Hello everyone,
I'm a entomology student focusing on Lucanidae, and currently working on a project utilizing citizen science data from iNaturalist to better understand the distribution and habitat associations of Lucanus elaphus in Virginia, USA. I wanted to start exploring specimen culturing of Lucanidae to help me get a better understanding of their biology, behavior, and to eventually accumulate a comparative collection. I'm also interested in all of the "big beetles" of the Mid-Atlantic and would eventually love to have the understanding and methods to culture as many of the North American Lucanidae and Dynastinae that I can.
As I've stumbled onto this forum, I am hoping that as I get underway with delving into the rearing and breeding of beetles this community will be able to guide me in the right direction should I back myself into a corner. I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of beetles everyone is working with. If anyone has live stag beetles specimens to sell to become my beetle culture pioneers I would love to hear from you. I am also interested in any dead captive specimens or pictures of dead specimens I could use for better developing my own keys for identification (any Platycerus bois out there?).
I'm a entomology student focusing on Lucanidae, and currently working on a project utilizing citizen science data from iNaturalist to better understand the distribution and habitat associations of Lucanus elaphus in Virginia, USA. I wanted to start exploring specimen culturing of Lucanidae to help me get a better understanding of their biology, behavior, and to eventually accumulate a comparative collection. I'm also interested in all of the "big beetles" of the Mid-Atlantic and would eventually love to have the understanding and methods to culture as many of the North American Lucanidae and Dynastinae that I can.
As I've stumbled onto this forum, I am hoping that as I get underway with delving into the rearing and breeding of beetles this community will be able to guide me in the right direction should I back myself into a corner. I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of beetles everyone is working with. If anyone has live stag beetles specimens to sell to become my beetle culture pioneers I would love to hear from you. I am also interested in any dead captive specimens or pictures of dead specimens I could use for better developing my own keys for identification (any Platycerus bois out there?).
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