the_cream_man

Thanks! I was able to find a sprig of juniper to throw in their enclosure with them which I wrapped in wet paper towels to try and keep green. is there a good way to sex the adults? Also any depth requirement in sub for egg laying?? Lastly longevity on adults?

@Goliathussorry to keep poking you with questions-- I just had my first two glorious emerge!! My first beetles ever and they look great!! Do they eat anything besides juniper and should I put something wet with them so they can drink??

@Goliathus When these finish pupating will they climb out of the soil on their own or should/could I dig them out? I looked in and it seems like at least one emerged from it's pupal cell, the others I don't have a window in to see though :c

@Bugoodle As far as I know there are really only three foreign species that are generally legal to own in the us (apart from ground + dung beetles) which are all Goliath beetles. (Also love stumbling across your posts seems like lots of adventures going on-- and have appreciated reading about all your named beetles lol)

That makes sense, it's hard to know where the line is sometimes.. I feel like once it's begun the fermentation process who knows what sort of regional microorganisms might have colonized it. I know that's a bit of a stretch and not APHIS primary concern but the laws surrounding all that stuff I think are intentionally vague to cover more situations.

Bugs in cyberspace sells flake soil in the US I'm pretty sure any interstate soil transport is illegal so I have no idea how BIC gets around that (I'm guessing it's not enforced domestically, or maybe autoclaved) I'm also almost 100% sure that international soil import from anywhere would be very enforced and probably include quite a costly fine. This is to prevent the spread of non native organisms

ALSO: omg! I just checked and it looks like I already have one forming a pupal cell-- I think the pressure was a winner for sure (The picture didn't come out well so I upped the exposure to show the soil discoloration around it)

Thanks for sharing your set-up! Do you have any ventilation holes in these at all? Also, love that you've got it down to 5oz cups, I thought I was pushing it with 16oz!

@Goliathus, not super related but my D.tityus also do not have substrate to the top of their container- should these be packed too?

I didn't find any Geotrupidae but I did end up getting quite a few Onthophagus orpheus (Green bronze dung beetle). I took some home and put some of my poop in a deli cup with them. It's all been buried so I'm gonna check for brood balls Thursday or Friday 😅 Thanks for the tip, I might take you up on that 😉💩📬

I've just filled them to the top! Hopefully in the next few weeks I start seeing some pupal cells

@Yellowfin2na that would be a great solution too-- but I'm also out of clay.. I really just don't want to spend any more on this hobby rn lol

No worries, seriously thank you for keeping the thread alive!! Idk why but I haven't been getting notifications on it-- every thing you've posted is very relevant to me as well! From what's been posted I'm starting to think my issue is that my tubs aren't full to the top-- @Goliathus, My larvae are each in a 16oz deli cup and unfortunately I have absolutely no spare flake soil.. how critical is the pressure requirement and would it be better for me to put multiple in one container and reuse the substrate to get a few full? I do have some flake soil early on in the process of fermen

Mine are still doing the same, I've read that this is normal behavior prior to pupation but i put clay down at the bottom in hopes that they would be satisfied when they found it and pupate rather than wandering forever 😢

Hi all, I have some Chrysina gloriosa that I think are starting to pupate-- I only think that cause there is a racetrack around the top of their circular enclosure where presumably the grub was wandering. Should I leave them alone till I see beetles or can I inspect to see if I can find pupa in substrate? Also, how long does the pupal stage typically last?