Desert Darkling

Chuck4th

Chuck4th

Pupa
Howdy y'all!

Found these up the valley a ways.

Any idea what species they are? Care tips, feeding etc. too.

Thanks,

Chuck

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Eleodes, possibly E.subnites. They like a well ventilated container with dry substrate, which can be purely coconut fiber, or a mix of coco fiber, dead leaves, and sand. They love dog/cat food above anything else, but will appreciate fruits and veggies too. Keep one corner moist, no water bowls are needed. They are easy to breed, many species will lay eggs in plain old coconut fiber, some however are more picky. The larva eat the same as the adults, you could also just feed them dead leaves and wood if you wish, just make sure not to keep them too moist. Pupating can be tricky, some species just need a small container of moist, compressed coco fiber to pupate in, others are more sensitive to moist substrate and need to be put in an empty deli cup inside another container with moist substrate to keep the humidity high. Once they molt to adulthood you gotta get them out gently and move them to a well ventilated dry container, otherwise they will die because of the high humidity in their pupal setup. That's about it, if you have anymore questions let me know!
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Awesome info! Thanks

The environment where we found them was so incredibly dry that a brush fire broke out from an unattended campfire or something.

We gave them a bit of humidity as a break, but that's probably the wrong thing to do.

I'll have to switch containers for them today.

 
I've been keeping these guys in coco coir for about a month now and guess what? There are now larvae!

The two adults are having mite problems, so I'm removing the larvae as I find them. Keeping them in coir with dog food and carrot to eat and some have grown quite nicely while others are still tiny.

Would love some more help with ID and any care tips.

Thanks,

Chuck

 
Well when it comes to the larva, you should always keep one corner moist, otherwise they dry out. The rest of the substrate should be kept dry though. Be sure not to over feed them, that can also lead to mites. The larva drag all their food underground, so it can look like they ate it all, but really there is rotten food under the substrate that mites love.

 
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