Moneilema gigas breeding.

[piggy145]

Does anyone have any info on breeding these longhorn beetles. I'll soon be getting a pair of adults soon and will be trying to breed them.

 

[AlexW]

Ultimate Guide to Breeding Beetles says:

eggs hatch in a week if moistened; do not hatch when dry

cacti for grubs must be rooted in the cage, because the grubs use roots to locate the plants and will also die if handled or relocated to new plants repeatedly 

 

[Goliathus]

Download link for a paper on Moneilema that you might find helpful, if you want to try breeding them - 
https://we.tl/yaGdlojQRV

 

[piggy145]

Download link for a paper on Moneilema that you might find helpful, if you want to try breeding them - 
https://we.tl/yaGdlojQRV

Thanks a lot.

Do you know how to distinguish the males and females?

 

[Goliathus]

Females are typically slightly larger.  Undoubtedly, there is some more reliable way of distinguishing between the sexes (possibly by looking at the sternites), but I've not worked with Moneilema myself.

 

[Peter Clausen]

I raised them through a generation. I used 1 inch squares of cut up prickly pear pads (never rooted) to raise the larvae and replaced them as they browned or were eaten every 4 to 8 days. They can go a long, long time w/o eating (months) but will be stunted if they don't have regular access to fresh food. Very easy to keep at all stages. Very tolerant of dryness at all stages as you would imagine them to be, given where they occur.

A couple pictures of cages that were for display more than for breeding.

 

[piggy145]

Thanks very much.

 

[davehuth]

@Peter Clausen - I've just started a breeding project of my own. I was wondering how long your experience took to raise the larvae to adulthood? Did it take a year?