Onward with D. tityus

There's got to be some in the bunch ;-)

These are just a pair that I happen to break the pupal cells on accident, so I figured I would try that artificial cell stuff, it may be a bit humid though, I hope no deformed elytra will come from this as the male on the left is quite a nice size.

 
Yes, I'm trying the artificial pupa method and monitoring twice a week.

My main concern is the amount of moisture generated since the literature suggests to saturate the foam with water, however I have seen many a beetle have deformed elytra apparently due to high moisture.

Peter, I was able to get a decent amount of pupas, can't wait to document their development.

 
very cool,i only got about 17 from my tityus last year,hoping to be able to get a second generation to pupate this next year,granti's are getting huge..

great pic,hopefully you get some monsters..

andy

 
Hi Andy,

17 from one female? That sounds about right, I had one male and two females, do the math. D. granti are eggs only at this point, we shall see how may in total there are.

 
Any tips on finding the grubs of this species? What kind of places and what kind of trees? I am dying to get some of these. I had some when I was younger.

 
Orin might be able to steer you better on this topic as I am yet to collect from the wild, but I have read they love the cavities at the bottom of old growth trees, I believe grubs in different stadia, as well as overwintering adults (multiple generations) have been found in the same tree cavity since wind tends to blow a lot of leafs in there which decompose and creates a little micro habitat perfect for the grubs.

 
The little guy decided to eclose this morning.

I am going to post this picture here only to give the thread continuance since it eclosed properly in it's artificial pupal cell.

IMG_7694.jpg

 
Do you find their larvae in basswood? Cuz I found some large scarab larvae I can't identify.

Could it be L2 Dynastes?

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It is small... I know. About 30-35mm. L2 is pretty small though, right?

The smallest one I have is like 25mm and the biggest is maybe 40.

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Ryan Minard said:
Do you find their larvae in basswood? Cuz I found some large scarab larvae I can't identify.

Could it be L2 Dynastes?

8KOK7KCKRKRS5QJ0VQT05QV06QNKRK10HKD0HK9K0KWK0KD0QKNKGQC0HKWKHKEK5QNK5KVKWQ307KAKRKBK5KHSIK.jpg


It is small... I know. About 30-35mm. L2 is pretty small though, right?

The smallest one I have is like 25mm and the biggest is maybe 40.

9R3KVRJKYRI0S0W0R070FQ40OQRQVR80K0W0Z0P03RSQS00QZ0M0DQHQNRG0FQHQARLQFQZQ9R40URHQCQ50WR403Q.jpg
Click to expand...
That's Pelidnota punctata. One of the most common larvae that can be found in a log.

 
Are you sure? I've reared this species and they look a bit different. Size is the same but coloration and underside shape is different? Maybe by the end of this instar (which I now presume to be L3?) it could change a bit.

 
Ryan Minard said:
Are you sure? I've reared this species and they look a bit different. Size is the same but coloration and underside shape is different? Maybe by the end of this instar (which I now presume to be L3?) it could change a bit.
Click to expand...
Some of the individuals might look slightly different but that is definitely a Pelidnota punctuate

 
It's a cool species but very common. If you get them to reach their maximum size they are great. Some individuals well over 20mm.

 
It definitely doesn't strike me as D. tityus, but I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly what species it is.

 
Ometeo said:
Orin might be able to steer you better on this topic as I am yet to collect from the wild, but I have read they love the cavities at the bottom of old growth trees, I believe grubs in different stadia, as well as overwintering adults (multiple generations) have been found in the same tree cavity since wind tends to blow a lot of leafs in there which decompose and creates a little micro habitat perfect for the grubs.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you may have my collection information quoted there. I collected them from the same tree many years apart. Due to the habitat finding the larvae is really difficult and I haven't seen reports outside my own. I wonder if you can find any collection reports on the net(that are actually tityus of course)?

Lucanus said:
Some of the individuals might look slightly different but that is definitely a Pelidnota punctuate
Click to expand...
Why couldn't it be Cotalpa?

 
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