Reading this article, which was later on also published in Sklipkan (the Tarantula), I am amazed at how many beetle species have been bred in Japan already 10 years back. Surely, a lot of new additions and tricks have been developed in the meantime, but all basics were already set at those times. Makes me […]
READ MORE »Monthly archives for July, 2012
Small Cetonidae species – worth a report and your breeding effort
While most breeders prefer the big and showy species, this article is aimed at the smaller species, that are not often named in articles about flower beetles. These small ( up to 1,5 cm in size) species have many advantages. For instance: You don´ t need much space to breed and keep them: Boxes of […]
READ MORE »Head sizes of the different larval stages of several beetle species
This is something that I have not recorded for quite some time, but will start doing again. Taking the head measurment of larvae is the safest way to determind which larval stadium the larva is in, more than the weight. Some of the head sizes of beetle larvae are given here. I think it will […]
READ MORE »The Breeding/Rearing of Dorcus alcides by Kay
Nothing much to say about this good and detailed breeding report. You can use it as a reference for breeding other Dorcus species as well. Interestingly, there seem to be two types of Dorcus alcides, a short mandible one with a massive body and a slimmer type with elongated mandibles. Introduction These pages present the […]
READ MORE »Beetle diseases
Luckily, beetles are not so easily infected with diseases, and it is a rather rare event that a breeder witnesses a disease that kills all his animals. However, there are a few diseases and parasites that do infest beetle larvae. The below is an old article of mine, where I found some of my larvae […]
READ MORE »Osmoderma eremita, a rare European species
Osmoderma eremita is one of the bigger beetle species in Europe. Its size is between 2 and 4 cm big. There are populations in Germany as well. It is considered to be a very rare species. An interesting feature in this species is that they smell like Russian leather, sometimes one can even smell them […]
READ MORE »The Breeding/Rearing of Dorcus titanus palawanicus by Kay
Introduction These pages present the breeding/rearing of Dorcus titanus palawanicus. Discussion on the breeding/rearing follows natural history of the insect, which is thought useful for breeding/rearing. There are 19 varieties of the species Dorcus titanus (S. Nagai): pilifer, hachijoensis, castanicolor, tatsutai, karasuyamai, takaraensis, elegans, tokunoshimaensis, okinoerabuensis, okinawanus, daitoensis, sakishimanus, sika, platymelus, tiphoniformis, westermanni, titanus, typhon […]
READ MORE »The Breeding/Rearing of Hexarthrius mandibularis by Kay
This is the breeding report for Hexarthrius mandibularis sumatranus by my friend Kay the Guru from Japan. Hexarthrius were considered impossible to breed for a long time in Europe, until somebody found out that the females need a protein diet in order to lay eggs. Hence make sure to feed them with protein jellies, or […]
READ MORE »The Breeding/Rearing of Prosopocoilus giraffa keisukei by Kay
This article has been written by my friend Kay the Guru from Japan. He published the article at a time when breeding Lucanidae in Europe was something really new for most breeders. That time, we did not know much about the right wood and many other things.Hence, it is not surprising that very often our […]
READ MORE »Report about my trials breeding Goliathus
Pre-lude July 2012: Nowadays, Goliathus ssp., at least Goliathus orientalis and Goliathus goliatus are bred from time to time. The key has been protein feeding of the larvae that are really cannibalistic and active hunters. I have tried different types of insects and other protein sources, and just while writing these lines, have my first […]
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