Bill Myers Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 Wow that's incredible! I have a picture in my head of your bessie farm, but I'd like to see it if you have pictures? Sounds like a really neat idea. It's disassembled, right now. I've got some pictures somewhere on one of my SD cards. I'll look around when I've got some time and upload a pic when I find it. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarvaHunter Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 Spectacular photo! Also thanks for letting me know how to distinguish the pairs. I hope I don't pick a minor female with a major male. I can't wait to see your improved Bessie farm that you invented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 I'd be interested to know how you distinguish Bessie frass. I have 5 tropical Bess Beetles from Trinidad. 3, which I presume are males are about 50mm long and 2 are smaller, 30mm, I assume these are females. At the moment they are excavating lots of galleries in a big lump of soft rot wood and chucking out piles of sawdust but I can see no more. If keeping them in pairs in smaller jarsis the way to go i may give it a try with one pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Myers Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 I'd be interested to know how you distinguish Bessie frass. I have 5 tropical Bess Beetles from Trinidad. 3, which I presume are males are about 50mm long and 2 are smaller, 30mm, I assume these are females. At the moment they are excavating lots of galleries in a big lump of soft rot wood and chucking out piles of sawdust but I can see no more. If keeping them in pairs in smaller jarsis the way to go i may give it a try with one pair. If you look at the photo I uploaded in comment #22, you'll notice frass on the piece of wood. The frass droppings are those little blackish-brown ovoid balls which you'll notice are mostly clumped together on the lower left side of the piece of wood the larva is sitting on. And, you'll also notice individual frass pieces deposited down along the center of the wood. That's adult Bessie frass. Also, if you look in the lower right of the photo, you'll see a blob of frass that the Bessie larva dropped onto my finger. It's wetter and larger than adult Bessie frass. So, encapsulated in that one photo, are all the types of Bessie frass that you'll come across with Odontotaenius disjunctus. You don't say exactly which species of Bessie you have, but, since you say they are from Trinidad, I'm assuming they are Passalus interruptus. I don't have any experience with that particular species, however I'm figuring your Trinidad species' frass should have the same look and feel as that from Odontotaenius disjunctus. As for determining sex... My experience is that you can't always rely on sizing beetle lengths to separate out males from females. With Bessies, short of dissection, the closest way to separate out males from females is to measure the width of the pronotum. However, it's not 100 percent accurate. That being said, it's better than nothing. By the way, I ran across this method while reading The Journal of Insect Science, Vol 13. --> CLICK HERE. Also, you say you may try the jar method with one pair. If you can get more, I would recommend you try at least three pairs in separate jars because you never really know if you have sexed out a true pair or not until they die and are dissected. Make sure to keep them undisturbed and in low lighting conditions. Maybe some mood music, candles, wine... Oh, wait, what was I thinking? Err... Sorry. I got distracted. lulz Good luck and keep us posted! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Bill Thanks for the suggestion for the name of the species. I'd say it looks pretty much like photos on the net, but then again it's a Passalid beetle, so it's pretty similar to everey other type of bess beetle. A German Wiki page I found suggests that the smaller beetles will be the females. When they expire I will take them along to the Natural History Museum in London and see if the guys there can suggest a name. With your rearing, are you using white rot or brown rot wood, I was wondering if they had a preference? I have not noticed any frass yet in my tank, but most of the action is taking place inside a large lump of wood so I am tempted just to let them get on with things for a while before opening up the log a bit and seeing whats goin on. Looking at the paper you referenced making cage and wood a little more humid my be beneficial. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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