Supplemental Feeding of Japanese Beetles Using a Low-cost Bio-attractor

[centrarchid]

We are doing some research using Japanese Beetles for use as a feed stuff, mainly for fish. The effort is resulting all sorts of other options where live beetles (versus a ground and dried meal) can be fed to fish and chickens. A couple problems popped up immediately. First, beetles fly best during the heat of the day when fish and chickens are less inclined to feed. Second, fish and chickens feed most readily in shade while the beetles avoid such areas. We have been doing all sorts of things trying to bring the too parties together for a picnic. Pheromones help a great deal, but they can be expensive. Traps on the market do not allow animals you are trying to feed to access the beetles without tearing something up. Another problem is attracted beetles may not stay long when simply using a pheromone lure as they seem to want something to perch on.

The weird science conducted on chicken pens and fish dock have shown us the way. Shortly a picture will be posted of a very low cost bio-attractor that gets the beetles down to where they can be consumed and may reduce the beetles inclination to drift to nearby vegetation where they cause damage yet held in area by the pheromone.

 

[centrarchid]

Organic people I have been talking to indicate the beetles are like honey bees, they ply their trade on property not yours that may or may not be certified organic.

 

[centrarchid]

We are getting some interesting by-catch the chickens eat just as readily as the Japanese Beetles. The June Beetles are also swarming where you can see a thousand or so spread out over a an acre or so of ground. Extremely abundant. We used play with them as toys tying horse hair to their leg like a leash to have them fly around. Very low cost toy.

June Beetles that are several times larger and require some processing before being choked down.

Three color variants. More than one species?

They get jiggy with it after brief exposure to CO2 gas.

 

[centrarchid]

Another variation on this is in the works. I am setting up an old 10 x 10 chain link dog kennel over area that is to be a garden next year. It has a small stand of ragweed in it. Generally, ragweed is not considered to be of much value. I may have found a use for it as a location to more effectively concentrate the beetles in area easy for the chickens to pick through. The chickens typically loaf much of the day when the beetles are flying, yet they have a hard time passing up a beetle that is very close by. I am going to set up so the loafing area is essentially the same area the beetles concentrate in over in response to the lures.

Another observation of chicken ranging habits is getting more worthy of note.

 

[centrarchid]

 

[centrarchid]

I would like to take you on a motorcycle or gator ride up here to show you what I am seeing even when not traps / lures are involved. You will see all your numbers, and I mean all, are orders of magnitude too low. Most of the beetles are having little or anything to do with our yards or horticulture efforts.

 

[centrarchid]

Materials were chosen from list that can be acquired from a farm supply store that were also durable. Parts used are recycled from original purchase nearly 5 years ago. Properly stored they can last much longer. Only tool used was a wire cutter.

Improvements yet to be made and chickens are vetting design currently. I think all beetles in the device are accessible to the chickens. Top is just about 1' above ground. The beetles will return to it readily when disturbed. What needs to be figured out is the biomass of beetles that can be attracted in to be consumed. The beetles will move on if too many and chickens will not invest much time feeding at the attractor if too few beetles present or replacement rate is too low.

 

[centrarchid]

Notice ragweed in background of image below. It has real potential that may be likely met with other low growing plants.

 

[centrarchid]

Notice three juvenile chickens foraging near the device pictured above. Almost all they are consuming are in the higher vegetation in the strips along the path of short cut vegetation. Sometimes they go after the concentration of beetles in the device, but most like to go after beetles isolated from the herd. If grass where all short, I am pretty certain the beetle abundance would be lower in the area the birds are actively foraging.

 

[glib]

This and your other threads about using JB are absolutely incredible. Best of the best of this forum. I am reading every post. But I wonder if a trap just in the sun, delivering JB to a water basin just in the shade, would not work best.