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What is the best non-insect food for CPs?

Hi folks. It's winter and I've run out of fruitfly culture to feed my CPs. It's been a month and a half since I've last fed them. What do you think is the best kind of non-insect food for CPs? So far I've read people using milkpowder, liquid fertiliser, bloodworms, and fish pellets. I have Heliamphora minor, a VFT, Nepenthes ampullaria, Nepenthes bicalcarata, and Drosera capensis.

Also, how do I feed a VFT in this manner? Is it even possible?
 
I regularly foliar and root feed my Heliamphora, Nepenthes and Cephalotus with fertiliser.
 
Yes, but freeze-dried bloodworms seem to work well as CP food, but they are insect larva, so it wouldn't meet the terms of your subject. "...non-insect food for CPs".

I started feeding many of my CP with freeze-dried bloodworms and freeze-dried tubifex worms (non-insect), both crushed to a powder. Now I use an electric insect zapper during the Summer to collect fresh insects, then I dry them and grind them to a powder in a dedicated electric coffee grinder, then store the powder in recycled plastic medicine bottles to use whenever I need some. I use other plastic medicine bottles, with a few small holes drilled in their lids as applicators to sprinkle the powdered insects onto the CP leaves for feeding.

For non-insect feeding, I've used Peters 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer, with trace minerals, diluted to a solution of about 14-18 ppm. At this dilution I haven't seen any adverse effects even when used every two or three days. This fertilizer is available at may different stores that carry nursery supplies, here in the USA.
 
Yes, but freeze-dried bloodworms seem to work well as CP food, but they are insect larva, so it wouldn't meet the terms of your subject. "...non-insect food for CPs".
Oh, I meant live and adult insects of course. Do you have any VFTs? If so, do you feed them with the powder you've described? I guess I could just try some pulverised bloodworms.
 
I use a mix of half freeze dried blood worms and half Betta fish food pellets, pulverized with a mortar and pestle. I cut the suff with an equal quantity of water and feed it to my plants with a medicine dropper. I picked that method up from CPlantaholic- it leads to less mess on the soil!
 
Emre, word of warning on freeze dried bloodworms. Some people have a severe allergic reaction if the dust is inhaled... that is why I no longer use them. Almost took me out :)
 
Oh, I meant live and adult insects of course. Do you have any VFTs? If so, do you feed them with the powder you've described? I guess I could just try some pulverised bloodworms.

I have fed VFTs with some of the insect powder, bloodworms and/or tubifex worms, I add a little water or fertilizer sol'n to make a thick paste, or use thawed, previously frozen bloodworms. There are lots of ways to get it to work.

Good advice from Baylorguy, be careful, there's a warning on some bloodworm labels, too.
 
  • #10
Thanks for all the replies. I guess mixing the bloodworm powder in some RO water will do the trick (pic below.) I have frozen bloodworms, too. The question is, how do you trigger the digestion response in VFTs? I had this problem with fruitflies as well, they just don't seem to trigger digestion. The trap opens one day after feeding and the fruitfly is there, not digested. Only houseflies have worked with my VFT so far.

Incidentally, that's my "pellet soup" for feeding my freshwater clam. I guess that's the idea.

82ClamSoup.jpg
 
  • #11
Every time I've used a "paste" of dead insects in Dionaea muscipula traps, they had no problem responding. Hopefully you'll have a similar result. But be careful of using too much, overdoing it can damage or destroy a trap.
 
  • #12
You have to make the trap think something living is inside. To do this, simply squeeze the closed trap a couple times in a period of 30 minutes or so. The trigger hairs will be stimulated, and the trap will seal.
 
  • #13
You have to make the trap think something living is inside. To do this, simply squeeze the closed trap a couple times in a period of 30 minutes or so. The trigger hairs will be stimulated, and the trap will seal.
Thanks! I assumed something like this would do the trick, but I was afraid to damage the trap. I'll try it.
 
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