot of them here so i decided
to make a bigger enclosure for them
and also for them to provide more eggs
cause my ants really love them
and i just recently add more breeders
here from my adult feeders
and planning to add more soon
i used a test tube set up for their
water source
so i will not spend money on water
crystals
and i feed them dog food as their main
food source
and chicken feed sometimes i just
add food and water every time they fully
consume
their meals looks like someone wants to
join us on the video
buddies meet my dog will
he's the eldest of them so we call him
kuya will
[Music]
[Applause]
anyway
[Applause]
we only need to tap the egg tray here to
remove all the roaches hiding in them
in replacing their trays now cause they
will be using whole
egg trays on their new and bigger setup
here they are the females are the dark
brown to black in color
and the males are the orange wood wings
actually
we have too many males here so i started
feeding them to ali recently
cause male acts used to fight when
there's too many of them in one
enclosure
the ratio i want here is 30 male and 70
female and i believe to achieve that
in the upcoming days we only need to do
this and
they will be the one jumping to their
new enclosure
this way their waste and eggs will be
left here
for us to collect and here we are with
the last roach
[Music]
let's put the trays inside
[Music]
now that we have a bigger enclosure for
the roaches
we can now use a bigger water feeder
anyway
this one is made for bee colonies but we
can also use it to avoid drowning of the
feeders
or we can still use test tubes but
we can also use a small basin for their
water source
but consider putting rocks inside so
that the riches will have something to
walk through to also avoid them drowning
we can now offer them some food and
put them in place
and here are the eggs that we will
collect buddies
but unfortunately i can't find the
strainer amusing to collect them
faster maybe we'll play on it again
i don't have a choice but to pick it up
one by one
anyway buddies i'm harvesting eggs every
week
and i'm doing it every time i clean
their setup
cause as you can see there's so much
waste in just a week
but in their new and bigger enclosure i
will only clean
and harvest eggs once every two weeks
cause there's more room now for their
waste inside
that will also lessen my workload on
maintaining the feeders colony
so guys after an eternity we have
successfully harvested all the eggs
and this is their average eggs
production in a single week 15 to 30
roaches will hatched
with each of these eggs buddies that
will be so much feeders for my ants
and they will hatch in 30 or more days
but can be faster if you provide the
best condition what i do here buddies to
make them hatch in just few weeks
is let me show you the other cos i
collected
last week or last last week they need a
little humidity to hatch
so what i do is put a wet tissue inside
just wet buddies no water dripping on it
that white ball there is the tissue
after hatching
the baby roaches will also drink on it
and i
also put this paper cup inside that will
be housing the newly hatched roaches
look buddies there's so many of them
here already
anyway the main purpose of this paper
cup is for easier transfer of this newly
hatched babies to your feeders box
or to another container cause what i do
buddies is i'm not transferring them
straight to my feeders box
if they're still this tiny i just keep
them here
until they grow bigger and ready to be
transferred to the feeders box
[Music]
here's the roaches that i transferred
last week
as you can see they groaned so fast
because there's no big roaches around
that will out compete them on food
and here's the other batch transferred
last last week
and another one here transferred three
weeks ago
[Music]
and another one container here four
weeks ago
and these guys are ready to be
transferred to my feed feeders box
buddies
to compete with the adult roaches there
but
i'm just letting them consume their food
left here before transferring them
anyway buddies i'm doing this sorting
thing
cause i also have small pets like
jumping spiders
who feds on these small roaches and my
small and starting ant colonies
also feeds on small roaches so it's
really more convenient to get to feeder
with a certain size with
this method than searching a small roach
on a feeders box full of adult roaches
[Music]
using my two feeders box at the back
i will show you how i do the simple
maintenance needed
to have a healthy bladder lateralis
feeders colony
aside from feeding them we also need to
do some cleaning for our feeders
in order to have a thriving colony of
them the eggs harvesting part was done
earlier in the lats breeding box
here we will not be harvesting a lot
because we don't have so much eggs
production in this container
cause most of the adult roaches here are
being fed to my ant colonies
this is a feeders box anyway so what i
will show you is how i clean their setup
you can transfer your roaches on a
temporary container
while you're washing and drying their
enclosure but the best thing i do is
i transfer them to another feeders box
cause i have extra box for each of them
then you can wash their used setup later
with soap and water
then let it dry for it to be ready on
the next maintenance
time in transferring your roach colony
we just need to move this egg trays in a
temporary
or on your extra feeders box like mine
it's as easy as this cause they don't
jump like crickets
and we will just again let the remaining
roaches here drop themselves to their
new enclosure
if you will used to small containers
like this buddies
you really need to do a weekly cleaning
maintenance
because they really produce so much
waste
you don't want them end up dying just
because of too much waste inside
cause we need them to sustain our ant
colonies
if one of your oats die because of a
disease all of them will follow in no
time
cause roaches eats their dead comrade
causing a domino effect until no roach
is left for your ants
so this is it for our blata later alice
feeders guide buddies
i wish i covered all your questions in
this video
i will make an updated and another type
of feeder guides
in the future i just hope you have
learned something from this
video guys be a genie for the first time
by granting my wish in tapping the like
and share button
that would help a lot this is d colony
saying goodbye for now but hoping to see
you on my next videos
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