Sexing stag beetle larvae

N

newbie007

L3
http://maria.fremlin.org/Fremlin_Hendriks_EB_2014.pdf
I was reading the above article, and on the second page it mentions two ways to sex a cervus, is this universal for all stag beetle grubs, for example north american species?  From what I understand the first method, looking for the black spot for the terminal ampulla, is done for other grubs, but never heard it used for stag beetle larvae.  The second method is new to me, but seems like a much easier method assuming you can correctly identify the organ.

 
So I was not able to compare my larvae to anything, until now!  I examined my larvae for maybe 10-15 minutes, could not find any sign of the ovaries.  However I also could not definitively figure out if I was able to find the black dot for the terminal ampulla, it seemed like it was possible but depending on how the grub was squirming about it was sometimes maybe possible I saw something other times nothing seemed visible.

I was able to finally get out to the forest I found my grub in, and my goal was to find a few more grubs to compare it too.  I found two grubs almost immediately under white rot logs, flipped over to see their back, and immediately noticed this yellow/orange oval shaped organ.

So with that said, obviously I can't be 100% certain until it pupates, but is this a pretty good chance I have a male?

image0.jpg

 
And then here is the one I have been keeping, nothing seems to be visible.  Not sure if any breeders can confirm, but seems like this should be a male if the article in the first post is correct?

image0 (1).jpg

 
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