Larvae and food
- Thread starter Sparky
- Start date
Different beetles eat different things, there's a beetle for everything. Dung beetles eat dung (at Animal Kingdom at the planet watch building a few days ago I saw a tank full of Phaneus (Rainbow dung beetles) going to town on some dung. I'm not sure what kind it was (not cow, maybe not horse) but I've never seen that beetle so seemingly happy. I also saw a big diving beetle (1 beetle in a 40-50 gallon tank bit of waste) that eats fish and aquatic inverts.
heh, there should be a bunch of diving beetles in that big tank,to see them eat.......wow like piranhas w/legs having a real feast
If you mean Dynastes tityus, your going to want rotting wood from hardwood trees (broadleaf trees like oak). Plus, you'll want to put a bunch of decomposing leaves from the same kinds of trees in with them. Mix it all together. This is the basic mix for the larvae.
arachknight
L3
Your substrate should be well mixed with decayed hardwood, decayed leaves, a bit of soil and a pinch of sand. How much of each depends on how many larvae you have. The adults feed on most fruits, and diluted syrup.
Joel
Admittedly it doesn't take much to have the oldest culture because of the limited number of people keeping them past one generation. It's my favorite rhino since adults are long lived compared to most and it's a good size beetle but not so big it's not fun to raise more than a few grubs. Also, it's native to my state but still uncommon (granti can be collected in huge numbers while tityus can't).
arachknight
L3
Truly no small feet. D.tityus and D.granti seem to be the most difficult to rear of their genus and yet you've done so effortlessly. Do you any adults overwinter? I guess this should be another topic.
From what I've seen I think most people have the best luck with D.tityus, it's a lot easier than D.granti and certainly easier than the bigger tropicals. They usually are put through a hibernation period but it's not necessary.
arachknight
L3
So does this lack of hibernation/topor? lead to a shortened life span? And can it be used to prep multiple gens into similiar pupating dates?
arachknight
L3
Not raw sawdust. Not very nutritional and needs to undergo a big transformation before it is suitable for larva.
Weebeastie
L1
I keep my larvae in a mixture of organic compost and a finely shredded rotten wood/leaves mix (pretty much the same substrate I use for my adults). They grow at an alarming rate! The adults are fed on various fruit to which I add a blob of honey or syrup and some flakes of my marine fish food - they absolutely love it and generally spend most of their time eating or mating
I'm not entirely sure what a typical rate of egg production is though, I get around 25 - 30 eggs per month from each pair.
I do like to experiment with placing additional food stuff in with the larvae, usually Koi food or small chunk of squishy dog treat....they are awesome little eating machines
I do like to experiment with placing additional food stuff in with the larvae, usually Koi food or small chunk of squishy dog treat....they are awesome little eating machines
Kaidin
L2
talking about organic compost...
I was wondering: how about sort of "recycling" the banana peels (skin)? I mean - since banana itself is so nutritious that it is used as a common food for adult beetles, and since larva eat rotten vegetation (I mean wood) - wouldn't it be practical to do: instead throwing away banana skin rather let it get rotten naturally (as usually it turns black pretty quick once peeled from the main fruit), and then add it to the compost? I was trying to search for some info on nutrition of banana skin and so far couldn't find. but I assume that it shouldn't be zero value - if even mere rotten wood is such a yummy stuff for larvae, then I guess certainly rotten banana skin would at very list compliment that rotten wood ?
perhaps just a speculation, but I thought it is worth asking about !
I was wondering: how about sort of "recycling" the banana peels (skin)? I mean - since banana itself is so nutritious that it is used as a common food for adult beetles, and since larva eat rotten vegetation (I mean wood) - wouldn't it be practical to do: instead throwing away banana skin rather let it get rotten naturally (as usually it turns black pretty quick once peeled from the main fruit), and then add it to the compost? I was trying to search for some info on nutrition of banana skin and so far couldn't find. but I assume that it shouldn't be zero value - if even mere rotten wood is such a yummy stuff for larvae, then I guess certainly rotten banana skin would at very list compliment that rotten wood ?
perhaps just a speculation, but I thought it is worth asking about !
Kaidin
L2
another question is - about the softer/ outer part of coconut.
usually it is called husk I guess (although it is not as husky as, say, some grains husks LOL) and when dried used for a lot of things, even for plants soil.
recently I've obtained several "coconut beetles" larvae (O. rhinoseros as I recall) and their such name has led me to this idea: since they are anyway reportedly coconut buggers (considered common pests all over SEA) then why not give them some coconut stuff? it is said that adult beetles feed on live coconut trees, and its larvae on decaying coconut branches etc. then perhaps if we cut those fresh coconut husks (after its water been drunk up ) and let them degrade or better yet rot - then perhaps it would be a welcomed addition to the diet of captive kept larvae ?
(of course it would be practical to do only in warm places as tropical countries / areas, wtih plenty of fresh coconuts available)
I do realize though that 2 issues are here: 1) that most likely those husks will sonner dry up then rot; 2) that even if they rot - it will take quite some considerable time (unless perhaps they are added into the already decaying compost pile, sort of to speed up the process).
anyway - any thoughts ?
usually it is called husk I guess (although it is not as husky as, say, some grains husks LOL) and when dried used for a lot of things, even for plants soil.
recently I've obtained several "coconut beetles" larvae (O. rhinoseros as I recall) and their such name has led me to this idea: since they are anyway reportedly coconut buggers (considered common pests all over SEA) then why not give them some coconut stuff? it is said that adult beetles feed on live coconut trees, and its larvae on decaying coconut branches etc. then perhaps if we cut those fresh coconut husks (after its water been drunk up ) and let them degrade or better yet rot - then perhaps it would be a welcomed addition to the diet of captive kept larvae ?
(of course it would be practical to do only in warm places as tropical countries / areas, wtih plenty of fresh coconuts available)
I do realize though that 2 issues are here: 1) that most likely those husks will sonner dry up then rot; 2) that even if they rot - it will take quite some considerable time (unless perhaps they are added into the already decaying compost pile, sort of to speed up the process).
anyway - any thoughts ?