Beetles in California

Ive been looking at /for dung beetles here. We have some natives (probably feeding on buck dung) and non-natives that were introduced to deal with cattle dung.

I'll see if I can pull up info, but I think your best bet is to contact somebody that has cattle or horses and ask if you can search and collect in their property.

Fresh dung pads work best .

 
Megasoma sleeperi is only found in the extreme south of California. It is a rhinoceros beetle, should be moderately easy to rear, and most hobbyists would love to try. It is very hard to find but if you know the right area and timing supposedly you could find as many as you'd want. There are some nice big rain beetles too but these are probably impossible to keep and you're only likely to find males. You'd have to dig up females though it would be neat to see if something like that is impossible to keep in captivity. Rain beetles are the only scarabs with more than three larval instars and it would be neat to see that in captivity.

You should get a copy of this book:

Introduction to California Beetles

By Arthur V. Evans and James N. Hogue

CA beetle book link

 
It would truly be neat to have the patience to rear Pleocoma sp. orin, but according to some people their larval stage can last upwards of a decade.

How did you do with your sleeperi (or was it punctulatus)? Have any from your original colony?

 
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