Beetle catching in the PNW?

T

trifoliumtoreebo

Egg
Hi everyone! I am new to this hobby and I have a few beginner's questions. I have been lurking forums and researching beetles (and other inverts) for a while, but I don't actually have any beetles yet, just a colony of wild-caught isopods.  I want to try to catch my own beetles to breed/keep. I live in Oregon, and I'm not super familiar with local species. I didn't even realize we had stag beetles here until yesterday. Is anyone familiar with catching beetles in the PNW?

Are there any beginner-friendly beetles that I can catch here? Something easy to breed maybe? I really want to try breeding beetles myself.

Do you guys recommend catching beetles in the wild? I don't want to accidentally catch something that's threatened/endangered.

How do I go about finding them? Any species-specific advice would be really helpful.

 
You can catch things in the wild.

Wait until it gets warmer and check parking lots with lights on at night, you may find some interesting stuff. You can also set up UV light to attract them.

Check dead/decaying trees and tree cavities of fallen trees for larvae. 

 
I live in Oregon.

Right now, I live on the coast, but grew up in the valley and get out in the field in the spring and summer.

Lights are probably best for most beetles, and there are a lot of species, during the day you can still find beetles though,

sunny days bring them out, forested areas, any forest is good. Water, we have some decent sized water beetles.

Depending on where you are, I know it's a time tested method, but creeping around lighted buildings at night,

that's up to you.

During the fall, I've caught rain beetles, I don't recall the Latin name, I think it's Ple... something, that's hit and miss,

but they can be locally common. The older the forest, the better chances you have, although logged areas can be good too.

I don't think we have any endangered beetles in Oregon, I'm not sure if there are any in the USA at all. There are some protected

butterflies, but you'll probably never encounter them, being threatened by habitat loss, and occupying small areas.

Stay off private land, beware of collecting in National Parks, not that it's not possible, but it is prohibited, I go to

out of the way places, primitive campgrounds have less people to worry about.

 
kevink said:
I live in Oregon.

Right now, I live on the coast, but grew up in the valley and get out in the field in the spring and summer.

Lights are probably best for most beetles, and there are a lot of species, during the day you can still find beetles though,

sunny days bring them out, forested areas, any forest is good. Water, we have some decent sized water beetles.

Depending on where you are, I know it's a time tested method, but creeping around lighted buildings at night,

that's up to you.

During the fall, I've caught rain beetles, I don't recall the Latin name, I think it's Ple... something, that's hit and miss,

but they can be locally common. The older the forest, the better chances you have, although logged areas can be good too.

I don't think we have any endangered beetles in Oregon, I'm not sure if there are any in the USA at all. There are some protected

butterflies, but you'll probably never encounter them, being threatened by habitat loss, and occupying small areas.

Stay off private land, beware of collecting in National Parks, not that it's not possible, but it is prohibited, I go to

out of the way places, primitive campgrounds have less people to worry about.
Click to expand...
The US actually has quite a few endangered species (especially the Nicrophorus americanus beetles), idk if there are any endangered species in Oregon.

Here is a link with all endangered US insects https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/report/species-listings-by-tax-group?statusCategory=Listed&groupName=Insects

 
Last edited by a moderator:
kevink said:
I live in Oregon.

Right now, I live on the coast, but grew up in the valley and get out in the field in the spring and summer.

Lights are probably best for most beetles, and there are a lot of species, during the day you can still find beetles though,

sunny days bring them out, forested areas, any forest is good. Water, we have some decent sized water beetles.

Depending on where you are, I know it's a time tested method, but creeping around lighted buildings at night,

that's up to you.

During the fall, I've caught rain beetles, I don't recall the Latin name, I think it's Ple... something, that's hit and miss,

but they can be locally common. The older the forest, the better chances you have, although logged areas can be good too.

I don't think we have any endangered beetles in Oregon, I'm not sure if there are any in the USA at all. There are some protected

butterflies, but you'll probably never encounter them, being threatened by habitat loss, and occupying small areas.

Stay off private land, beware of collecting in National Parks, not that it's not possible, but it is prohibited, I go to

out of the way places, primitive campgrounds have less people to worry about.
Click to expand...
That's funny, I've seen rain beetles a long time ago, but I never knew what they were called! Interesting.

 
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