Written by 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 the special characters of Kirchnerius, in my opinion it makes a lot of sense to remove them from Prosopocoilus as put them in a new genus. With regards to beetle breeding, two species seem to be a bit more common these days: Kirchnerius guangxii from China, and Kirchnerius cyclommatoides from Vietnam. I tried breeding both, but only succeeded with the first species.
Kirchnerius guangxii fresh hatched male from China
Breeding Kirchnerius guangxii seemed fairly easy, but there are a few specialities. I got a trio in September 2018, and set them up in a 22 liter and an 8 liter box. I did fill these with white rotten sawdust, which I compressed for 5cm on the bottom, I placed wood pieces and logs on this. I took a mix of Oak with Trametes, Beech with Pleurotus, and some random white-rotten pieces I found in parks around here. In the end it does not really matter, but with new species (for me), I like to go with a bigger setup (hence the 22 liter box), and try a wider variety of wood types. So far, this approach has been very successful and I intend to maintain it, until I run out of space.
The male Kirchnerius guangxii changed boxes every other week, to assure there were matings. So far (knock on wood though), I have rarely had issues with male and female stag beetles together, give there is enough space and hiding places for both. No need to tie mandibles up for most species, and no need to supervise. If they are ready, they know what to do 🙂
Kirchnerius guangxii fresh hatched female from China
Feeding of adults was the Lucanidae routine, beetle jelly and banana. Fruit often attracts fruit fly, but I think the fermentation of banana creates a lot of valuable food for the beetles, at least nowadays they seem to prefer it over jelly.
Now to the peculiarities of Kirchnerius guangxii. I had a feeling that I had another pet hole species. Never saw them for 3-4 months, no eggs, but a little bit of stealth mode feeding activity in the depth of night. I thought that this was a wasted effort, but kept on waiting, as they still looked very fresh when I dug for them in December. Asking around, I found that they seem to take their sweet time to lay eggs. Normally a sign for hibernation. Breeder friends assured me that Kirchnerius guangxii do not need a hibernation period to be bred successfully. I nature, in their habitat, they do experience a proper winter though, with lots of snow and cold. So…, I kept on waiting and my patience was rewarded in January, when I found the first larvae, those were between L1 and L2, and I only found a few at first, in total 8. Those developed fast, and in July, I had the first pair emerge, with a nice sized male. However, I also lost two more males in pupa. The rest of them is L3 or pupa. Interestingly, one female is still alive and keeps on laying eggs, at a very slow rate, but it is interesting to have the maternal generation still alive, and eggs, L1, L2, L3, pupae and offspring imagines at the same time.
Kirchnerius guangxii L3 larvae from China
I think it will be beneficial for them to experience a winter period, and plan to put them into the fridge, like I do for Protaetia, Lucanus and other species.
They will be put into a small plastic box, filled to the brim with humid substrate and off to the fridge for about 3-5 months, depending on how much space I have to set them up for breeding.
Last, Kirchnerius guangxii is a cool species, with very interestingly shaped mandibles. They are still relatively common in breedings, but the location they are known from is now supposed to be off-limits, and there are no more collections in that area. Therefore, I guess the captive population is what we have. Make sure to maintain it well. It is sad I almost end every article with this plead to try to maintain the species in captivity. However, given the state of the environment, no other option.
Insects do not have the attention of panda bears, so it is on us breeders, who make the difference. Hit me up if you want to try this species.
Kirchnerius guangxii L3 larvae in substrate
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