Tenevanica
L2
How important is it that the wood dry out in between it being moistened and adding the flour?
Preparing your materials
- Thread starter Jordan
- Start date
Hisserdude
Dynastes
Pretty important, otherwise the flour just clumps together and does not mix in well with the wood, I did not wait until the wood dried completely and learned that the hard way, had to smash all the little clumps and mix them in with the wood again.
Tenevanica
L2
Ah, I was just wondering. My wood is slightly damp still, but I think I'll be ok to mix the flour with it.Pretty important, otherwise the flour just clumps together and does not mix in well with the wood, I did not wait until the wood dried completely and learned that the hard way, had to smash all the little clumps and mix them in with the wood again.
Also, do you think it would do any harm if I were to add more yeast than is recommended? I don't want to waste the contents of a packet, though if I put in the whole packet I'd be using more than the recommended amount of yeast.
Last edited by a moderator:
Hisserdude
Dynastes
Well, hopefully your flour won't clump, mine did even when my wood was only very slightly moist.
Eh, I'm sure it's ok to just put the whole packet of yeast in, I don't see the harm in it.
Tenevanica
L2
It didn't clump. I added the entire packet, as I don't see any harm either. 10 minutes in and the mix already has an alcoholic smell to it, so I say they yeast have already begun to do their work!Well, hopefully your flour won't clump, mine did even when my wood was only very slightly moist.
Eh, I'm sure it's ok to just put the whole packet of yeast in, I don't see the harm in it.
Hisserdude
Dynastes
Last edited by a moderator:
Just as a general addendum to tomlit's substrate post--
I've been browsing many asian beetle breeding blogs (used google translate to navigate most), reared several genera of beetles, and here's what I have gathered thus far:
In general, given that Dynastinae larvae tends to be living on forest floors while Lucanidae larvae within/near white rotten logs, the optimal degree of fermentation between these two subfamilies' substrates differ -- most Dynastinae larval substrates need to be fermented more than Lucanidae larval substrates.
Qualitatively spoken, thoroughly fermented substrate with very dark brown/near-black coloration is suitable for Dynastinae larvae, while substrate that is less fermented and showing a lighter brown coloration is more suitable for Lucanidae larvae. Of course, not having these specific substrates for a particular subfamily's larva is a not deal breaker. These configurations just tend to produce more majors.
However, these generalized substrate configurations are for rearing larvae only (while neglecting the option of specialized kinshi/myceliated substrates for select Lucanidae species). For receiving eggs, as many are already aware, there are very specific substrate/log setups that differ from the optimal setup for larval rearing.
Most Dynastinae do fine in terms of egg laying in a variety of substrate conditions, but tend to lay the most number of eggs when the substrate layer is thick (+4 inches), semi-fine in granularity (1-3mm particles), compressed, moist, and mixed in with frass of Dynastinae larvae (cross-species/genera frass source work fine from my experience).
Lucanidae, on the other hand, tend to have more peculiar egg laying substrate/log requirements, that vary across genera and even species within genera:
Here is a prime example of egg-laying setup requirement differences within just the genus Dorcus:
Dorcus hopei hopei / hopei binodulosus need dense white rotten wood, and for the most part will avoid laying eggs in substrate.
Dorcus titanus (most subspecies) lay eggs well in both white rotten wood and substrate. The wood should generally be softer than that used for D. hopei setups.
Dorcus parallelipipedus can lay eggs in soft white rotten wood (I could not find too much breeding optimization information online, so this may not be the optimal config).
Dorcus parallelus lay well in packed & semi-fermented substrate and soft white rotten wood.
Dorcus antaeus tend to lay best in very fine (0.25 - 1.00 mm particulates), thoroughly fermented (~triple/quadruple fermented) substrates, and will lay up to 100+ eggs when conditions are right. D. antaeus will also lay in white rotten wood when such a substrate is not available, albeit somewhat less readily.
