Found beetle larvae - rhino beetle?

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pancakesfordinner

L1
Hope the pic is good enough. 

My boyfriend was digging up stones from an old flowerbed and uncovered these two larvae. He is not a fan of insects but put them in a safe spot for me :)

Only beetle species I've seen in my yard up has been Hemiphileurus illatus. Is that what these are? Any guess how old they are? I'd like to try to raise them but my first and only try at raising a larva didn't go well. If I decide to put them back what's the best spot to put them back in, since their original home isn't there anymore? 

Thanks!

Beetle Larvae.jpg

 
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I can't ID them for you, but they certainly look plump and well fed! If you have soil from the flowerbed that they were living in, you could put that in a container and see if they pupate. If you put them back, put them back in the same flowerbed if it's available. If you were digging up the entire flowerbed, I'd say put them in whatever is nearby that has a similar soil type. If they don't like it they'll go elsewhere. :)

 
It doesn’t seem that there are many reference photos online of Hemiphileurus larvae, but those look like flower beetle larvae (cetoniidae) larvae to me. If the grubs “walk” on their backs, they’re definitely flower beetle grubs, but if they try to use their legs to move right side up then they’re something else.

 
That reminded me I saw what I thought was a June bug in the area, but it could have been a type of flower beetle so those are all possibilities. I'm a little worried about keeping the right conditions without knowing the species but I'm going to give it a shot and hope I get to find out. Thanks for the references :)

 
Just because you saw Hemiphileurus illatus, that does not mean these larvae also are H. illatus. It could be many other scarab species including Dynastine, Melolonthine, Cetoniine, etc.. That is the most general morphology of scarab larvae. Their size does not seem to be large enough for any larger scarabs like Dynastes spp. or Strategus spp. It can possibly be any of smaller scarabs like Hemiphileurus sp., however, there are many different species of scarabs available here and there.

Are you located in Arizona?

Just put them back to where they are found, or acquire soil from where your boyfriend found these larvae, and keep them in a small container with ventilation holes punched. Water it when needed, and see what comes out of it. Their appearance does look like they are pretty much well developed, and is in the late L3 stage.

 
JKim said:
Just because you saw Hemiphileurus illatus, that does not mean these larvae also are H. illatus. ...
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Yeah, I do understand that multiple beetle species can live and lay eggs in the same area. I thought the context of a species I've seen around might help someone tell me if it probably was, or probably wasn't, that species. They do seem to 'walk' on their backs like Bugboy3092 said flower beetle grubs would. 

I am in Arizona, in urban Phoenix. Since the area I found them doesn't exist anymore, I decided to give it a shot seeing if I could get them to adulthood. I'm sure I should keep disturbances to a minimum but I checked on them today while mixing some new soil into the top layers. They're both still alive and I got a picture of one of their butts because I thought that pale arrow shape might be distinctive. 

Beetle Larvae 2 - 2.jpg

Beetle Larvae 2.jpg

 
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I would guess H. illatus if you're in the right area since they are about the right size, have the shape of dynastid larvae and the head capsule up top looks like the right texture (H. illatus head capsules have a very rough appearance).

 
Dynastes said:
I should add I have reared this species in the past and currently have L3.
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I dug them out today and they had pupated, one of them probably just a couple days ago since it was still pretty reddish. You were right! I have a male and female h. illatus. I'm happy, I like this species and already have an adult female I found in my office a few blocks away. Tomorrow I'm setting up a bigger house for the three of them. 

 
pancakesfordinner said:
I dug them out today and they had pupated, one of them probably just a couple days ago since it was still pretty reddish. You were right! I have a male and female h. illatus. I'm happy, I like this species and already have an adult female I found in my office a few blocks away. Tomorrow I'm setting up a bigger house for the three of them. 
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Don't forget the adults do eat each other. Not always immediately.

 
Dynastes said:
Don't forget the adults do eat each other. Not always immediately.
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I'm coming back to this in an attempt to verify some info to fill out the wiki page for this species. I found one reference to adult H. illatus cannibalizing each other and it was on a wounded/dead one. Since I posted this I've kept them together with no incidents but maybe not at a density that would encourage this? So I was wondering-- have you seen them do this, or is this just a pretty typical behavior for Scarabaeidae, or what?

 
pancakesfordinner said:
I'm coming back to this in an attempt to verify some info to fill out the wiki page for this species. I found one reference to adult H. illatus cannibalizing each other and it was on a wounded/dead one. Since I posted this I've kept them together with no incidents but maybe not at a density that would encourage this? So I was wondering-- have you seen them do this, or is this just a pretty typical behavior for Scarabaeidae, or what?
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I used to breed Phileurus truncatus, and I fed them hornworms. Just tossing a hornworm into the container, then beetle will hunt it down. Without a feeding they won't lay a single egg (or lay very few eggs). They don't seem to prefer beetle jellies as much as other rhino or stag beetle species. They feed on it, but not so much. Good luck!

 
pancakesfordinner said:
I'm coming back to this in an attempt to verify some info to fill out the wiki page for this species. I found one reference to adult H. illatus cannibalizing each other and it was on a wounded/dead one. Since I posted this I've kept them together with no incidents but maybe not at a density that would encourage this? So I was wondering-- have you seen them do this, or is this just a pretty typical behavior for Scarabaeidae, or what?
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The adults do eat each other. Not always immediately. In the end there can be only one.

 
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