Carabid season has started

davehuth

davehuth

L3
Hello – 

Carabid beetles have begun to emerge where I live in Western NY state (USA). I'll be making numerous collecting excursions starting this week. 

I've had the best luck keeping the following species, and would be happy to collect for sale or trade:

-----------

Carabus sp. (probably nemoralis, European Ground Beetle) - about 1 inch - feeds on softbodied invertebrate prey such as earthworms - $5 ea. or trade (abundant now)

Sphaeroderus stenostomus, Small Snail Eating Beetle - about 1/2 inch - pretty iridescent blue highlights, feeds almost exclusively on small snails - $3 ea. or trade

Scarites subterraneus, Big-headed Ground Beetle - about 3/4 inch - impressive mandibles, preys on a range of softbodied inverts - $5 ea. or trade (more abundant in May/June)

Also:

Misc. carabids with a little color on them - 1/4 -3/4 inch - I'm not good at ID, but they're shiny green, or orange-legged, or in the tricolor group. etc. - 2 for $5 or trade - they're not Fiery Searchers (rare in my area), not Tiger beetles (too fast for me!)

Misc. black carabids - 1/4 - 3/4 inch - Lots of similar looking small dark beetles I don't know how to identify, but still active and fun - 4 for $5 or trade

------------

General care is a humid enclosure with slightly moist substrate deep enough to burrow in (coconut fiber works fine), some litter to scurry over and under, prey foods a couple times a week. They like it on the cool side, but tolerate a range. I've had Carabus and Sphaeroderus lay eggs that hatch into active predatory larvae, though i haven't got them to pupate yet (I haven't tried very hard). 

Send a direct message if you'd like me to collect for you, I make a couple outings each week.

 
Last year I kept about 25 collected Carabus adults together in a 17 quart bin on 3 inches of damp substrate with leaves and bark on the surface. They seemed to do fine together, and produced numerous larvae (which are also predatory and interesting to keep). However, I wasn't used to the food demands of predatory inverts, and I became overwhelmed with their care by June – so I released them. In the nearly 3 months I kept them they didn't appear stressed by living together and never turned on one another. I'm keeping a much smaller group this year which should be more manageable for me. 

Calosoma are listed for my state, but I don't come across them. I do see (and smell!) a few Chlaenius each year, which are also a pretty green. A few of the orange and black Galerita do show up on my collecting trips occasionally, along with other carabids that look similar but I think are a different genus. 

 
I don’t have any on hand presently, but I still see them around on my collecting trips. I’d be happy to collect more. Send me a message and let me know how many you might like 🙂

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top