Although most North American/European species' breeding/rearing parameters have not been optimized as thoroughly as species that are more commonly reared in east Asia, if we were to take time testing different configurations in a controlled manner, I am quite certain we will be able to catch up to hobbyists in Asia in their major-producing success rates. Perhaps we'll also be able to produce some specialty L. elephas, L. cervus, or D. tityus lineages that rival D. hopei 極太* lineages
Please chime in if anyone has specific housing/breeding/rearing optimization experiences with L. elephas, D. granti, D. tityus, etc, since I think many users here rear these species.
*For those unaware, 極太 lineages are lineages bred to have unusually thick jaws and horns. So far they are mainly developed for Dorcus hopei, select Dorcus titanus subspecies, and Dynastes hercules hercules. They tend to be most popular in East Asian beetle circles, and select breeders for certain subspecies acclaim as much local credit as HirokA does with his D.h.h lineages. '極太' translates literally to "extremely large", which in this context refers to the thickness of the mandibles and horns.
I've been browsing many asian beetle breeding blogs (used google translate to navigate most), reared several genera of beetles, and here's what I have gathered thus far:
In general, given that Dynastinae larvae tends to be living on forest floors while Lucanidae larvae within/near white rotten logs, the optimal degree of fermentation between these two subfamilies' substrates differ -- most Dynastinae larval substrates need to be fermented more than Lucanidae larval substrates.
Qualitatively spoken, thoroughly fermented substrate with very dark brown/near-black coloration is suitable for Dynastinae larvae, while substrate that is less fermented and showing a lighter brown coloration is more suitable for Lucanidae larvae. Of course, not having these specific substrates for a particular subfamily's larva is a not deal breaker. These configurations just tend to produce more majors.
However, these generalized substrate configurations are for rearing larvae only (while neglecting the option of specialized kinshi/myceliated substrates for select Lucanidae species). For receiving eggs, as many are already aware, there are very specific substrate/log setups that differ from the optimal setup for larval rearing.
Most Dynastinae do fine in terms of egg laying in a variety of substrate conditions, but tend to lay the most number of eggs when the substrate layer is thick (+4 inches), semi-fine in granularity (1-3mm particles), compressed, moist, and mixed in with frass of Dynastinae larvae (cross-species/genera frass source work fine from my experience).
Lucanidae, on the other hand, tend to have more peculiar egg laying substrate/log requirements, that vary across genera and even species within genera:
Here is a prime example of egg-laying setup requirement differences within just the genus Dorcus:
Dorcus hopei hopei / hopei binodulosus need dense white rotten wood, and for the most part will avoid laying eggs in substrate.
Dorcus titanus (most subspecies) lay eggs well in both white rotten wood and substrate. The wood should generally be softer than that used for D. hopei setups.
Dorcus parallelipipedus can lay eggs in soft white rotten wood (I could not find too much breeding optimization information online, so this may not be the optimal config).
Dorcus parallelus lay well in packed & semi-fermented substrate and soft white rotten wood.
Dorcus antaeus tend to lay best in very fine (0.25 - 1.00 mm particulates), thoroughly fermented (~triple/quadruple fermented) substrates, and will lay up to 100+ eggs when conditions are right. D. antaeus will also lay in white rotten wood when such a substrate is not available, albeit somewhat less readily.
Although most North American/European species' breeding/rearing parameters have not been optimized as thoroughly as species that are more commonly reared in east Asia, if we were to take time testing different configurations in a controlled manner, I am quite certain we will be able to catch up to hobbyists in Asia in their major-producing success rates. Perhaps we'll also be able to produce some specialty L. elephas, L. cervus, or D. tityus lineages that rival D. hopei 極太* lineages
Please chime in if anyone has specific housing/breeding/rearing optimization experiences with L. elephas, D. granti, D. tityus, etc, since I think many users here rear these species.
*For those unaware, 極太 lineages are lineages bred to have unusually thick jaws and horns. So far they are mainly developed for Dorcus hopei, select Dorcus titanus subspecies, and Dynastes hercules hercules. They tend to be most popular in East Asian beetle circles, and select breeders for certain subspecies acclaim as much local credit as HirokA does with his D.h.h lineages. '極太' translates literally to "extremely large", which in this context refers to the thickness of the mandibles and horns.
jake7917
L3
Sometimes sanitation can lead to an outbreak of mites, as the natural organisms found in the substrates are eliminated.