answers to problems(hope these would be reasonable)
1.each state could sell their own native species and plus the beetles move to different states to, i found a male D.granti back in Claremont,California but unfortunately the dog got to it and gobbled it up before i could stop it.
2.for the substrate we could just collect dirt from our backyards and sterilize it, or buy topsoil from any of our local botany shops.
I just dont get it. What damage could these beetles possibly do? They are sapsuckers so they wont go chomping down on anyones wheat or corn,their larvae are just as important as earthworms by making the soil rich and by breaking down leaf litter and rotting logs, and they would serve as a nutritional food source for any hungry reptile or mammal.
The most damage they could do is to fly into peoples hair or give them a little pinch if a person teases the beetle and then sticks his or her finger right between the beetles horns or pincers. You can find D.Hercules at a zoo if you look in the insect area but they wont let people keep native beetles as pets. So why the heck the USDA find these gentle giants harmful i dont know.