FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi I wanna know what bugs I shouldnt feed to my vfts I know out of experience fireflies kill traps what other bugs are bad

I think most bugs are good exept for wasps and cattipilars they can both chew their way out of the trap

snapper bugs almost always kill my VFT traps. They make the traps turn all black. Also lightning bugs kill my traps. They catch the bugs by themselves since they are outside all day and night,so there really is nothing i can do about them catching these bugs.

Snails, and earwigs can also chew their way out. But if they're already dead, they should be fine.

It would be cool to see a bunch of fireflies trapped at night

In general, beatles with a hard shell and ants are no good for flytraps and often kill the trap or cause blackened spots.

Here's the updated list so far then:

Known to blacken or kill trap:
Ants
Hard-shelled/chitinous beetles (including pill bugs, stink bugs; and snapper bugs, which are the black beetles that "snap/click" their neck to flip over if stuck upside down) *
Lightning bugs

* Softer-bodied beatles such as ladybugs are generally not a problem, but can occasionally kill a trap due to their chitinous elytra (wing covers)

Can, and often do, chew their way out of a trap:
Caterpillars
Earwigs
Snails/slugs
Wasps (in my experience wasps usually don't escape)

Best insects to feed because of high nitrogen content, per scientific studies conducted primarily at Arizona State University: **
Spiders
Wasps (have been known to occasionally damage traps)
Any predaceous insect (insects that eat other insects), such as ladybugs
Crickets

"Worst" insects to feed due to low nitrogen content - doesn't give the plants much nutrients compared to other bugs, but still provide the plant with nitrogen; also often kill traps due to allowing bacteria to enter the trap because the large wings generally protrude from the trap, preventing the trap from sealing properly:
Moths
Butterflies

Lol xr280xr you sound like my nephew. Last year he wamted to catch lightning bugs to put in every trap of onx of the plants just to see them light up,but after finding out they kill the traps he no longer wanted to do it. We should have done it any way cause that plant ended up dieing anyway.

i am not so clear about this.

I've found that stinkbugs will kill traps after a few days.

capnskullnbones wrote:I've found that stinkbugs will kill traps after a few days.

I had a flytrap catch a stinkbug once and I now recall that the trap died. I've added it to the list.