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Wild Caught Insects
There are several factors that limit the longevity of Anoles in the wild. Weather conditions, predators, parasites, and diet make it difficult for an Anole to survive much past its second year. In captivity, they have a climate-controlled environment, no predators, and external parasites are eliminated. Why, then, does a wild, natural diet limit an Anole’s longevity? The answer is two-fold and relatively simple. Anoles are non-discriminatory, opportunistic feeders. They will try to eat anything that crawls or flies by that they think they can overpower and swallow. As a result, they sometimes make poor choices and try to eat high-risk prey. They are sometimes injured, poisoned, and even die because of what they perceive as their next meal. They are not immune to wasp, bee, or spider venoms and can die from the toxins produced by these “snacks”. In addition, they will often eat insects that carry either disease organisms or internal parasites. Fortunately, the list of insect vectors is relatively small when compared to the vast number of species and easy to avoid. With a bit of preparation and knowledge, we can provide our Green Anoles with a diverse, nutritious, and safe menu. Why “wild caught” food? There are several reasons: 1) It is abundant. There are literally millions of species of insects. There are billions of individual specimens of each species. 2) It is free. You can collect as much as you want and never have to buy another cricket again. 3) It provides a diverse, nutritious menu. Most of the foods that captive Anoles eat are lacking in one mineral, vitamin, or nutrient. A broad spectrum of species will provide the widest range of nutrients. 4) Catching active prey items is good exercise. Anoles tend to get a bit lazy when fed on crickets or mealworms. Put a flying insect, like a moth, in the enclosure for some real action! Equipment In most of the United States, suitable insect prey is available for nine months or more each year. In fact, an experienced collector can find insects even in the dead of winter. You can’t just run around picking up Anole food with your fingers. Well, you can but a bit of equipment makes it much easier. For less then $20, you can be set up to collect an almost infinite supply of food. 1) A sweep net. A sweep insect net is more substantial than an aerial net and the bag is generally made of muslin. It is used to sweep through grassy or weedy areas and catch whatever is hiding there. You can buy a decent one for about $10. 2) A general insect/arthropod reference book. If you aren’t familiar with or adept at identifying insects or other arthropods, this is a necessity. It doesn’t have to be too technical and anything that has pictures of most of the common insects will do. You can find one for $5-$10. 3) Assorted storage containers. Empty yogurt containers are excellent for short-term storage. Just make sure that they have air holes poked through the top. You can make larger containers out of plastic shoe or sweater storage container by hot-gluing screen to a cut out portion of the lid. Collection Techniques We have everything that we need to get started. Now, where do we go to get this endless supply of food? There are basically two ways to amass a supply. You can go and get it or have the insects come to you. 1) Sweeping This is the “go and get it” approach. Find a grassy or weedy area and sweep through the grass with your net. In 10 or 15 minutes, you will have a couple weeks’ supply of “goodies” for your Anole. Minimum effort and excellent results! All that is left is to sort through what you have caught. 2) Traps and Lures Trapping and catching insects can be as easy as simply turning on the porch light. Insects are attracted strongly to both light and various odorous substances. If you are going to use light as an attractant, an easy way to enhance its effectiveness is to shine a spotlight on a white sheet or light colored wall and capture whatever shows up. Of course, “black light” is very effective. Usually the best results are on dark moonless nights when the light source stands out better. There are other simple traps. A coffee can buried level with the ground makes an excellent pitfall trap. It can either be unbaited or baited with a small piece of bread or bacon fat. Leave it overnight and check it early the next morning for visitors. You can take a half loaf of unsliced bread, cut it lengthwise and put a hole in the end extending to the middle. Secure the two halves with rubber bands and put it in a grassy area. Check it in a day or two and you will find a supply of crickets (and other creatures) that are unwilling to leave this enormous food supply. For sweet loving insects (moths, etc.), take the leftover stale beer from your last party and mix it with enough brown sugar to make a thin paste. Paint it on the trunks of trees, fence posts, and other objects. You will be surprised at the number of moths and other flying insects that appear. You can check it at night for moths and during the day for various flies and other insects. The natural equivalent is a tree (preferably an oak) with a wound that is running sap. They are absolute “gold mines” of activity. Guidelines You now hopefully have a supply of various insects. Remember, we are trying to provide your Anole with a “safe” menu. So, you can’t just throw any old bug in the enclosure and hope for the best. There are some broad guidelines that we can use to eliminate potential problems. 1) Don’t feed you Anole non-insects. Spiders, ticks, centipedes, and scorpions are hazardous. All spiders are venomous and an inopportune bite could cause some serious damage. The same holds true for centipedes and scorpions. If it has more than six legs, don’t use it as food for your Anole. 2) Insects use warning coloration very extensively as a defense mechanism. If an insect is brightly colored or conspicuous, it is usually toxic or unpalatable. It is best to be safe. 3) Don’t feed your Anole insects (or ticks) that are disease or parasite vectors. It is not likely that your pet Anole would be affected by West Nile Virus but it will probably pass through its digestive tract unscathed and then be present in his feces. Not a good situation. The same applies to internal parasites. 4) If an insect is feeding on a plant with milky sap, don’t use it as a food item. Most plants with milky latex-like sap are toxic. Insects have the amazing facility of not being bothered by the toxins but they also frequently concentrate them in their tissues. Thus, they can be even more toxic that the plant itself. 