Recently I went on a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. Since some beautiful species are native to the region, namely Dynastes tityus and Lucanus elaphus, I brought some gear and hoped to find some individuals. Low and behold, the first night, the night we arrived, I found a female D. tityus at the gas station beside the hotel! I really don't have a lot of experience hunting for beetles (mainly because I am mostly from the reptile and amphibian hobby) so this was some excellent luck in my opinion. She was flipped on her back and just laying on the sidewalk outside the gas station so I feel like she was likely doomed - either being stepped on by a customer or die anyways from being trapped on her back by the next morning. Anyways, now that she is home, I am hoping she has already been mated and I can get her to lay some eggs. She is quite active and readily feeds on banana in between burrying herself every other day of so. Thought I'd share some pics.
Any tips or recommendations for the ideal husbandry for this specimen or best ways to promote egg laying are appreciated.
Any tips or recommendations for the ideal husbandry for this specimen or best ways to promote egg laying are appreciated.
