Carrion Beetles

[DeadInTheBasement]

i have had a dead raccoon laying out for a few weeks and it is finally warm enough for the carrion beetles to come out...so far only Oiceoptoma noveboracense and some sort of rove beetle. i am waiting for the Necrophila americana to show up so i can collect a few they are my favorite

 

[Peter Clausen]

Nature at its best. Both of those beetles are beautiful! Now, how do we successfully keep these little guys without festering mammal?

 

[DeadInTheBasement]

they do fine being fed dehydrated meat

last year i just tossed some chicken gizzards from the grocery store in my food dehydrator and fed it to them

or offered them small amounts of fresh meat that they could eat before it could rot

no luck breeding them but i didnt try very hard last year i believe the eggs and small larvae might require raw meat...

 

[DeadInTheBasement]

i usually just lay out roadkill in the sun to keep it dry and put a milk crate over it to keep animals from dragging it off and beetles come shortly after

 

[Dynastes]

no luck breeding them but i didnt try very hard ...

If you put a (thawed) frozen pinky in the cage they'll lay eggs. I don't think hamburger would work.