N. americana and other Carrion beetles

Z

Zephyr

L3
I have 3 species of these (O. inaequale, N. americana, and N. surinamensis) and after about 5 days of having them, I only have babies from the red-lineds. In fact, the larvae were present, with some eggs, when I received them; the other species had laid eggs in their containers too but I found no larvae. I've been feeding them all dead roaches, and throwing out the roaches the next day once they've eaten all the meat. I read they lay their eggs IN the carcass, but as I said, in their shipping containers there were eggs in the substrate.

I currently have chunks of mouse meat in with each of them; will this work? How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?

 
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The eggs hatch fast, a day or two. Dead pinkies are usually used to induce egg laying as many foods can be eaten but don't lead to egg laying, just meat.

 
Sounds good!

I just found my first O. inaequale larva an hour ago; Hopefully there will be more!

**EDIT- Also, are the newly hatched larvae incredibly big or has this one been sneaking around for a while and avoiding my detection?

 
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I don't think I can stand the smell of these dead mice. lol

Can I use beef liver as a primary food for them instead?

 
Probably, you can also use certain dog foods. The mice are just necessary to induce egg laying.

 
Peter Clausen said:
Interesting stuff, guys!

Please let us know how your culture fares with time!
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Well, the red-lined adults haven't laid anymore eggs (there are just all the huge nymphs now) The N. americana and O. inaequale have quite a few nymphs, but I think these may be from the eggs laid in the shipping container. I have seen some N. americana eggs scattered around too luckily.

 
Zephyr said:
Well, the red-lined adults haven't laid anymore eggs (there are just all the huge nymphs now) The N. americana and O. inaequale have quite a few nymphs, but I think these may be from the eggs laid in the shipping container. I have seen some N. americana eggs scattered around too luckily.
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Generally, Nicrophorus species will lay eggs in carcasses according to their size. Thawed mice will work for smaller Nicrophorus sp. but generally for N. americanus you need a larger carcass such as a squirrel or pigeon.

 
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