Winter beetle hunting

[AlexW]

Remember this?

The Angeles National Forest is indeed few on insects...... Unless you have a hammer and chisel.

Last weekend I found a diabolical ironclad and three pillbugs:

(More photos of another find to come later!)

 

[Hisserdude]

Cool! Glad to hear that you are finding beetles near you!

 

[Ratmosphere]

Awesome find.

 

[AlexW]

Update: On Saturday I also caught two of these isopods at a completely different location, presumably some kind of Porcellio.

They seem quite pancake-like and coexist well with the pillbugs.

 

[Hisserdude]

Looks like a Trachelipus rathkii, in my opinion. Hope you find more bugs!

 

[AlexW]

I have caught a single small carabid for the experiment with wet-substrate breeding over the weekend (along with three more T.rathkii) but I can't get it to eat.

No interest is shown in dry fish food pellets and some is with apple slices, but I suppose it's probably just drinking the water from the apple's surface.

Any suggestions as to what to feed it and how frequently I should do so? Pinhead crickets and most other insects are too large.

 

[Hisserdude]

I usually feed carabids pre-killed mealworms, because I get way to many problems with dog food (mold, mites,etc.). Even tiny carabids will eat a pre-killed mealworm, no matter how big.

 

[AlexW]

I have gotten it to eat wet fish/dog food now, but thanks anyways!

Here are some better photos of the T.rathkii and carabid, insects are usually impossible to photograph well without a macro lens.

 

[Hisserdude]

Your ground beetle looks like a Calathus ruficollis, I have kept this species before, but never made a serious attempt to breed them. Nice pics!