Culturing Springtails (Collembola): Poison Dart Frog Food

Springtails are very small insects in the order Collembola. They are found all over the world but most people will never see them. They are called springtails because they have a spring-like projection at the end of their abdomens that allows them jump ("spring") into the air. Because of their small size they make great food for poison dart frogs. They are also extremely easy to culture.

There are many ways to culture spring tails. All you need is some type of plastic container with, a substrate for them to crawl on, water, and food. Examples of food include rice, brewers yeast, fish food flakes, chopped mushroom, whole wheat flour, and oatmeal. I will outline 2 methods here.

Charcoal Method

Take a plastic container with a tight fitting lid and fill it half way with pieces of 100% natural wood lump charcoal (do not use charcoal briquettes). Then add water to a level of 1/2 to 1 inch (most of the charcoal should be above the water). Sprinkle a very tiny amount of food on top of the charcoal and add springtails from an established colony (they can be ordered from many online companies). After two weeks you can start harvesting them.

Coco Fiber Method

Take a plastic container with a tight fitting lid and add 1 to 2 inches of very moist coconut fiber substrate. Sprinkle this with a tiny bit of food. Add springtails from an established culture. After 2 weeks you can start harvesting them.

Feed your spring tails every other day or as needed with a tiny bit of food. You don't want to feed them a lot at one time. Open your cultures once everyday to let fresh air in.

You can harvest springtails by: Removing some of the substrate and adding it to your frog tank. Flooding the culture with water until all the springtails float (you can't drown them) and then skimming them off the top or pouring some the water out. Tilting the culture and blowing the springtails out. You'll most likely figure out a method the works best for you.

Your culture could last for months or years.               

Care and Breeding of Mealworms

Supplies

1) Dry Food (examples in article)
2) Wet Food (examples in article)
3) Mealworms
4) 3 containers (at least one with a lid, size depends on how many mealworms you start with)
5) Paper towel tubes or paper egg cartons

Mealworms are the larvae of a species of darkling beetle (Tenebrio molitor). They have been a popular feeder insect for years. Mealworms are extremely easy (and cheap) to care for. The mealworm life cycle takes 3-6 months so plan ahead. Like most insects they go through complete metamorphosis (egg, larvae, pupa, adult beetle). If you use them often you should consider raising your own. It is an interesting and fulfilling experience for a herper.

Start with a smooth sided container with or without a lid for the larvae. Cover the bottom with about 1.5 in of oatmeal. This will serve as the bedding and dry food. To make it more nutritious you can add a little brewers yeast, wheat germ, whole wheat flower, fish flakes, or ground up dog food. To this add your mealworms (no less than 100 to start a colony, preferably 500 or more). They will need a water source. This will be provided by fruit and vegetable slices laid on top of the bedding. You can use potatoes, carrots (best), banana peel, cabbage, yam, and apple (worst).

Daily maintenance will include removing moldy wet food, adding fresh wet food, removing dead insects, and checking to see if any larvae have turned to pupa (they will look pale slightly curled and won't move unless touched).

Any pupa you see should immediately be removed and moved into a second container with a tiny bit of bedding (no wet food). Pupa must be separated from adults and larvae so they don't get chewed on. When the pupa become dark in color it means they are about to turn to beetles. Any beetles that hatch should immediately be moved to a third container that is setup like the larvae container. The beetle container should have a lid so they don't escape and you may also add paper towel tubes or egg cartons for hiding spaces. The beetles will mate and lay eggs in the substrate, and after a couple of weeks it should be full of eggs and tiny larvae. At this stage I have heard of people putting the substrate over a wire screen sat over another container. The idea is the tiny mealworms will burrow to the bottom of the substrate and fall through the holes in the screen to separate them from the adults. I just pick the beetles out and let their container become the new larvae container. The old larvae container can be cleaned out and used for the next batch of beetles.

Stage Durations

Egg- 4-19 days
Larvae- About 10 weeks
Pupa- 6-24 days
Adult- 8-12 weeks

The length of each stage depends on temperature and nutrition. Higher temperature will make them grow fast. More nutritious food will make them grow faster.