Iphthiminus serratus

[Hisserdude]

Attempting to breed these beautiful forest Tenebrionids, I assume they'll be similar in terms of husbandry towards Alobates, but seem to have a preference for rotten pine rather than hardwood... The adults also don't seem nearly as picky when it comes to food. So far no eggs or larvae have been sighted yet, I have them on a mix of rotten pine, rotten oak and hardwood flake soil, with pine bark for hides and a few rotted pine needles on top of the substrate. They're being kept humid but very well ventilated. 

 

[Ratmosphere]

I like the appearance of their heads. Really cool species!

 

[Hisserdude]

I like the appearance of their heads. Really cool species!

Yeah, it's a very interesting species for sure, pretty sure the serrations on the pronotum margins are actually asymmetrical too, rather unusual IMO!

 

[Hisserdude]

Well, found larvae in my enclosure, somehow they avoided detection until the largest were nearly half grown though, and I was evidently right in my suspicions that they'd be cannibalistic like the larvae of their close relatives, Coelocnemis, Alobates, etc.... Could only find five larvae in the enclosure, evenly spaced from each other. But five larvae is better than no larvae, and I started with five adults, so hopefully I can break even and give the next generation a better go! 

 

[Invinciblewhale]

Hi Hisserdude!

I created an account on this site just to say thanks for posting this!!!

I started keeping some of these wonderful beetles around late June - July and now I have two in a vivarium. I wasn't able to capture more although I searched very hard! (They were much easier to find earlier in the summer but I only decided to keep them later).  I got them in northern Idaho. I love everything about these beetles - so docile! Such interesting shapes!

Anyway, I noticed one of them looked like it was laying eggs and I wondered what to look for - but there isn't much specific information about the Iphthiminus serratus on the internet. (Plus, I'm very very new to beetle keeping). I found your post extremely informative and interesting. Congratulations and please keep us updated on your breeding endeavors!

 

[Hisserdude]

Hi Hisserdude!

I created an account on this site just to say thanks for posting this!!!

I started keeping some of these wonderful beetles around late June - July and now I have two in a vivarium. I wasn't able to capture more although I searched very hard! (They were much easier to find earlier in the summer but I only decided to keep them later).  I got them in northern Idaho. I love everything about these beetles - so docile! Such interesting shapes!

Anyway, I noticed one of them looked like it was laying eggs and I wondered what to look for - but there isn't much specific information about the Iphthiminus serratus on the internet. (Plus, I'm very very new to beetle keeping). I found your post extremely informative and interesting. Congratulations and please keep us updated on your breeding endeavors!

Hello there, glad you found my post useful! I found one here in Idaho years ago, a couple hours north of where I live. My current stock is from Oregon though, since I haven't been able to make it up to that spot in ID for a while. 

Well I'd definitely start digging around the substrate for larvae 2-3 weeks after seeing the adults lay eggs, unlike a lot of other Tenebrionids, Iphthiminus larvae are extremely photosensitive and almost never dig up against the sides of the glass, so unless you dig for them you may not see any until they're like, half grown... The larvae are very cannibalistic and need to be separated as soon as they're found, I've been keeping mine in 2 oz deli cups filled with rotted pine, offering unmedicated chick feed every few days, (you can use dog kibble or something similar instead though).