5) Don’t collect insects from areas treated with pesticides (no surprise) or from roadsides where the exhaust from motor vehicles will be a problem because of heavy metal concentrations. Green Anole Food This will not be a complete listing of all of the insect Orders but will focus on the larger and more frequently encountered ones. The first seven are those that have an incomplete metamorphosis. That is, the nymphs generally look like miniature adults. Orthoptera – Crickets, Grasshoppers, Roaches, etc. This is a large and nutritious Order. Almost all of the members are suitable as Anole food. There are a few exceptions, however. Stay away from household roaches (American cockroach and German cockroach) since they are prone to carry diseases. Mole crickets and mantids are also inappropriate choices. Any other suitably sized specimen will do. If you choose to breed and raise some of these species, here are a couple of websites to visit: http://australianbeardies.com/cricketfood/insects.htm and http://insected.arizona.edu/grasshopperrear.htm for excellent instructions of food, housing, etc. Dermaptera – Earwigs Contrary to various “old wife’s tales”, earwigs don’t crawl into people’s ears and they are not dangerous. The pincer-like appendages at the end of the abdomen are completely harmless. Anoles will eat them. Ephemeroptera – Mayflies, Lake flies, etc. These insects don’t feed while in the adult stage and usually only live a day or two. There are periodic massive hatches with millions and millions of individuals. They are only available for a few days and then they disappear until the next year. They are weak fliers and Anoles will pursue them with reckless abandon. Odonata – Dragonflies and Damsel flies Dragonflies are generally too big for Anoles to handle and so are the majority of Damsel flies. Isoptera – Termites Anoles will readily eat both workers and winged termites. Although not particularly nutritious, they are a source of protein. Homoptera – Cicadas, Aphids, Leafhoppers, etc. Cicadas are obviously too large for Anoles to eat. Aphids are an excellent food source for hatchlings (they pop like grapes) and small Anoles. Leafhoppers and froghoppers (spittlebugs) are generally less than ½” in size and are frequent prey for wild Anoles. Note: Leafhoppers are the exception to the “colorful is suspect” doctrine. They are frequently brightly colored and neither toxic nor unpalatable. Hemiptera – True Bugs This Order includes some real “rogues”. Stink bugs, Squash bugs, Assassin bugs and others bite severely or have chemical defenses (noxious odors) or both. Their bites are truly excruciating. They are best left alone. Coleoptera- Beetles Although this is the largest insect Order, beetles are a poor choice for a food item. They have a thick, chitinous exoskeleton that is almost indigestible. In addition, Blister beetles, Rose Chafers, and Fireflies are toxic. Several others either secrete or even project caustic chemicals (i.e., Bombardier beetles). Some will also bite savagely. Despite their numbers, they are best left alone. Neuroptera – Lacewings and Ant Lions The adults make good food items but they are generally small and of limited nutritional value. They are beneficial insects. Lepodoptera – Butterflies and Moths Moths are excellent prey items for your Anole. If possible, they should be a daily menu item. They have good nutritional value and Anoles can’t seem to resist chasing them. A good way to get a reluctant Anole to eat is to put a moth in the enclosure. The Anole will go through gyrations rivaling a world-class gymnast trying to catch a moth. The exercise is good for them! Moths are easy to catch at both light and scent traps and are very abundant throughout the warmer moths. Butterflies, on the other hand, are relatively poor choices. Most of them are just too big. The smaller ones will be taken but their small body size makes them lacking in nutrition. Some, (Monarchs, for example) are even toxic. Caterpillars are a good menu item. They are high in fat content and are good for fattening up a skinny Anole. They should be used as a treat rather than a staple food item. Just make sure you avoid any caterpillars with spines or are very hairy. The spines and hairs usually contain a chemical irritant. Hymenoptera – Wasps, Bees, and Ants This entire group should be avoided. All of them bite and most of them sting. They can cause serious injury or even kill an Anole with their stings. If you have ever been “nailed” by a hornet, you get the point! The exception is the larvae. The larvae of paper wasps and hornets are very much like caterpillars. They are high in fat and an excellent treat. All you have to do is raid the nest and not get stung. It may not be worth the pain and effort! Diptera – Flies and Mosquitoes The ones to stay away from are the biting flies (Horse flies, Stable flies, etc.), Houseflies, Blue Bottles, Green Bottles (they carry multiple diseases and parasites), Botflies (an external parasite of Anoles), and Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes probably spread more diseases and parasites throughout the world than any other insect. A number of them affect humans and can be transmitted either by direct bite or by passing through your Anole’s digestive tract and into his feces. Salmonella is the least of your worries! Bee flies and Hover flies make excellent food as do Crane flies. The first two are strictly nectar feeders and they will add a bit of sugar to your Anoles diet. They are active fliers and will give your Anole a workout. Anoles seem to be really enthusiastic about eating them. Crane flies look like giant mosquitoes but they are quite harmless. They are lumbering fliers and fairly easy for the Anoles to catch. They might look too big for an Anole to eat but they can get them down with a bit of patience. It looks almost like a sword-swallowing exhibition! Of course, a piece of fruit left outside in the summer will soon attract a hoard of Fruit flies. They are a mainstay food for hatchling Anoles and very small juveniles. Identification Note: A number of flies mimic bees and wasps and gain a good measure of protection this way. They can be easily confused with them. Close examination will allow you to separate them. Bees and Wasps have two pairs of wings and flies only have a single pair. We have made our way through the larger insect Orders in a quick, brief study. The best way to become familiar with what constitutes safe food for you Anole is to sit down with a reference guide before you ever collect the first insect. It isn’t too difficult to provide a varied, nutritious menu using wild caught insects. I’m sure that your Anole will appreciate it as mine have for the past 40+ years. |
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| 08/02/08 02:03pm |
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Atrax27407 View Profile |
Message To: Atrax27407 In reference to Message Id: 1817072 Wild Caught Insects
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| 08/07/08 10:08am |
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