Phileurus valgus

Lucanus

Lucanus

Lucanus
Gotta love these guys
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This is the first species of Dynastinae I've reared when I came to America, which means a lot to me
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One larva that I found came out all deformed, possibly to me disrupting the pupal cell. I have 6 adults total, will the normal ones mate with the deformed one, or should I take it out?

 
LarvaHunter said:
Can you tell me the size container you used to breed these valgus? Can you let me know how to tell the sex?
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I've been using 32 oz per female (filled 3/4 with substrates) to get eggs. I check the substrate every month to see if the female has laid any eggs and remove the eggs into bigger containers if I find them.

I've yet to find the way to sex them. I was going to compare the last abdominal segments of males and females to see if they can be sexed in same manner as P. truncatus but I forgot to do so before I sent away most of my males to my friend.

So far, the specimens I've observed have shown that they can be sexed in same way as P. truncatus but I need to get more males to compare to make sure this is true.

LarvaHunter said:
One larva that I found came out all deformed, possibly to me disrupting the pupal cell. I have 6 adults total, will the normal ones mate with the deformed one, or should I take it out?
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It depends on how badly it is deformed. I'll need pictures to tell.

 
Adult feeding on dog food

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Are Larvahunter, Greatwun, Ryan Minard, and I the only people keeping this species right now?

 
You may be correct. I find Phileurus valgus far less than P. truncatus and usually only one larva per tree. It may lack the large horns of truncatus but its still one of my favorite U.S. beetles. I had no idea the adults could feed on dog food.

 
I have 5 adults I caught with blacklight and the 6 valgus larvae that I found on 7/11/13, they were growing huge on kinshi I wonder if truncatus larvae would do well on kinshi. When I ran out of kinshi a few months ago they have shrank to the size when I found them, and I just wait for them to pupate now. I feed the adults Canadian nightcrawlers cut in half and sometimes dry dog food that is moistened. The larva were in a branch that fell high out of a large live oak tree, maybe they are higher in the trees and that's why they aren't encountered much.

 
LarvaHunter said:
I have 5 adults I caught with blacklight and the 6 valgus larvae that I found on 7/11/13, they were growing huge on kinshi I wonder if truncatus larvae would do well on kinshi. When I ran out of kinshi a few months ago they have shrank to the size when I found them, and I just wait for them to pupate now. I feed the adults Canadian nightcrawlers cut in half and sometimes dry dog food that is moistened. The larva were in a branch that fell high out of a large live oak tree, maybe they are higher in the trees and that's why they aren't encountered much.
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off topic.."7/11" made me lol

 
Greatwun said:
You may be correct. I find Phileurus valgus far less than P. truncatus and usually only one larva per tree. It may lack the large horns of truncatus but its still one of my favorite U.S. beetles. I had no idea the adults could feed on dog food.
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Same here. Even though this is the first species of Dynastinae I encountered in the US, I've only seen them twice in the wild. Good thing is they are easy to breed so I'm hoping to see more people breeding this cute little species in the hobby soon
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LarvaHunter said:
I have 5 adults I caught with blacklight and the 6 valgus larvae that I found on 7/11/13, they were growing huge on kinshi I wonder if truncatus larvae would do well on kinshi. When I ran out of kinshi a few months ago they have shrank to the size when I found them, and I just wait for them to pupate now. I feed the adults Canadian nightcrawlers cut in half and sometimes dry dog food that is moistened. The larva were in a branch that fell high out of a large live oak tree, maybe they are higher in the trees and that's why they aren't encountered much.
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Looks like there is a well established breeding culture of P. valgus in your area
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It's interesting to know that yours are doing well in kinshi cause Dynastids generally don't do well in 100% kinshi substrate.

I second your agreement. I've seen pieces of P. valgus fallen out from tree tops in various places and I myself have collected a pair with couple of L1s at the tree top this summer. They probably breed in lower parts of trees too but tree tops seem to be their favorite places to breed
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