Lucanus elaphus

Very nice. I have two L-2 larvae. Hope they come out as nice as these. It is cool weather up here now( central N Y )and I have them in an unheated cabinet at about 45 degrees . Is this ok? Thanks . Gene Shatrowsky

 
gashat said:
Very nice. I have two L-2 larvae. Hope they come out as nice as these. It is cool weather up here now( central N Y )and I have them in an unheated cabinet at about 45 degrees . Is this ok? Thanks . Gene Shatrowsky
Click to expand...

Thank you
default_biggrin.png


I hope that your larvae will emerge into big adults.

45 degrees seem to be too cold for the larvae. (Unless it's in celsius)

I keep mine in 77 degrees Fahrenheight.

 
Nice!!! I don't know which species of Lucanus larvae I have but since I've joined this forum, I've grown in my beetle knowledge. One of the reasons is YOU, Lucanus. Hahaha! I wish it was easier to tell what species they are before they pupate. Oh well. These are nice specimens! THAT MALE IS A MONSTER!

So I have a question. When it comes to overwintering, is it really necessary for this species? A lot of breeders skip it to go faster I hear. Is this true? I'd love to know so I'm not putting my beetles in danger. I know a few beetles require a cold period.

P.S. I have a good 60+ larvae at the time. Maybe 70. Some Platycerus, Lucanus, and DORCUS. Tell me if you know about rearing any of these other ones.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ryan Minard said:
Nice!!! I don't know which species of Lucanus larvae I have but since I've joined this forum, I've grown in my beetle knowledge. One of the reasons is YOU, Lucanus. Hahaha! I wish it was easier to tell what species they are before they pupate. Oh well. These are nice specimens! THAT MALE IS A MONSTER!

So I have a question. When it comes to overwintering, is it really necessary for this species? A lot of breeders skip it to go faster I hear. Is this true? I'd love to know so I'm not putting my beetles in danger. I know a few beetles require a cold period.

P.S. I have a good 60+ larvae at the time. Maybe 70. Some Platycerus, Lucanus, and DORCUS. Tell me if you know about rearing any of these other ones.
Click to expand...
Thank you
default_biggrin.png


I am not keeping my beetles in the cold temperature. I am keeping them in the room temperature right now but they are not active. This is probably because they take some time for their internal organs to become mature enough to function. I heard that if you bother them really often, they become active a lot quicker. But I don't think that is a good thing to do so I let my beetles to be dormant. Usually, they wake up around April. Also, I can see that the abdomens of my females are swelling up which might sugest that they are developing eggs in their abdomen as they overwinter.

If you have 60+ larvae right now, I prefer you to stop collecting any more. If you catch them at this rate, you might wipe out the entire population of the stag beetles in your area. Always keep in mind that one mistake can wipe out your entire culture.

 
I've been catious with collecting... It's just... We have so much larvae in our woods. As far as lucanus goes I'm done getting their larvae. Not Dorcus though. They are extremely rare.

But yes, I know this by experience. I made many mistakes a year back. Lol! That's why I've left a major percentage of my findings in the logs. So wild population doesn't die off. Thanks for the tips. Would you suggest kinshi bottles?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top