Strange and Interesting Beetle/Pupa events

A

Acro

Cerambycidae
I've been raising 6 Harlequin Flower Beetle (Gymnetis caseyi) grubs and all formed a pupa cell.

One of the pupa cells was left unfinished and I could clearly see the pupa inside the cell. I read that this is often a death sentence if a hole is in a pupa cell. I just kept the hole upright and I was able to peek in now and then.

Strange and interesting thing #1:

The pupa (in the cell with a hole) turned into a beetle! It appears healthy and not the least bit deformed. It moves now and then so I've seen it from several different angles. It has been drying/waiting for a few weeks now and I am excited for it's emergence.

Strange and interesting thing #2:

One of the other pupa cells developed a hole (similar to the unfinished pupa cell). I thought that it was a beetle getting ready to emerge, but upon inspection . . . it was empty! I found a shed skin (from either a grub or pupa) and nothing else. I am confused as to what may have happened. Did the beetle emerge, and somehow escape from the container? Did the beetle emerge and then hide (dig down)? Did something eat the pupa/grub while leaving an accessible pupa (the one mentioned above) alone? I am unsure what happened with this beetle/pupa.

As for the other 4 pupa/beetles, I await their emergence!

 
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Wow that is quite weird...maybe the first beetle was actually the second one and ate the grub in the first cell? I don't know dude, sounds like a conspiracy to me.
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Best of luck with the other 4 emerging happy and healthy! Post pics when they come out please!
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Thanks Amici Con Coleotteri.
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Now, I have more to add to the story . . .

I was checking on them today, and I found that the open cell (with the visible beetle) had a larger opening and . . . there was no beetle inside! And there were no beetles crawling around! Another was gone!

So I decided to get to the bottom of this and I pulled out the other cells and started digging in the substrate. Sure enough I found both beetles, they had just dug down. This is my first time raising beetles (outside mealworm/darklings) and I always thought I would find the emerged beetles crawling around on the surface.

But yes, now I have two beautiful Harlequin Flower Beetles! I'll take some photos tonight!

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Looks like somebody didn't explain about the "hole in pupal cell being a death sentence part" in detail.

Hole in the pupal cell is a death sentence only if the larva inside it had emptied its gut to the point where it can't build another cocoon, but is still mobile. This applies to pretty much all the Cetonids currently available in captivity.

So...if the pupal cell is broken while the larva hasn't emptied its gut, it will sometimes build another cocoon instead of dying. This happened to several species of Cetoniids I've kept, and in the case of my Osmoderma eremicola, one of the specimens built total of 4 cocoons (because I was careless to break each of them by accident). Also, if the specimen in the broken cocoon was in prepupa or pupa stage, it usually makes it through to adulthood as long as you don't expose them in bone dry condition. However, it's important to create an artificial pupal cell for those that had their pupal cells broke down to the point where more than about 35% of their cocoons are broken, because they could have trouble with their wings while molting into adults.

Anyway, congratulations on getting 2 nice beetles
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Hope the rest of the specimens emerge out of cocoons soon
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[SIZE=10pt]I'm not sure what happened with the pupal cell that had the hole. The grub made its cell, and just didn't seem to finish it, then turned into a pupa (and now beetle). No other cells were created that I could see.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Now, for what you have all been waiting for, the stars of the show, let me introduce my Harlequin Flower Beetles![/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]First beetle to emerge: [/SIZE]

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[SIZE=10pt]Second beetle to emerge (one with hole in cell):[/SIZE]

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[SIZE=10pt]Both on my hand:[/SIZE]

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[SIZE=10pt]First feeding as beetles - Beetle Jelly that I personally brought back from Japan.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]
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[SIZE=10pt]Their heads and antenna are tucked because I kept moving their log. However, they went straight for the food and ate for several minutes.[/SIZE]

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[SIZE=10pt]Thanks for the good wishes! [/SIZE]I'm hoping that they stop digging down and start being active soon. I am eager to try breeding them!



 
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Thanks!

Their first feeding lasted maybe 15 min, but now they feed for hours! It's rather amazing. One feeding session lasted 3 hours non stop!

Also, it is confirmed that I have a male/female pair. The beetle that emerged first is male, the one with the hole in the cell is female. I know because during a feeding break, one climbed on the others back and I saw an insertion!
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I was too tired to take photos (early morn) but it happened, it took several minutes . . . I hope that means eggs soon! Right after they were done, they went back to feeding.

 
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