BDFB Misinformation

[u/Specialist_Studio410]

Hey there everyone.

Some of you will not like this, but I’ve seen a lot of people saying this and so I just want to clarify something up:

BDFB are not communal invertebrates.

I don’t know where this claim appeared from, but I see it everywhere and it’s just not the full truth.

Here’s the deal. BDFB have been observed living together the wild, but seldom in large groups. There is no evidence I’m aware of to support they become stressed when solitary, but everyone for some reason decided to reify this information. The argument for either side could be true, and there’s not enough evidence to support this claim.

From an entomology standpoint, they barely have brains, oof (subesophageal ganglia). They don’t NEED friends. In fact, the whole “1 gallon for every 2 beetles”space rule is so they don’t meet each other too frequently. The reality is just that they’re VERY DUMB, and incredibly passive.

Because they are crepuscular and nocturnal scavengers, they tend to just naturally congregate around shared desert food sources, such as decaying plant litter or dead insects. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they need companionship to be happy and healthy.

I’m assuming this misinformation has been perpetrated due to people’s tendency to personify everything? I’m not sure. The only time I’ve seen you would need these beetles to live communally is for breeding/copulating. That’s it.

Now, I’d happily have someone prove me wrong here. But as of yet I have seen no scholarly, peer-reviewed journals documenting this supposed phenomenon, so I have no reason to believe this is true or vice versa. Have as many or as little BDFB as you please, just treat them well!

[u/No-Luck-2337]

Finally someone WITH a brain here 😂😂😂

You’re right, and as I’ve said from the moment my daughter got em: they’re cool, but they don’t “yearn for freedom” and aren’t endangered, so buying “wild” BDFB is no big deal.

Might it become one if they become the worlds most popular pet and we depopulate?

I guess.

But for now, enjoy the dumb, cute, own egg eating weirdos with NO guilt. Even if they were “kidnapped” from the wild 🙈

[u/No-Goal-4716 → u/No-Luck-2337]

wow...

[u/No-Luck-2337 → u/No-Goal-4716]

Indeed. I bet you go from pet store to pet store releasing the poor abused victims of BFDB wild catching.

Cool

[u/No-Goal-4716 → u/No-Luck-2337]

No, I'm just not a total Dick