Anthia cinctipennis

M

Mattias

Egg
Hey everyone

My name is Mattias.

This is my first post on the forum.

I recently bought some ground beetles. (Anthia cinctipennis)

I've got 4 of them in 1 enclosure: 2 males and 2 females.

The're all eating VERY well and are really active.

Of course i would like to breed them but i actually have no idea what the right conditions are to get this species to lay eggs.

I see them mating all the time but i haven't seen any eggs.

Here are some pics

20151125_192741.jpg

20151123_100756.jpg

The enclosure ( 60x30x30 cm)

20151130_132654.jpg

the video is a little foggy at first but it gets better.

Does anybody have any info or tips on how to breed these?

Greetings

Mattias

 
awesome!! i love these guys
default_biggrin.png
wish i can have them where i am
default_mellow.png
anyway what ive heard about them they need very deep substrate half moist(sand mixture,soil,clay) your setup looks great and your substrate looks fairy deep,i think they go threw a little rainy season,so maybe alittle spraying to "get the females to lay" but very deep substrate is a must,maybe the others here can chime in aswell,good luck with them.

 
Welcome!
default_smile.png
I saw your post on Arachnoboards, glad to see you made it over here! I do hope your beetles lay eggs, I really want to see someone be successful with this genus in captivity.

 
Hi Mattias, these are great!
I do not have experience with this exact species, but most Anthia's have the same biology and requirements.

If you want to get to the next stage in breeding:
First, separate your pair. They have mated a few times already, there is no point in leaving the male in there. He can actually stress the female and damage the eggs.
Second, I could not figure out the substrate from your photos (coco fiber?), but Anthia species are psammophiles, they need deep sand substrate. They can survive in an enclosure like yours, but will not lay eggs.
Next, make a moist area in one side of the enclosure, about 20% of the surface area. The sand in that area needs to be wet, but the rest of the enclosure should be dry sand. This moisture gradient will trigger the female to lay in the wet area.
You will only get 1-2 eggs, but they are HUGE. The female places them either on the substrate or partially buried. It is best to remove the female from the enclosure because she can step on the eggs and destroy them.
DO NOT touch the eggs or they will break at the slightest of touch.
If you are lucky, the eggs will hatch in 1-2 weeks (keep them on the warm side and do not let them dry out), and a big black larva will appear. The larvae are cannibalistic. They are active and can be fed with paralyzed crickets. The second (and last) instar is immobile and trickier to feed.

Hope this helps!

 
wizentrop said:
Hi Mattias, these are great!

I do not have experience with this exact species, but most Anthia's have the same biology and requirements.

If you want to get to the next stage in breeding:

First, separate your pair. They have mated a few times already, there is no point in leaving the male in there. He can actually stress the female and damage the eggs.

Second, I could not figure out the substrate from your photos (coco fiber?), but Anthia species are psammophiles, they need deep sand substrate. They can survive in an enclosure like yours, but will not lay eggs.

Next, make a moist area in one side of the enclosure, about 20% of the surface area. The sand in that area needs to be wet, but the rest of the enclosure should be dry sand. This moisture gradient will trigger the female to lay in the wet area.

You will only get 1-2 eggs, but they are HUGE. The female places them either on the substrate or partially buried. It is best to remove the female from the enclosure because she can step on the eggs and destroy them.

DO NOT touch the eggs or they will break at the slightest of touch.

If you are lucky, the eggs will hatch in 1-2 weeks (keep them on the warm side and do not let them dry out), and a big black larva will appear. The larvae are cannibalistic. They are active and can be fed with paralyzed crickets. The second (and last) instar is immobile and trickier to feed.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
That is some really great information, thanks for sharing!
default_smile.png
Interesting how the larva only have two instars!
 
Anthia's are really unique among carabids with the reduction of a larval instar. The egg and the first instar are also unusually big - it is an edaptation for a "stressful" life cycle. In the wild, these larvae infiltrate ant colonies to feed on the brood. The faster they complete their development and leave the nest, the better.

 
wizentrop said:
Anthia's are really unique among carabids with the reduction of a larval instar. The egg and the first instar are also unusually big - it is an edaptation for a "stressful" life cycle. In the wild, these larvae infiltrate ant colonies to feed on the brood. The faster they complete their development and leave the nest, the better.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see, that makes sense. Man, insects have such interesting life cycles!
default_smile.png


 
Hey everyone.

Thanks for all the replies and info.

Good news!

I found eggs!!!!

I was changing the substrate to sand when i found them. There are 2.

20160114_203831.jpg

20160114_201333.jpg

I've put them in separate cups with moist eco earth.

( like in the photo but i covered it with a little bit of substrate. )

 
hi mattias

i have anthia cinctipennis as well , i had my first egg laid 2 days ago have you any news on your eggs yet ???

regards

Andy

 
Hi, so far I have been successful enough to get 3 larvae from my pair of Anthia cinctipennis. I gave them about 10 cm of moist sand and soil, fed them ad libitum with crickets and mealworms and sprayed them frequently with water. Apparently they need quite deep substrate for breeding, moist enough for creating burrow/breeding chamber for laying eggs. They also like to drink quite a lot and mating seems to be triggered by spraying with water. I`m feeding the larvae with land isopods, pre-killed mealworms and crickets, but they like mealworm pupae best. The pupae are also quite safe food, since they do not move around and fight back. I also keep all the Anthia 3 larvae separately to avoid canibalism. Hope to get them to imago
default_smile.png


 
mrcos said:
Hi, so far I have been successful enough to get 3 larvae from my pair of Anthia cinctipennis. I gave them about 10 cm of moist sand and soil, fed them ad libitum with crickets and mealworms and sprayed them frequently with water. Apparently they need quite deep substrate for breeding, moist enough for creating burrow/breeding chamber for laying eggs. They also like to drink quite a lot and mating seems to be triggered by spraying with water. I`m feeding the larvae with land isopods, pre-killed mealworms and crickets, but they like mealworm pupae best. The pupae are also quite safe food, since they do not move around and fight back. I also keep all the Anthia 3 larvae separately to avoid canibalism. Hope to get them to imago
default_smile.png
Click to expand...
Cool! Glad to see so many people being successful in getting larva of this species!
default_smile.png
I hope you are able to rear them to adulthood!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top