Written by 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 F4 male
Hexarthrius davisoni is the Southernmost Indian species of Hexarthrius, it lives in the Western Ghats. The other Indian Hexarthrius species are then occurring in the Northern part of India, with the middle, seemingly free of this species. Even though I have a suspicion that there might be some in the Eastern Ghats.
Hexarthrius davisoni female on tree in Kodaikanal
Hexarthrius davisoni is a large species, males measure up to 80mm, and it is relatively common in its habitats. The main activity for adults is in June and July, where they come out in the beginning and middle of the Monsoons. Adults can be seen on trees, where females chew holes into the bark and create sap flows, where males and females then congregate and mate. They are a very nervous species, and easily disturbed. If that happens, they let themselves drop to the ground, and then immediately run and hide in the leaf litter and undergrowth. Larvae can be found in white-rotten wood, from relatively small pieces up to the big logs. Pupation takes place probably during the hot and dry season in February and March; at least that is where I found imagines in pupal cells, inside the wood pieces.
Hexarthrius davisoni L3 larvae in flake soil
I had Hexarthrius davisoni on my wanted-to-breed bucket list for the longest time ever since leaving India, and am lucky that Japanese breeders continue to maintain a good, albeit small, captive population. It also helps that they are quite prolific, and relatively long lived, so it is easy to get many larvae, and those normally are not so problematic when it comes to turning into adults. I managed to get a trio from a friend, and set them immediately for breeding. For that purpose I used two 22-Liter containers that I set up with white-rotten sawdust (compressed at the bottom), and filled it up with different white-rotten wood pieces of different size. The male went on a rotation, and while it seems active, I could see that it was relatively old, and was concerned it might not mate. However, while it only lived for 2 weeks, it managed to mate with both females, and the waiting game began.
Hexarthrius davisoni male on tree in Kodaikanal
It was interesting to see that the females were laying eggs both into the mat, as well as gnawing into the wood pieces. And they laid eggs for a long time. I set them up in September, and the second female died only in August the following year. During this time I checked only twice, removing all the larvae that I could find. Those I put into separate 500ml containers which were filled with white rotten wood (one half) and with flake soil (the other half of larvae). I had to exchange the substrate in the larval containers only once, and then separated the male larvae into bigger containers – 1 litre – to assure that they can pupate more easily. So far, all quite easy, the first females started hatching in July, the males are still pupating, and I have to admit for whatever stupid reason the three male pupae I had already failed to eclose from pupae to beetle. This is always frustrating, especially because they were of a good size. The next ones I think I will move to an artificial pupal cell, made of the green foam used for flower arrangements.
Hexarthrius davisoni F4 male
In total, I got about 70 larvae from the original trio, so breeding of the next generation should be secured, but for the waiting for a new male. The females that have hatched are still inactive, so for the moment, time is on my side. In conclusion, Hexarthrius davisoni is an awesome species, fairly easy to breed in standard Lucanidae manner, probably does not even require wood pieces for egg laying. Let me know if you want to try and will spare some larvae. Plus, the usual comment, they are protected in India, and whatever is available outside of India is the population we have to work with. Try not to lose them I you have them and make sure you give them into good hands, so that this captive population can be maintained strong.
Hexarthrius davisoni F4 male
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