Peanut Beetle Culture – Live Feeder Insects

Grow your own live feeders with our Peanut Beetle Starter Culture, supplied in a 12 oz deli cup habitat with peanuts and oats. Keep your colony in the included cup or transfer it to a larger, securely covered, ventilated container as it grows.

What’s Included

• 50+ peanut beetles and larvae combined
• All life stages: eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult beetles
• One 12 oz deli cup habitat
• Peanuts and oats for food and bedding

The mix of life stages varies, and tiny eggs and young larvae may be difficult to see.

Nutritious Live Food

Peanut beetle larvae provide protein, amino acids, and fats, making them a nutritious addition to a varied feeding routine. Their small size allows you to select larvae that suit your animal’s mouth size. Feed as part of a balanced diet rather than as the sole food source. Nutritional composition varies with diet and life stage.

Who Can Eat the Larvae?

Appropriately sized larvae can offer feeding variety for:

• Fish: Bettas, angelfish, insect-eating cichlids, and other fish able to swallow them comfortably.
• Frogs: Dart frogs and other small insect-eating frogs.
• Geckos: Mourning geckos, crested geckos, and other small geckos that accept insects.
• Other lizards: Small insect-eating species, including young chameleons.
• Spiders: Jumping spiders and appropriately sized tarantula spiderlings.
• Predatory insects: Mantises that accept crawling prey.

Suitability depends on the animal’s species, size, and feeding habits.

Feed the larvae and retain the adult beetles for breeding. Adults produce defensive secretions and are not the recommended feeder stage. Leave some larvae and pupae in the culture to replenish your breeding colony. 

Simple Culture Care

Maintain dry oats and unsalted peanuts, with a small piece of carrot or potato for moisture. Remove fresh food before it molds, keep the habitat ventilated, and replenish the dry food as it is consumed. Transfer to a larger container when additional space is needed.

hipping & Live Arrival Guarantee

Your culture ships from Louisville, Kentucky. Our Live Arrival Guarantee applies when you select an eligible shipping service and add the appropriate temperature pack when required.

Eligible shipping options:
• USPS Priority Mail
• FedEx 2Day
• UPS 2nd Day Air

Required temperature protection:
• Below 40°F: Add a heat pack
• Above 85°F: Add a cold pack

Consider temperatures in Louisville, along the shipping route, and at your destination. Insulation is included, but the appropriate heat or cold pack must still be selected when required.

Upon Arrival

Bring your culture indoors promptly and unpack it right away.

To qualify for our Live Arrival Guarantee, report any arrival issues:

• Within 2 hours of delivery under normal conditions
• Within 1 hour of delivery during extreme temperatures below 40°F or above 85°F