Bugboy3092
Strategus
Welp, atm my HFB colony is booming once again, and I can spare to see some! These are probably one of the easiest beetles to rear, requiring less care than even tenebrio molitor! IMO, it’s definitely one of the most unique eastern darkling species, resembling what you would end up with if you mixed a diabolical ironclad beetle with an atlas beetle, though only growing to 14 mm (I almost broke that record this year, with one male growing to a little over 14!). All you need is a cage (16 ounce deli cup works well, but a bigger cage can support a bigger colony), a little substrate (cocofiber works great, although they can eat rotten wood during fungus shortages), and the hardest supply, decaying conks of large, preferably hard, shelf fungi. Polypore bodies at least 3/4” thick are the most widely used material, however, they will also eat and breed in the massive, ephemeral, fungus bodies that tend to sprout towards fall (these are much more common, and grow to massive sizes much faster). Of course, if you think you’d have a hard time finding your own, you can easily find large enough conks for sale on eBay, and other websites. One of the best parts of the species, and apparently not widely known, there appear to be different color forms, that can change depending on what they eat! I’ve seen and raised colors of HFBs ranging from rusty orange, to bluish grey! I’m not sure whether it’s caused by A: The color of the fungus they eat, whether as adults or larvae? Or that B: they’re simply being covered in spores that are the color of the fungus they’re eating. Not sure, although I’m hoping it’s choice a haha. Dm me for more details on rearing, or if you want to order. A single pair of minors (although I may use a major depending on how many minors I have) is 10.00$, a minor female with a medium male is 11.00$ (they’ll be more likely to have larger offspring), medium pair is 12.00$, a medium female with a major male is 14.00, and a major pair is 16.00$. Shipping is 9.00$ for two day usps (no shipping past Wednesday) or 24$ for overnight (no shipping last Thursday) with LAG (these beetles are very sturdy, and two day is unlikely to kill them, but I can only do LAG with overnight). Any deaths MUST be reported the day of delivery, I may request photographic or video evidence.