Breeding Non-feeder Darkling Species

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pannaking22

Fresh Imago
While on vacation recently out I in Colorado, I collected a bunch of darkling beetles of 4 (5?) species. I really want to breed them, especially the extra large species I came across so other hobbyists can enjoy them. I've found a little bit of info here on Beetle Forum, but I was wondering if anyone had some first hand experience? I do have Orin's book on breeding beetles, but it's currently 3 hours away from my current location and I won't have access to it for another week or so. I'll get some pictures up in the next couple days as well once I sit down to photograph everyone. I believe they are all Eleodes, but there's one species I'm not as sure about (though sadly I only found one of those).

Any info, including pictures, would be much appreciated!

 
They are pretty to breed in my opinion. They like a few inches dry coco fiber, with a moist corner ( or half ). A layer of crushed dead leaves can stimulate egg laying. The adults and larva eat dog food and fruits and veggies. If you have to leave them for a week i highly suggest you put a big chunk of carrot in with them, the larva can eat this for a long time. In my experience the adults will eat each others legs off if you do not feed enough. The adults LOVE dog food. Hope this helps! P.S. Can't wait to see some pics!
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Great, thanks for the info! Do you ever use sand (alone or mixed with other substrates), or is it pretty much just coco fiber with leaves? I have a group of mixed darklings, but couldn't breed them since they were different species (oddly that didn't stop the one non-darkling beetle in there from mating with everyone else...). I have a few blue death feigners together, but that's just on the off chance that I get lucky. Would much rather have luck with these guys! There has already been plenty of mating going on, so that's a good sign. Everyone seems to like eating dead crickets as well. I throw a couple of those in every week as leftovers from feeding all my tarantulas. Haven't had any lost legs yet, but I'll definitely keep my eye out!

 
I sometimes mix sand in with the substrate, but for me it does not make a difference whether the substrate has sand or not. And usually i do not put leaves in with them, only when a species is not laying eggs do i put dead leaves in, as it is known to induce egg laying. And just a quick tip, adults die without a lot of ventilation. hope this helps!

 
I don't know the exact numbers, but there are probably something like 200 species of Eleodes in the U.S., and their requirements may differ greatly. While many may do great on very general substrates, others have much more specific requirements. Of course, lots of this information is probably still unknown for many, if not most species.

For instance, of the handful of species I have raised from my local area - one I have only had successful larvae with a predominantly sand substrate, one has done well only on 100% cocoa fiber, and a third species doesn't seem to care at all. I don't know why. All three species can be found inches apart on the right day in the wild, so it can be pretty hard to generalize what all species may want, even from the same spot in the wild.

I guess the short version of what I am trying to say = if one substrate fails, try another - it may just work out. Trial and error is the best answer to some questions.

Good luck, and POST UP SOME PICTURES!

 
Well experimenting with these guys should be fun then. Fingers crossed that I can get them to breed! We definitely need the extra large species in the hobby. I may set up larger enclosures for them then so I can have several substrate types present and then just observe which types they like the most.

I was finding all the species together and had the most success in an area where a huge fire had been several years ago. I just flipped logs and they were everywhere. It was a sandier soil and it didn't seem like there was a lot of organic detritus, so hopefully that will help with keeping/breeding.

When you do actually get larvae, do you separate them once they get reach final instar or do you just leave them in the enclosure?

 
Usually you separate them and put them in a humid environment, but you can leave them in with each other if they aren't too crowded.

 
Cool, thanks for the clarification. I'm having trouble getting pics up here, so I'll mess with that more in the morning. I may have some from the genus Coelocnemis, so I'll check for the hairs on the legs in the morning as well.

 
Picture time! Sorry the quality isn't the best on some, I had a few that just didn't want to stay still!

Interesting pronotum -

The giants! -

Cool little darkling that I sadly only got one of -

Striate darkling -

Smooth darkling sp. 1 -

Smooth darkling sp. 2 -

 
The giants look like Eleodes obscurus, the one after that is a Eusattus sp, the one after that looks like Eleodes hispilabris. I will see if I can identify the others. Hope this helps!
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