Megasoma punctulatus question

UPDATE: night of 21 August 2022. I got to the site at about 10 PM, immediately looked for female Megasoma around the lights at the side of the building where I usually find them-- nothing. Then, because the lights only shine out over the property to the west, I put on my headlamp, crossed the four-string barbed wire fence and began searching every bole of every tree on this property. On about the 18th tree (close to the fence of the parking lot where the lights are located), I finally found a male on a mesquite trunk about six feet from the ground. One. I searched trees for about an hour more, as close to the dwellings as I dared. Only the one male...and no females showed at the lights last night. I left after midnight...

 
Thanks for the update. Well, at least you got one male in the usual fashion so you know they are there. Since you didn't get any females, it could have just been a bad night.

 
That is the male I found last night. (I don't know why the wings are rags that protrude from under the elytra). Looks like my recollection of what punctulatus looks like. I keep no collection so I have nothing to compare it to. Garin, time to weigh in...

 
Yes, looks like a typical M punctulatus to me. A little on the smaller size. Some have a really big horn. Sometimes the wings protrude like that.

Thanks for sharing

 
This is an assortment of some males from one my trips. The last one is a female of course.

mega p big top.jpg

 
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Agapema, I find that old flake soil or waste material from stag beetle larvae works well. I just recently tried newly decayed flake soil for my female M.sleeperi. She didn't want to lay any eggs inside that type of substrate. I transferred her to a 32 oz container filled with waste from stag beetle larvae. She mostly deposited old eggs that didn't hatch. I've used old flake soil in the past and would get around 30 eggs from a single M.sleeperi female.

 
Garin said:
The only other Megasoma I have collected is M sleeperi. I was told when I first started looking about 10 years ago to look on the PV trees at dawn. You can also try at night, etc. I looked and looked and looked and found nothing. I later met a former biologist that had been collecting over 35 years and this guy was a life changer for me. Told me how to find so many things that I had trouble finding. He had an extensive collection of M sleeperi as well as most Arizona species like M punctulatus, etc. I told him about looking for M sleeperi on PV trees and he said he called that the walk of a 1000 trees. He said, yes, he has found them that way before but that is the most inefficient way to find them. He said you could easily look at 1000 trees and find none. He told me of a different spot and how to set up my lights and I caught 6 on the first night. But of course, every species and location is different so it's hard to say. So not sure it's worth looking in the daytime. Especially if you could get in trouble. Just seems like too much effort, haha. It's like looking for D grantii on the trees in the daytime. Yes, you can find them that way. But why not setup an MV in a good spot and get 50 while sitting in a lawn chair.
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i been looking into mega sleeperi for a long time now where would this spot be? if you wanna keep the exact spot a secret its totally fine tho ofc do you sell sleeperi? if possible i want as much wild pairs as possible next year

 
Agapema said:
 View attachment 2256

Last night, 16 August 2022, about 70 miles north of "traditional" locations for M. punctulatus in Arizona, associated with a different riparian system. Four females at light. This population is always late, with adults being usually observed around the last week of August and first week of September. Since I located the beetles, now about 10 years ago, I have searched and searched and searched mesquite trunks and then other species of trees for lekking groups with males, but never seen them anywhere other than at light. I've never seen a wild, living male at this location. So, without associated males, dissection or some molecular work...I will call these Megasoma cf punctulatus for now 
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where would this traditional location be? im rlly invested

 
Fascinating discussion.  I’m guessing this is still M. punctulatus but haven’t heard of anyone finding them recently between Tucson and Phoenix which is where I assume these were found.  I haven’t been out collecting them in years, but always got them along I-19 mostly between Rio Rico and Nogales.  I think in the original monograph by Cartwright, some specimens were from an area south of Phoenix, probably Gila River area, but I think habitat has changed a lot since then with a lot of mesquite die off.  
 

I was also told there’s a specimen in the ASU collection labeled “north of Glendale” (probably all housing now).  Not sure if it was confirmed to be punctulatus or not.  Always wondered if there could be some along the Beeline Highway as well.  Did some blacklighting out there a few time but never got Megasoma.

 
It is just not worth keeping M.punctulatus in captivity due to the F3 generation becoming bad without the introduction of new genetics from the wild. 

 
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