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Carolina Biological Supply
This booklet provides a brief description of the general characteristics and care requirements of the amphibians and reptiles supplied by Carolina Biological Supply Company. Throughout the booklet, you will find Carolina item numbers in parentheses following the mention of a product that we carry.
Dwarf aquarium frogs never need to leave the water. Care for them in an aquarium and condition their water.
Fire-bellied toads are very colorful with green and black markings on their backs and vivid orange/red and black on their bellies. Although generally easy to keep, they do require live food. Since fire-bellied toads are not native, they should never be released.
The tadpoles are old enough to release when they begin attaching to the sides of the shipping bag. You will need a small container (glass or plastic) and conditioned tap water or spring water.
The giant toad, Bufo marinus, is a large amphibian that requires little care. Introduced onto sugar plantations for insect control, it has spread widely in the tropics where it is highly invasive.
Put about 5 cm of clean sand or small gravel in the bottom of an aquarium and “bulldoze” the sand to one end, creating a land side and a spring water side.
Toads (Bufo) are among the easiest amphibians to keep in a classroom. Their only special requirement is live food.
Begin feeding tadpoles as soon as they start actively swimming and searching for food. Most native tadpoles are vegetarian and live on a variety of plant materials.
Tree frogs (Hyla) are attractive, readily available and easy to care for, so they are an excellent choice for the terrarium. Their only special requirements are live food and a secure habitat.
We do not recommend attempting to culture earthworms, but redworms are easily cultured.
As soon as your leeches arrive, open the shipping container and inspect them, discarding any dead leeches. Transfer live leeches to glass or plastic containers with secure lids. Leeches are very sensitive to chlorine and copper ions in water, so use spring or pond water only that is 5 to 8 cm deep.
Lumbriculus variegatus, commonly known as blackworms or California blackworms, resemble miniature earthworms but are aquatic, living in the sediment and silt of freshwater ponds and lakes. Their transparent bodies reveal many of their internal organs.
The common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is the organism most widely used in genetic studies. It is also an excellent live food.
Carolina Biological Supply Company maintains a large variety of living arthropods for use in teaching and research.
When your fungal cultures arrive, immediately open the shipping container and remove the cultures. We ship cultures in tubes, plates and as MicroKwik Culture® freeze-dried cells.,
If the human eye could resolve images as well as the light microscope, we would see bacteria and fungi virtually everywhere. They grow in air, water, foods and soil, as well as in plant and animal tissue. Any environment that can support life has its bacterial or fungal population.
Your shipment is a culture of at least 30 adult daphnia; juveniles may also be present. Do not be alarmed while inspecting the culture if you notice debris that looks like dead daphnia on the bottom of the jar. These are most likely discarded exoskeletons that daphnia shed as they grow and molt.
Although planaria are not suitable for culturing, with diligence you can maintain them for several weeks.
Carolina’s cultures are maintained under conditions that have proven effective for many years. Our culture service has set the standards for producing clone cultures. These cultures are always available for immediate shipment.
Although rotifers are multicellular animals, they compare in size to unicellular protozoans and are only observable with a microscope. Allow the rotifers to settle for 15 to 20 minutes after aeration, and then inspect the culture using a stereomicroscope and low illumination.
Sponges are sessile, so do not expect movement. Spongilla is asymmetrical and shows a variety of growth forms. Sponges that grow in sunlight are often green due to symbiotic zoochlorellae; otherwise, they are usually gray.
Vinegar eels are among the easiest of organisms to continuously culture. Add vinegar eel medium to a clean glass or plastic jar, filling it ¾ of the way.
Although tardigrades are multicellular animals, they compare in size to unicellular protozoans and are only observable with a microscope. Allow 15 to 20 minutes after aeration for the tardigrades to settle, and then inspect the culture using a stereomicroscope. You will find the tardigrades moving about in the debris on the bottom of the jar.
Harvester ants are typically used with ant farms. Most ant farms include a coupon that you use to request shipment of the ants.
Small crustaceans are among the most numerous animals in aquatic ecosystems. Some are carnivores, some herbivores, and some feed on detritus.
Carolina Biological Supply Company maintains a large variety of living arthropods for use in teaching and research.
The bean beetle, Callosobrauchus maculatus, is a tropical to subtropical insect with a complete life cycle consisting of egg, larva (grub), pupa and adult beetle. Adult females of this beetle lay eggs on dry, stored beans, especially mung beans and cowpeas. Since they are agricultural pests, they should never be released.
