Crickets like Jalapeno?

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cloud jaguar

cloud jaguar

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Anyone know if I should gut-load my crickets with Jalapenos? Pretty slim vegetable selection at the moment, but we have a bowlfull of these tasty morsels. I dont really know if crickets have tastebuds, but I dont want to kill them obviously, or injure the mantids. I am just wondering , since my wife and i definitely love the peppers. Any thoughts?

 
What makes Jalapenos spicy is the capsaicin in it. It gives the sensation of burning tissue so the brain reacts in the same way that your tongue is burning. I don't know if it would affect crickets like that. I have seen crickets eat a lot of crazy things. I would ask if it would affect the mantid. If not than the jalapeno pepper would just be a good source of Vitamin C for your cricket and mantid.

 
Not what I would do. There are about a million other things that would be better.

 
thanks all - yeah, i forgot about that - capsaicin is a defense mechnaism! meant to keep the bugs away, not give them an extra tasty treat. Well, considering that i should probably not feed them to the crickets - the mantids will probably hallucinate or die from eating them

 
Ah, Arkanis! Where's your spirit of adventure? I just put two thin slices of jalapeno pepper in a 32oz pot with a couple of crickets. They are well fed, so they are not in a hurry to eat, but they are certainly not repelled or adversely affected by it, and one appeared to take a nibble, though I'll knowe better in a day or so.

I did a google search for <crickets capsaicin> and came up with one really interesting result. It didn't say anything about crickets and capsaicin, though it did talk about birds that eat them, but there was an entry by the same author on the benefits of pollen ingestion by mantids (the Chinese mantis was the experimental subject). This is the first scientific evidence for Yen's long-time practice that I have seen.The URL is: http://protist.biology.washington.edu/biol...p%20Beckman.pdf but I was unable to bring up the PDF version. However, if you scroll down on the apropriate Google entries, you will find "NSF Past Research" and can access the HTML version from there.

I will let you know how the crix make out with the jalepeno, but there are so many leafy greens available in the the market that it doesn't seem worth the while.

 
I think I'd steer clear of feeding jalepenos... just doesn't seem like a very good food. If you've got slim pickens for veggies or greens right now (or even in times of plenty), try dandelion leaves.... they're great! Pick the younger, more tender ones that haven't gotten all tough and milky yet. And of course you know to avoid ones sprayed with pesticides (including as a general reminder for everyone). :)

Oh, and here's a link about the benefits of pollen study, Phil... ;)

http://docserver.esa.catchword.org/deliver...5x/v32n4s22.pdf

 
If you do try jalapenos, I'd suggest removing the seeds and inner membrane of the pepper first, so all that's available is the flesh of the pepper. Most of the capcaisin is in the seeds, the flesh is actually fairly mild. Crix might like it. :D

 
Thanks for the URL, Katt. That's the article referred to in my citation.

Good news, Arkanis. The crix appear to have eaten some of the pepper, the center part, and both look well. They have also started chirping in what I take to be Spanish. I don't speak the lingo myself, but it sounds like, "Mahdray de deeose! Da may awah!" I think that that means something like, "Yum, Yum! Give me some more!"

 
PhilinYuma said:
Thanks for the URL, Katt. That's the article referred to in my citation.Good news, Arkanis. The crix appear to have eaten some of the pepper, the center part, and both look well. They have also started chirping in what I take to be Spanish. I don't speak the lingo myself, but it sounds like, "Mahdray de deeose! Da may awah!" I think that that means something like, "Yum, Yum! Give me some more!"
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You're welcome, Phil. :)

I have a different idea for the translation: "Whoa, mother of the Devil this food is hot! My mandibles are on fire!!" ;) :p

 
AmandaLynn said:
If they eat them it's probably ok, but I seriously doubt they will. I don't know of any critters aside from humans that like chilis. Try it and see. :)
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I used to have a friend with blue and gold macaws. Apparently, parrots love peppers because they have very few taste buds, and the spiciness from pepper actually lets them taste something for once.

 

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