Agestrata semperi

Distribution:

Philippines

Breeding hints:

Agestrata semperi is a very large Agestrata species from the Philippines. I am not sure if it has been bred or kept by hobbyists yet.

I am not sure if the beetles that I have worked with were Agestrata orichalcea or Agestrata belitungana.

I have tried to breed this species a few times, but always unsuccessfully. I always managed to get a good number of eggs, which are surprisingly big (about 5 mm in diameter before hatching). I did not manage to find a good food for the larvae. They were eating a bit of wood and a bit of leaf substrate, but always died before L3. It is important to keep them at cooler temperatures, as I found them to be rather shortlived at higher temperatures.

There are two theories about the breeding of this species:

1. The larvae eat only Pandanus ssp. This would explain why imagos of Agestrata are very often found near these trees. Pandanus is a common house plant, and I guess if I manage to get alive specimen again, I would try that.

2. Proteins are needed for development. Not too likely, as the larvae were not cannibalistic and also ignored the offered cat food. That was a few years back, when the protein feeding had just started and not much was known then.

If you have more information, please do let me know.

Interesting Links:

Please suggest links that offer more information about this species

Specimen Pictures:

Agestrata semperi pair, Philippines © B.Harink

Pictures of living specimen:

Please email me your pictures, if you want to have them displayed here.

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