Place about 4 to 5 cm of moist potting soil or humus in a terrarium. Add some leaf litter and the beetles, including the rotten wood that came in the shipping package. Bessbugs prefer damp (not soggy) wood, and they like the dark.
Although most use brine shrimp as hatchlings, you can grow them to adulthood. To do so, transfer hatchlings to a clean container of saltwater.
Centipedes need humidity, so their soil should be damp. Keep decaying wood, leaves, compost or other organic material in the terrarium.
This sheet covers American (Periplaneta americana) and German (Blatella germanica) cockroaches.
Acclimate your crayfish as soon as they arrive, giving yourself 50 to 60 minutes. Your aquaria or holding pails should be ready with conditioned room-temperature water.
Crickets are easy to keep. They are primarily herbivorous but accept a variety of foods. Fresh apples, pears and lettuce offer moisture, while dry dog food provides high protein and cuts down on cannibalism.
Your shipment is a culture of at least 30 adult daphnia; juveniles may also be present. Do not be alarmed while inspecting the culture if you notice debris that looks like dead daphnia on the bottom of the jar. These are most likely discarded exoskeletons that daphnia shed as they grow and molt.
Damselfly and dragonfly nymphs are cannibalistic, so keep them separate in aquaria or small jars of springwater. Include some aquatic plants or sticks that extend above the water line, as the nymphs will need to crawl out of the water to emerge as adults.
Darkling Beetles are the adult stage of over 20,000 species; however, we use Darkling Beetle to refer to the adult of the Superworm (Zophobas morio).
When your ghost shrimp arrive, open the box and remove the shipping bag containing your shrimp. Open the bag, allowing in fresh air. Have a holding pail (glass, plastic or stainless steel) or an aquarium ready and filled with conditioned tap water.
As soon as your shipment arrives, it is important to release crabs into holding containers, such as plastic pails, or habitats. Do not leave them in shipping bags. Add a few centimeters of conditioned water to each pail.
Since a female flour beetle may live for a year or more and lay 400 to 500 eggs, a culture can quickly become overpopulated. Check the population in the culture each month and set up new cultures if overcrowding occurs (the jar contains more than 50 adults).
Hermit crabs are omnivores and will eat almost anything. Feed hermit crab food, fruits and vegetables, dry pet food, etc. Avoid meats and fat, which can foul the terrarium.
Roaches like the dark; add half an egg crate or the cardboard tube from paper towels or toilet tissue to increase hiding space. Feed your hissing roach dry dog or cat food and pieces of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The hornworm is the larval (caterpillar) stage of the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. The moth’s lifecycle can be completed in 30 days at 27º C (81º F) or 39 to 48 days at lower temperatures.
House flies (Musca domestica) exhibit complete metamorphosis — passing through egg, larval, pupal and adult stages over their lifecycle. We ship house flies as either larvae or pupae.
A soft-sided cage such as our Carolina Butterfly Sanctuary (item #674291) works best, or you can construct your own cage, making sure that it has holes in the top for ventilation.
As soon as your isopods (pill bugs or sow bugs) arrive, open the shipping container and check their condition. The isopods come in a damp paper towel to provide the humidity they require.
Depending on your order, you will receive larvae (mealworms), pupae, adults (darkling beetles) or a mixture of the 3.
The color of the egg gradually changes from yellow to deep orange as it nears hatching. The newly emerged nymph is about the size of a pinhead and is bright orange. The nymph grows by a series of molts. It takes about a month for the nymph to become an adult, which lives for about an additional month.
Millipedes are among the easiest animals to keep in a classroom. Once established in a terrarium, they only require an occasional check for moisture and food.
Adult moths expand and stretch their wings as soon as they emerge. (Be sure to provide adequate room, or their wings will be deformed.) Provide a piece of screen, cheesecloth or some other object for the newly emerged moth to climb onto.
Painted Lady Butterfly Culture (item #144005) — our most popular format and the one we recommend using unless you have a classroom kit — includes five larvae in an 8-oz cup with food. Can be used as a refill for Carolina’s Painted Lady Butterfly Amazing Bugs™ Kit (item #144084).
Set the habitat in a temperature-stable area free from cold drafts and drastic temperature changes. The habitat should have screen with a fine mesh that will prevent fruit flies (food for the mantis nymphs) from escaping.
Sarcophaga larvae can be used as live food for large fish, amphibians and many reptiles. They pupate in a few days at room temperature.
As soon as you receive the cocoons, soak them in room-temperature water for 30 to 60 seconds. Then each day, lightly spray the cocoons with room-temperature water until the adults emerge.
