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 […]
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A halfway breeding report for Mesotopus tarandus
Mesotopus tarandus is a beautiful African species. There are two known species Mesotopus tarandus and Mesotopus regius. But it depends whom you are talking to, as some consider M. regius as a subspecies of M. tarandus with elongated mandibles. These are shiny black beetles that can vibrate (like a cell phone in silent mode) and […]
READ MORE »A new association for beetle breeding and conservation
I know, I know, I do not stick to my promises and I haven’t published something new recently. However, this time I have an excellent excuse: Together with Daniel Ambuehl, a mushroom expert and artist, we have been working really hard on our new project: A new Society called ‘Verein Hirschkäfer’ (Stag Beetle Association). […]
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 »Breeding Update on Leptinopterus burmeisteri
Leptinopterus burmeisteri is a small and fascinating species of stag beetles, in addition to being from South America, and behaving like a Cetonid, I think they are a priority species for me to maintain in my continuous breeding. After my last post on these, I have now the next generation of eggs, and have a […]
READ MORE »Dorcus wickhami – an interesting species
For a long time I was hoping to be able to get my hands on the beautiful and small species Dorcus wickhami. They originate from Australia, and as thus are very hard to come by. Even specimen are not so easy to find. This, to my knowledge, is the only species of the genus Dorcus […]
READ MORE »Head and Mandible variations in Lucanus cervus cervus
(Pictures taken in the Museum of Natural History in Aschaffenburg) All collectors, as well as breeders, are aware that the size of beetles in breeding as well as in nature varies greatly. In this context, Lucanidae are of special interest, as with the size of the males the size and look of the head and […]
READ MORE »Head and Mandible variations in Lucanus maculifemoratus maculifemoratus from Japan
All collectors, as well as breeders, are aware that the size of beetles in breeding as well as in nature varies greatly. In this context, Lucanidae are of special interest, as with the size of the males the size and look of the head and mandibles also changes. In the wild, the extremely large and […]
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 »Hexarthrius davisoni – a South Indian Beauty
Time to update on one of my favorite South Indian Lucanidae species. Partially, because I had observed them in the wild over several years, and will probably never forget my joy and excitement when I found my first male in the area of Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, South India. Hexarthrius davisoni is the Southernmost Indian […]
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