Bean Beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) also known as cowpea weevil; is not a true weevil, but instead a species of bruchid beetle.
They make great feeder insects for medium to larger species of dart frogs and are very easy to culture. All you need are some insect cups and dry black eyed peas; and of course some beetles to start a new culture.
The adult stage of these beetles is only about a week to ten days, but can be extended a bit if the adults are allowed to feed on cotton balls soaked in sugar water. Adults begin laying eggs on dry beans within ten hours of emerging from the bean. Adults can fly, but rarely do so.
They make great feeder insects for medium to larger species of dart frogs and are very easy to culture. All you need are some insect cups and dry black eyed peas; and of course some beetles to start a new culture.
The adult stage of these beetles is only about a week to ten days, but can be extended a bit if the adults are allowed to feed on cotton balls soaked in sugar water. Adults begin laying eggs on dry beans within ten hours of emerging from the bean. Adults can fly, but rarely do so.
The larvae bore into the bean after hatching and live within the bean for about 4 weeks, before pupating and then emerge as adults by chewing their way out of the bean.
The easiest way to remove the beetles from the beans, is to replace the standard insect lid with a lid that you have installed a mesh screen just smaller in size than the beans. Just invert the culture over another empty insect cup and shake out the beetles, leaving behind the beans.
Bean beetles can be dusted with supplements the same way you do for fruit flies.
New cultures should only be made up by adding beetles to a new cup of beans. Cultures can mold if too many beans are added to one cup. 1 1/2 inches per cup is best. The metabolism of the larvae in the beans can generate quite a bit of warmth and moisture. Cultures will produce faster if maintained close to 80°F. I store my cultures on top of my light fixtures for extra warmth, just be sure they don't get too hot; >85° or so.
You may be able to get up to three generations of beetles produced from single culture before the beans are depleted. Each subsequent hatching will be smaller and fewer beetles do to the lack of available food.