Substrate and pupation

Hypsibius

Hypsibius

L3
At the moment I've got a pair of mature Allomyrina dichotoma larvae. I'm not sure how far off they are from beginning to pupate, but are there any particular requirements for them to properly do so? I've got a portion of compressed substrate at the bottom of the container I'm keeping them in, which I've heard helps. How many inches of substrate should I use for them in general?

 
This species tends to pupate vertically. Compressed substrate in the base is not really needed, but a good depth is the stuff is. I'd say at least 6-8 inches of substrate would be really the minimum, in shallow substrate you may find they may refuse to pupate and just wande around or end up pupating on the surface without a cell, which can be problematic.

 
Matt said:
This species tends to pupate vertically. Compressed substrate in the base is not really needed, but a good depth is the stuff is. I'd say at least 6-8 inches of substrate would be really the minimum, in shallow substrate you may find they may refuse to pupate and just wande around or end up pupating on the surface without a cell, which can be problematic.
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Hm, I see. At the moment I'm keeping them in an Exo Terra faunarium (with around 2.5 inches of substrate as Oak suggested). Would moving them to one of those plastic storage boxes without a lid be better, as one could probably hold more substrate?


 
A deeper box with a reasonably close fitting lid would suffice, and help cut down the speed at which the substrate dries out. Once they start pupating ideally they are best not disturbed or heavily sprayed.

 
Ah, ok then. If I get one with a lid, I've heard one should drill holes into the lid for them to breathe. Would you recommend this?

 
I bought one of those plastic bins and filled it with around eight inches of substrate. Do you guys think this would work fine?

 
I realise you said before that its preferable to leave them undisturbed when they are in their pupal cells, but would it be possible to move them to a smaller container with a lid of substrate at that point? It's just so I know where they are once they emerge if I'm away at the time.

 
Leave them be. When they emerge they will spend some time in the pupal cell maturing before digging their way out and coming to the surface - no need to worry "where they are".

 
Also, I recently acquired a pair of Pachnoda sinuata larvae. How any inches of substrate do you recommend for this species?

 
Always best to have a deeper layer of substrate than a shallower one as they way it is less prone to drying out. A colony of Pachnoda can easily be accomodated in a small Petpal type tank with 5-6 inches of substrate.

 
Good news! I caught a glimpse of one of them and it has pupated! I noticed its abdomen was moving around. Is that normal?

 
Oh, that's a relief, I thought it meant something was wrong. I came across it unintentionally when I was removing some fungus gnats from the substrate. On the subject of A.dichotoma, how long does it take for them to fully emerge as adults?

 
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