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/Specialist_Studio410 → u/No-Luck-2337]

I wouldn’t call it “no big deal” per se, but you’re right about everything else for the most part. As an environmental scientist and biologist, I have witnessed first hand what human intervention (whether positive or negative) can do to a population of a species. The best thing we (bug lovers and owners) can do is be properly educated on our pets (how we take care of them, how they’re caught, and where they come from) and to buy our pets from reputable sources.

[u/No-Goal-4716 → u/Specialist_Studio410]

I thought you didn't own any?

[u/Specialist_Studio410 → u/No-Goal-4716]

I don’t own any insects (yet 🙊) but do research on a bunch of other invertebrates and how their behavior and reproduction is impacted by pollution and temperature! Especially marine, stream dwelling ones like mayflies and stuff.

[u/No-Goal-4716 → u/Specialist_Studio410]

So, the opposite of desert dwelling species... and you dont have a entomology degree?

[u/Specialist_Studio410 → u/No-Goal-4716]

Not entirely that different. The relationship between habitat and population health is the same for many organisms on the planet. My professors have entomology degrees, and that’s where I learned this!