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 »Posts in category Breeding Reports
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 […]
READ MORE »Kirchnerius guangxii – One breeding cycle completed
Time for another update, this time on a beautiful Chinese species from Giangxi, China: Kirchnerius guangxii. This relatively new genus has only been described by Schenk in 2009, since then a few more species have been added to it. For instance, the beetle formerly known as Prosopocoilus spencei, is now called Kirchnerius spencei. Looking at […]
READ MORE »Leptinopterus burmeisteri – an interesting and easy to breed species
I want to start reporting about my breeding projects with some more frequency again. I think a good one to start with is Leptinopterus burmeisteri. This species is from Bahia in Brasil, and was considered quite rare. Specimen were rarely on offer and if they were, the would have been really expensive. They are relatively […]
READ MORE »My New Book: Breeding Beetles – The Substantial Guide
Finally, my new book on beetle breeding is printed and ready to be shared. After working on two editions of a German book on beetle breeding (Exotische Käfer – Pflege und Zucht by Benjamin Harink), I felt it was high time to write a more complete version with more images and above all in English. […]
READ MORE »My struggles with Coptomia mauritania fasciata
Coptomia mauritania fasciata is a beetle species from Madagascar. For some reason most Madagascan species, I was lucky enough to deal with, were very tricky to breed. A long time back I was successful in breeding two species of Bricoptis through a few generations. They were rather productive with high egg numbers, larvae were absolutely […]
READ MORE »Odontolabis burmeisteri – interesting and challenging
I have recently started again to breed Odontolabis burmeisteri, one of the emperors of Lucanidae. It’s a majestic species that has the potential to get over 10cm in size, and it is in the more beautiful Odontolabis category, where the elytra are black and yellow. That said, they also have really nice mandibles, so what […]
READ MORE »Odontolabis dalmanni intermedia – breeding for giant size by Kay
This is a short breeding update by my friend Kay the Guru on Odontolabis dalmanni intermedia. I think it is really interesting for several reasons. First of all, Japanese breeders are already quite advanced when it comes to substrates and more and more started looking into temperature effects when trying to achieve maximum size Lucanidae. […]
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 »Oxythyrea pantherina – dots or spots on the Klotz?
This is a breeding report for Oxythyrea pantherina. Like many of my favourite Cetonidae, this species is small, as a result does need only little space and is easy to keep and reproduce. Oxythyrea pantherina is a North African species, from Tunisia, Morocco and Libya. Oxythyrea are normally easy to identify to a genus level, […]
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