Substitute food for monoleima

B

Bugboy3092

Strategus
Alrighty guys, so I got some cactus longhorn beetles today (thanks Garin!) and decided to try something. In my front yard, there are several succulent type plants (and yes we do have cactus itself) including some type of edible (and pretty delicious) Chinese herb. I don’t believe it itself is a succulent, but it has a very similar body style, so I decided to try throwing some in for the adults in the enclosure. Keep in mind that there is cactus in the enclosure, and these beetles are not starving, but some of the adults have started eating the herb, so maybe it would work for a staple diet for adults, as it’s much easier/faster to grow than cactus, plus it’s much easier to handle, and it would help leave more cactus for the larvae.

 
Is it Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)? Maybe you could share a photo?

mine once nibbled on Christmas cactus for a few days when I ran out of prickly pear pads, but they didn’t seem very enthusiastic about it. I’m  curious about the succulent you’ve offered. 

 
Oh yes, not purslane, but a plant I've seen in yards around my neighborhood (NY state) growing in rock gardens, etc. I'll hassle my neighbors about it this week and let you know if they know what it's called 😊

 
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