My First Scarab Pupae!

[PowerHobo]

It's been no secret that I am a killer of larvae. I don't want to be, I just am. I'm getting better (I think). So, basically, finally seeing successful pupation (especially after a truly crappy week) is a big deal for me, and I am probably disproportionately excited. ? I came into the office with the intention of mixing some oak flake in with my G caseyi substrate, since it was entirely organic compost and some leaves. I thought they had about 2 months to go before pupation, and I also thought that some had died because they were rather hard to find when I poked around in the sub a couple weeks ago, but I found 7 neat little pupal cells!

In fact, I totally forgot that Peter sent me an extra larvae, and as I was moving the sub back into their container, I found (and broke) an 8th. 

I dumped it out just to get a look since I figured I may have killed it anyway, but the pupa seems ok! Even gave me a little abdomen wiggle. About 3/5 of the pupal cell is intact, so I went ahead and put it back inside, then placed the cell on top of the substrate, and placed a moist (ran under water then thoroughly wrung out) paper towel over it with a bit of an air gap so the paper towel isn't directly contacting the pupal cell, trying to make a little humid micro-climate. If anyone has a better/safer way to do this, I would love to hear it!

 

[Garin]

Congratulations! Things are turning around for you as expected!

 

[arizonablue]

Nice! I raised these guys but I never opened one of the cells for fear of hurting it, so I never got to see what they look like. Thanks for posting the photos, that's really cool! (And as a note, I never had a single one die after pupating, so if you've got them this far you're doing great and you should have a handful of little beetles soon!)

 

[PowerHobo]

Mixed bag today. I determined over the weekend that I have to cancel my beetle trip to Arizona this year for money reasons, which really sucks, but on the other hand the G caseyi pupa that I was worried I had injured has eclosed! I'll get some pictures once the little guy/gal decides to come out and say "hi."

 

[Goliathus]

Here's a photo of some caseyi that I had emerge this morning, shown next to a quarter to give an idea of size.

This species is a great favorite of mine - have been keeping it for many years.  In the American tropics and subtropics, Gymnetis essentially fills the same ecological niche as the genus Pachnoda does in Africa.  Of course, they belong to different tribes of Cetoniinae - Gymnetis (Gymnetini), Pachnoda (Cetoniini).

 

[PowerHobo]

Holy crap that's a vibrant yellow! The one I can see is definitely more of a dark grey right now. Not sure if that's because it's teneral or just humidity. About how long do they stay dormant after eclosing?

 

[Goliathus]

Holy crap that's a vibrant yellow! The one I can see is definitely more of a dark grey right now. Not sure if that's because it's teneral or just humidity.

It's the humidity.  As soon as the beetle emerges from the cocoon and dries out a bit, the yellow will appear.  If kept under high humidity all the time however, they will remain dark.

About how long do they stay dormant after eclosing?

Not sure, since I've always left them undisturbed in their cocoons, but the wait time between eclosion and emergence must be rather short, since the entire duration of the cocoon stage, from construction to emergence, doesn't take very long (maybe 6 weeks or less).

G. caseyi is definitely one of the best US flower beetles to have - large, colorful, and extremely easy to maintain.

 

[Garin]

Mixed bag today. I determined over the weekend that I have to cancel my beetle trip to Arizona this year for money reasons, which really sucks, but on the other hand the G caseyi pupa that I was worried I had injured has eclosed! I'll get some pictures once the little guy/gal decides to come out and say "hi."

Don't worry about AZ. I drove all the way to Payson from Nogales because I heard the D granti were flying early and we got rained out. 6 hours of driving for nothing. AZ has had a lot (too much) rain this summer. Congrats on your caseyi!