Likelihood of WC D. tityus females to be fertilized?

[aspenentomology]

I was given two live female Dynastes tityus a couple days ago. What is the probability that at least one of them is ready to lay eggs this time of year?

[JKim]

There is no way to calculate that. Or are you going to ask them? Just set them up.

 

Let's say that female mated. But she doesn't like the set up you made in a tiny container (or even large container), and did not lay a single egg. Then you will probably assume the female DID NOT mated. Right? Since there is no egg found. Even if you saw the female mated with male, if you don't see a single egg from it. You will wonder what happened. You will wonder if the mating did not successfully happened. Or maybe the male is not a male (LOL). There is no such calculation to know whether the wild captured female is mated or not. If you want to rear it, just set them up.

[Goliathus]

It has been my experience that, statistically, the probability of any wild-caught dynastine scarab having already mated by the time it is collected is quite high.  Once they emerge, the females are quick to locate a mate, since they only have a rather limited time in which to do this, and then find suitable sites in which to lay their eggs.  This is especially true of temperate species such as D. tityus, in which the life cycle is strongly tied to the seasons.

[Beetle-Experience]

I have noticed the same as Goliathus..

[Ratmosphere]

No other way to know than to put her in an egg laying container and wait a few weeks/months. Chances are higher with WC females. 

[aspenentomology]

Thanks

[Garin]

I definitely agree with the above comments. If it's wild caught females, 90% of the time they will lay some eggs. Sometimes a lot if they haven't already laid a bunch or sometimes not as much if it's later in their life. Especially for Dynastes. Some other species is not so easy. Sometimes I have had issues getting eggs from C gloriosa and Strategus aloeus. Dynastes is one of the easier ones for sure.

[aspenentomology]

I have them set up in a 5 gallon with ground rotten wood and leaves and topsoil. I'll check this weekend for eggs. I'm really excited 😁

[Garin]

This is just my opinion and I'm not an expert like the others who have posted here but I think its best to leave the Dynastes eggs alone for at least a few days after laid. On some species, I try not to disturb them at all and wait for larvae. Lucanus and Chrysina eggs can be extremely sensitive and easily damaged, I have learned the hard way. 

I would leave the female undisturbed in the the 5 gallon bin for at least a week, then move the female to another bin. Wait a few days after moving the female then check for eggs. I think just less chance of damage to the fragile eggs. However, it could be fine as well but just my 2 cents worth. Have fun, I'm almost positive you will get some eggs.

[aspenentomology]

I set them up on Monday, so I was planning to wait about a week. Perhaps I should wait longer though. Also, I have both females set up in the same tank, is that a bad idea? And I'm not able to move them to other bins due to material shortages. I could buy some flake soil if I really had to, but I'd rather hold off on that until I get larvae, to be honest. 

[Beetle-Experience]

This is true most of the time (leaving the container undisturbed), but with 2 females in a 5gal - you might check more frequently. They do not remember where they laid their last egg and can easily disturb even their own eggs. Under perfect conditions, you could have one female per 10gal and not worry, but you may end up with more good eggs by checking than you would by leaving them.

Before you start digging look through the bottom of the container and see if you spot any eggs.

 

Good luck,
Steven

[aspenentomology]

11 minutes ago, Beetle-Experience said:

This is true most of the time (leaving the container undisturbed), but with 2 females in a 5gal - you might check more frequently.

How often should I check?

[Alex Shaffer]

In my experience no less than once a week seemed to do the trick honestly. Even biweekly could work, but as stated already the longer you wait the greater chance previously laid eggs will become disturbed and or destroyed by a roaming female.

[Beetle-Experience]

For "2 in a 5" I would do every 1.5 to 2 weeks. Remove the females for a day or so and feed them heavily while you check.

[Beetle-Experience]

4 minutes ago, Alex Shaffer said:

In my experience no less than once a week seemed to do the trick honestly. Even biweekly could work, but as stated already the longer you wait the greater chance previously laid eggs will become disturbed and or destroyed by a roaming female. 

Yes. There is a trade off unfortunately. You may damage an egg or two, but still might end up with more larvae.

Someone with unlimited space, substrate and containers could move the females to fresh containers - leaving the older ones undisturbed, but I've never been in that situation.

[aspenentomology]

I just checked yesterday and so far I have 20 eggs!! I also noticed 2 egg mites which were swelled up like balloons. I killed them and I hope there aren't too many more. I guess I should've cleaned the females before setting them up....

[PowerHobo]

Congrats! 20 eggs isn't a bad haul!

The only piece of advice I haven't seen mentioned here is to add some larval frass to the container. It may have been total coincidence, but I feel that I got noticeably better results when I added a handful or two of frass to my D tityus ovipositing containers. I would assume this boils down to pheromones, but as I said it might just be total BS. lol

[Ratmosphere]

Congrats! Best feeling is checking substrate and finding eggs!

[Alex Shaffer]

15 minutes ago, PowerHobo said:

Congrats! 20 eggs isn't a bad haul!

The only piece of advice I haven't seen mentioned here is to add some larval frass to the container. It may have been total coincidence, but I feel that I got noticeably better results when I added a handful or two of frass to my D tityus ovipositing containers. I would assume this boils down to pheromones, but as I said it might just be total BS. lol

Yes, i can confirm as well that adding this extra step in helps out a ton. Just simulates and tells the laying female that it's an optimal environment suitable for larvae growth.

[aspenentomology]

I would do that if I had any Dynastes frass. This is my first time keeping them though.

[aspenentomology]

I also feel like I should mention that I had to buy some flake soil to mix into the substrate. I got no eggs with my original setup, probably because there was a lot more topsoil than rotten wood and leaves.

[PowerHobo]

11 minutes ago, aspenentomology said:

I would do that if I had any Dynastes frass. This is my first time keeping them though.

I don't think the species matters too much, to be honest. I know for a fact I used M punctulatus frass with my D tityus when I saw the increase, just because I also had no D tityus frass at the time. Maybe just try to stay within Dynastinae?

[aspenentomology]

This is my first time keeping any rhinos lol.

[PowerHobo]

21 minutes ago, aspenentomology said:

This is my first time keeping any rhinos lol.

lol well crap... there's a possibility that just any Scarabaeidae frass would work (if you've kept any), but I'd have to defer to those who know more than myself.

[aspenentomology]

I think I used to have a little bag of Osmoderma frass but I think I used it for something a while ago. No matter, I'll have to stock some up for next time haha.