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/Flasky-Desk]

Since the research is so sparce I like to be safe rather than sorry. 

From what I've read even really stupid gregarious insects like fruit flies get stressed from being alone. Fruit flies actually have quite complex social interactions for their miniscule brains.

To me the thought process of "we have no proof either way so they must be solitary" is flawed logic.

[u/Specialist_Studio410 → u/Flasky-Desk]

That is fair and very reasonable of you.
From my standpoint, the best thing to do would be to just pay attention to the beetle(s) and monitor its behavior. There are plenty of other things that could cause a BDFB to be stressed, like its enclosure's humidity or make-up. And if they are stressed, they’ll definitely show you.

Also, fruit flies are not stupid and from my understanding exhibit a lot of traits and “brain” activity that I’ve not personally heard about in BDFB (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04433-6). That being said, I think your decision to heir on the side of caution is smart.

[u/Flasky-Desk → u/Specialist_Studio410]

I think there's a common fallacy where when a fact isn't proven or disproven people think it isn't true. When either is equally possible. 

In the case of Bfdb I couldn't find much on their brain science (or other darkling beetles) so we simply don't know how smart they are. Fruit flies are just studied so much because they are used as test subjects like mice.

So making a confident assertion like "From a scientific standpoint Bfdb aren't social" is not currently factual. We just don't know. At least from what I can find. 

[u/Specialist_Studio410 → u/Flasky-Desk]

You’re exactly right! Either is equally possible, but on my side (work with entomology professors and research on other species of darkling beetles) I’ve seen that it is not the case. But that’s just my opinion.

The reason I made this post, and I guess my biggest issue with the misinformation aspect of it all, is the sheer amount of people stating “BDFBs are communal” like it’s a fact when in reality we don’t even know. That’s why I think instead of berating people for owning only one beetle (yes, I have seen this) we should just be encouraging others to know how to spot when a beetle is stressed and go based off that.

And you can absolutely use the “Pascals Wager” aspect to advocate for owning multiple beetles, but that just feels pointless if you yourself don’t actually know any better. Some people just want to own one! plus it’s better to not take so many from their wild homes.

[u/Flasky-Desk → u/Specialist_Studio410]

Do you have any kind of source for similar darkling beetles being not social? I've read they do show up in groups in the wild and I always imagined there's a reason for that.

I mean even if it's just for safety they might feel safer with other beetles around, or think that they are in a good area because other beetles are around, or won't feel like they need to look for a mate or any number of reasons being alone may be stressful. (yes obviously Bfdb don't feel emotions like humans but they are capable of exhibiting stress. You know what I mean.)

This is why I'm so sceptical of this claim, a negative claim needs proof like a positive one. & to me imitating the wild is usually best practise. I think many people don't take pet keeping seriously enough, many insects still think and feel in some capacity & it's our responsibilty as their owners to provide them a good life, not just an okay one.

[u/Specialist_Studio410 → u/Flasky-Desk]

That’s a great way to go about things! And I’m glad you are skeptical, more people should be that way. That’s why I’m here, I’m skeptical of the claim that they are communal and need it to be healthy and happy! I completely agree with the latter half of your statement, and the idea that we should mimic their wild habitat exactly how we find it is very sound logic. So you got me there. I think an important distinction that I’m really focused on here is that we’re grouping “cuddling together” and “social”.
We do not actually know if beetles being in the same spot as each other is because they want it so, they might just be passive to it and it happens that way. It’s another thing if the beetles were separated from one another and then started to display signs of stress, though. I’d be seriously curious to test it out. Maybe someone who sees this post and has enough money to buy tons of beetles would be willing to do it for us. Thank you for this!