Scorpions are in the arthropod class Arachnida, in the order Scorpionida. There are between 1,000 and 1,500 species of scorpions, all of which are venomous, including the scorpions sold by Carolina.
When your silkworm eggs arrive, immediately open the shipping container and inspect your shipment. Place the eggs in a clean, sterile 9-cm petri dish and maintain them at 29 C (84 F).
Check your shipment as soon as it arrives. Transfer the spiders to holding containers; small jars with lids work well. Dehydration can kill small spiders; moisten cotton and add it to each container, using dechlorinated water.
Superworms (Zophobas morio) are the larva of Darkling Beetles (144308). They are used as a food source for animals like fish, reptiles and birds.
Tarantulas do best at warm temperatures, in the 24 to 27o C (75 to 80o F) range. Mist their terrarium daily. Although tarantulas will not thrive in damp conditions, they do need some humidity; 50 to 80% is ideal.
Open the shipment upon arrival, remove the container, and inspect your termites. Examine the moist paper towel and wood in the shipping cup. You will find the termites in the folds of the paper and in or on the wood.
As soon as your shipment arrives, open the container and inspect the WOWBugs™. We shipped your culture while the insects were in the pupal stage; some adults may have emerged while in transit.
When your algae-eating shrimp arrive, open the box and remove the shipping bag containing your shrimp. Open the bag, allowing in fresh air.
A marine aquarium creates tremendous interest and enthusiasm in the classroom and greatly enhances lectures and laboratories by providing living organisms to supplement slides and preserved materials.
As soon as your shipment arrives, open the container of snails. Allow at least 30 minutes for them to reach room temperature. Prepare a holding pail or habitat with room-temperature conditioned tap water.
Open the shipping container and remove the plastic bag containing the mussels. Inspect the bag and contents for damage. Float the unopened bag in your holding tank or aquarium, which should be filled with water from a spring or pond.
Carolina’s cultures are maintained under conditions that have proven effective for many years. Our culture service has set the standards for producing clone cultures. These cultures are always available for immediate shipment.
As soon as your cultures arrive, open the shipping container, remove the tubes or jars and inspect your algae. Once you have verified that the shipment is OK, loosen the lids on the cultures.
Note: Set up habitats or holding tanks before receiving plants. Many city water systems now treat tap water with chloramines. These compounds do not dissipate by aging the water, so removing them requires a dechlorinator (item #671939).
These plants require minimal care. Watering should be done sparingly. For cacti, allow the soil in the pots to become dry, then water thoroughly and let dry again. Succulents require slightly more watering than do true cacti.
North American carnivorous plants are native to peat bogs. They require a humid atmosphere and moist, acidic soil of low mineral content. Maintain them in a terrarium or greenhouse for best results.
Never allow germinating seeds to dry out: adequate moisture must be available at all times to ensure proper germination. Inspect all containers daily.
The mosses and liverworts supplied by Carolina require higher humidity than most houseplants and are best maintained in terraria or greenhouses. Mosses are excellent terrarium subjects, but you can easily damage most species when you overwater them.
Unpack and examine your plants immediately upon receipt. Potted plants are shipped wrapped in a plastic bag and cardboard. When you unwrap each plant, be sure to retain the label with the plant’s name on it for future reference.
As soon as your cultures arrive, open the shipping container, remove the tubes or jars and inspect your algae. Once you have verified that the shipment is OK, loosen the lids on the cultures.
This Care Sheet provides general information only for handling Carolina™ bacterial cultures. When you work with bacteria, it is imperative that you use sterile techniques at all times.,
If the human eye could resolve images as well as the light microscope, we would see bacteria and fungi virtually everywhere. They grow in air, water, foods and soil, as well as in plant and animal tissue. Any environment that can support life has its bacterial or fungal population.
As soon as your cultures arrive, open the shipping container, remove the tubes or jars and inspect your algae. Once you have verified that the shipment is OK, loosen the lids on the cultures.
When your protozoa culture arrives, immediately open the shipping container, remove the culture jars and inspect them. Once you have verified that the shipment is OK, loosen the lids on the jars. Aerate the cultures using the supplied pipets.
Carolina’s cultures are maintained under conditions that have proven effective for many years. Our culture service has set the standards for producing clone cultures. These cultures are always available for immediate shipment.
If the human eye could resolve images as well as the light microscope, we would see bacteria and fungi virtually everywhere. They grow in air, water, foods and soil, as well as in plant and animal tissue. Any environment that can support life has its bacterial or fungal population.