Ocala, FL collecting trip

Greatwun

Greatwun

Chalcosoma
Went out to Ocala today along with LarvaHunter and got some very nice finds. Found 15 Phileurus truncatus larvae plus one adult female inside of a CYPRESS PINE! didn't even know it was possible to find them inside of these kinds of trees. Later we found 9 more Phileurus truncatus larvae in an oak tree stump. Came across a male Phileurus truncatus beetle inside of another oak stump that was full of saw dust and large fecal pellets. No other beetle were found in stump. Also found 2 large Prioninae larvae. And also lots of Patent Leather Beetles. Was hoping to find some Dynastes tityus but no luck. Still a very nice haul for today's trip.

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Very cool, Greatwun!

Myself, I've got two Bess Beetles (what you call Patent Leather Beetles) that provide hours of entertainment. What I did was make an upscaled version of an ant farm out of plexiglass and filled it with frass from previous Bess Beetles I've had. That way, you can watch them digging out chambers and whatnot. I've got one huge Bess Beetle that has been alive as an adult for almost two years!

Anyway, like Pannaking22, I sure am jealous that you are able to collect beetles in December! LOL

Cheers

 
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Bill Myers said:
Very cool, Greatwun!

Myself, I've got two Bess Beetles (what you call Patent Leather Beetles) that provide hours of entertainment. What I did was make an upscaled version of an ant farm out of plexiglass and filled it with frass from previous Bess Beetles I've had. That way, you can watch them digging out chambers and whatnot. I've got one huge Bess Beetle that has been alive as an adult for almost two years!

Anyway, like Pannaking22, I sure am jealous that you are able to collect beetles in December! LOL

Cheers
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That's actually a good idea, a Bess Beetle Farm. I could watch them for hours moving around and communicating with each other.

 
That is a very impressive catch, and I join the others in jealousy for collecting in December. This is why I miss my "home Middle-Eastern climate".
I see more and more people trying to breed Phileurus truncatus. Stunning beetles and I hope to be able to see them in the future (in the hobby or in the wild).

Are you going to keep the Prioninae larvae? Should not be difficult, but they can take a few years to develope.

 
wizentrop said:
That is a very impressive catch, and I join the others in jealousy for collecting in December. This is why I miss my "home Middle-Eastern climate".

I see more and more people trying to breed Phileurus truncatus. Stunning beetles and I hope to be able to see them in the future (in the hobby or in the wild).

Are you going to keep the Prioninae larvae? Should not be difficult, but they can take a few years to develope.
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Thanks and yes I'm keeping the Prioninae larvae in the same substrate as my other larvae. I'm not sure what species it is but I've narrowed it down to Malladon or Archodontes. Both are found in this range.

 
It says that these species of beetle larvae cause damage to many live trees and roots causing large galls, next large gall I see will get split.

 
wizentrop said:
I see more and more people trying to breed Phileurus truncatus.
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I used to have a large colony and had captive reared pairs on the classifieds, mostly petbugs, but I made a mistake after seven generations and apparently nobody else was able to do it.

 
At least 6 people have this species now so hopefully one of them will be able to breed this species
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Lucanus said:
I'm thinking it is mainly because there wasn't enough specimens available in the hobby.
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I sent out well over 100 pairs to more than fifty people over a five to six year period. All were captive bred and should have been easily reproduced though I don't think one person ever asked for directions.

 
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