Coleorrhina hornimani breeding questions

[Hypsibius]

Hello all,

I recently acquired a lovely pair of Coleorrhina hornimani fruit beetles and am hoping to breed them, in the hopes I can get something of a little colony or cycle going. Therefore I have some questions about breeding.

Firstly, what do the eggs of these (or similar species, I'm guessing they're all pretty similar) look like? I'm just wondering so I know what to look for. Secondly, I plan on making my own substrate for the larvae, I have plenty of oak leaf litter and rotten hardwood, but I'm wondering what I should use for the "soil" of the substrate. I understand coconut fibre is inedible to larvae, so I'll avoid that.

Thank you.

 

[Shade of Eclipse]

Eggs of most beetles are white or off-white. There are some species that have eggs of a different colors, but I don't believe Coleorrhina have pigmented eggs. They may sometimes be yellowish from the tannins from the oak leaves. They'll usually be oval at first, but as they develop they'll take on water and expand and become spherical. They won't be tiny and you should recognize them as eggs when you see them.

The "soil" should be wood so rotten that it's crumbled away into a soil-like compost. Fermented sawdust works as well.
You can also use compost if it's made from plants that haven't been exposed to pesticides and if the plants themselves aren't in some way toxic to the beetles.

 

[Fabian.E]

Cyprolais hornimanni are perfect for beginners. For the adults I fill a box of about 20*20*20cm about 15cm with forest soil (the dark and nutritious top soil and not the light brown one) with some leaves. It shouldn't be dry or wet. A medium humidity as you know it from forest soil is fine. Then just put them in such a box, feed them regularly and after 2-3 months you can look for larvae. I do not recommend to search for eggs. You might destroy them. Furthermore larvae are easier to find. From one pair you should get 30-50+ larvae.