I'd like to capture myself some interesting beetles to hopefully keep as pets. I'm in Central Texas. I've found parts of dead ox beetles across the street, and a fairly nice pair of dead Eastern hercules beetles about five miles away at a place that sprays pesticides on everything, so I know those are local. I think we're also within the range of Western hercules beetles. There's also a semi-dying pecan tree in our yard with thumb-sized holes in the trunk, and some of the holes are fresh, so something is in there.\
I'm currently trying a bait that I read about on a specimen collection forum. One mushed banana and some cheap beer in a Ziploc bag, mushed together, and hung on a tree with holes poked in the bag so the mix can drip out. The idea is, the beetles smell the mix and come to eat, and hopefully get tipsy enough that they don't want to move very far. I'm going to go back after dark and check on things.
I've also read that various mixtures of sugar, molasses, cheap wine, and similar substances can be smeared on available surfaces to lure beetles in. I imagine there's gonna be a lot of wasps, but hopefully not as many after dark. Has anyone tried anything of the sort?
I've also tried a pitfall trap baited with a dead bird, in hopes of getting carrion eaters, just to see what we have in the area. All I got were ants.
Plus, I have a light trap in the works, using a blacklight for power. It's mostly gonna be for moths, but I might get some stuff to that.
I'm gonna make a preemptive bait check at dusk, in a couple of hours, and then a final gather-the-baits check after it's been dark for awhile. Will update with what I find. Hoping for big major beetles.
I'm currently trying a bait that I read about on a specimen collection forum. One mushed banana and some cheap beer in a Ziploc bag, mushed together, and hung on a tree with holes poked in the bag so the mix can drip out. The idea is, the beetles smell the mix and come to eat, and hopefully get tipsy enough that they don't want to move very far. I'm going to go back after dark and check on things.
I've also read that various mixtures of sugar, molasses, cheap wine, and similar substances can be smeared on available surfaces to lure beetles in. I imagine there's gonna be a lot of wasps, but hopefully not as many after dark. Has anyone tried anything of the sort?
I've also tried a pitfall trap baited with a dead bird, in hopes of getting carrion eaters, just to see what we have in the area. All I got were ants.
Plus, I have a light trap in the works, using a blacklight for power. It's mostly gonna be for moths, but I might get some stuff to that.
I'm gonna make a preemptive bait check at dusk, in a couple of hours, and then a final gather-the-baits check after it's been dark for awhile. Will update with what I find. Hoping for big major beetles.