Not to chase, but to nurture; Beetles are guests here

KOCHI: While everyone tries to chase away beetles, Deepu, a native of Njarakkal, loves to nurture them. It is not his hobby, but a source of income. Deepu’s house has a collection of more than 500 beetles. He earns money by selling the larvae of meal worm beetles. No one buys it in Kerala. However, they are of high demand in north India. These larvae are the favourite food of certain ornamental birds.

Deepu, who was a driver, has been friends with birds for years. There are different varieties of birds in the nests on the terrace of his house. It was when the bird feed became expensive, that he came to know that larva, which can be fed to some species of birds, including finches and Javan conures, can be reared at low cost. Initially, larvae were brought from Pune and fed to the birds. Later, he decided to rear beetles in order to produce larvae. The experiment was a success and soon he built links with north Indian customers via social media.

Most of the orders are from Punjab, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Once the beetles, which have a lifespan of only two and a half months, reach maturity, they will start laying eggs. The larvae are sent to the customers via couriers. There are many who buy these larvae as fish feed too.