Mantichora latipennis

[Matt]

It's been a few years since I last saw any live Mantichora for sale at a show in Germany. I went to a show in the UK last weekend and could not resist getting a pair of these.

 

 

 

 

So far the female has destroyed a Morio worm and a medium sized locust - those jaws seem to make short work of anything.

[Dynastes]

I miss seeing Anthia and Mantichora.

[Hisserdude]

Awsome!! We can only hope that one day, we will see these in the USA. Awsome beetles!

[manticora]

oh yeah!!! that's what i'm talkin about,been wanting these for years,this has got to be my most favorite predatory beetle hands down,well i'm hopeing............and hopeing i will have some.....someday,you are very lucky to have them anthias rock aswell,another impressive beetle too. enjoy them,i'm sure you won't get bored w/them

[pannaking22]

Super jealous! Enjoy keeping them!

[hardshell]

hope u can breed them :D:D:D

[Satanas]

do you know how to breed them? i can tell you if needed

[Matt]

do you know how to breed them? i can tell you if needed

 

I'd be interested in any information you have on the possible breeding of these - all I have is the paper from Bristol Zoo in the UK from a few years back when they got larvae to about L5 but, as far as I know, never got beyond that. The same with Anthia species - people say it can be done but there appears to be nothing published on the subject in any depth. Any links, papers or general info would be great.

[Satanas]

you need 12 inches of clay for egg laying. larvae take 6 months to become adults. feed them anything that moves;)

[Matt]

Thanks Steve - I have a feeling from what I have read that it might be slightly more tricky than that. Larvae were produced at Bristol Zoo a few years back only after some fairly longterm preparation attempting to mimic the dry season / rainy season weather patterns they experience in the wild. Larvae went through several instars but there was no information regarding any attempts at pupation. I have that paper in print form, nothing electronic.

 

For other info on the biology of these beetles see http://www.nev.nl/tve/pdf/te0143071.pdf and http://thesmallermajority.com/2013/05/28/mozambique-diary-manticora-redux/

[Dynastes]

_{I say try damp coconut fiber, it's amazing what lays eggs in that stuff. If you try what's already been tried or what has been suggested you're doomed to fail like the thousand others who've gave it a shot, myself included. On the up side they do live for years.}

[Satanas]

Peter Grabowitz has bred them successfully using the techniques i just described. The whole think with the monsoon season is not required whatsoever.

[Matt]

I actually bought this pair off Peter, who also had some Anthia species for sale at the same time.

 

He did say it was possible to breed Anthia (with difficulty) but said nothing about the Mantichora. TBH, I'm pretty sure if he had managed to breed these we would have heard about it by now, either on his Facebook page or his website. London Zoo report producing a single Anthia adult "by accident" in one of their display houses and a photo of what is claimed to be an Anthia larvae appeared on Facebook recently, though I can't get a poroper translation of all the comments - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.493117520806058.1073741829.302466563204489&type=3. A few other enthusiasts report hopeful signs in their Anthia enclosures but nothing definate at present. Pehaps you mean Anthia, not Mantichora?

[Satanas]

no no, he was acting very secretive about breeding the manticora too….but maybe he mixed up the two

[hardshell]

breeding ground beetles are hard

[manticora]

yeah, but it's the challenge,fun in keeping them and yes w/right requirements......bingo!:-) those larva are amazing critters

[Hisserdude]

Any news on breeding these?

[wizentrop]

Hi everyone, just wanted to share my experiences. While I have no data on breeding Mantichora, Anthia breeding is possible, but very very tricky.

That larva photo in the link that Matt posted is indeed an Anthia sexmaculata L1 with 100% certainty. The L1 is an active predator that prefers to hunt soft-bodied insects. Getting to this stage in the breeding is relatively easy if you know a little bit about the biology and habitat of the beetles (these are psammophile beetles found in the desert). Each female lays a single HUGE egg from which this larva hatches. On very rare occasions with good conditions and feeding, a female can lay 2 eggs. How to trigger them to lay eggs is another story (see last paragraph).
While Anthia adults can live for years, they have a very short life cycle or development. They hatch from the egg at an enormous size (think of it as if they lost the first larval stage, in which they were supposed to be tiny), so there are only two intars. The L2 larva of Anthia looks completely different from L1. It is pale, fat, with very short legs and essentially immobile, making it look more like a grub rather than a carabid larva. Feeding at this stage is extremely difficult and must be done by hand, as the larva barely moves. In the wild they feed on ant brood in the nest or in a chamber made by L1 that connects to the nest. The larva is also extremely sticky at this stage (not sure if it helps it in feeding), which can later cause problems in pupation.

As for Mantichora, it is a tiger beetle. I would assume that for good breeding you need moist, almost wet, clay-type soil with a good depth to allow the larvae to burrow vertically or diagonally. Most tiger beetles I know are extremely seasonal (much like carabids). So some experimenting with temps and humidity level is a must.

[Matt]

If you have any additional information or tips on Anthia breeding, do please let us know. I'm intregued by the comments on the different appearances of the L1 and L2 larvae, is there any published info on that.

 

I presume the females must lay more than 1 or 2 eggs in their lifetime in the wild - the trick is getting them to do it in captivity I suppose.

[wizentrop]

Hi Matt, the paper you are searching about Anthia larvae is this one:

Paarmann, W. "A reduced number of larval instars, as an adaptation of the desert carabid beetle Thermophilum (Anthia) sexmaculatum F. (Coleoptera, Carabidae) to its arid environment." Miscellaneous Papers 18 (1979): 113-117.

Unfortunately, I do not have it (I read it when I was visiting a carabid specialist in Germany) and it is extremely difficult to get it online.

What I meant to say was that an Anthia female lays 1-2 huge eggs every breeding season. The beetles can survive at least 3 years in captivity (from my experience), so potentially you can get more eggs out of a female. Mating the beetles is super easy. In the wild, Anthia lay eggs straight after the rains, so to trigger a female to lay you would have to think of a way to mimic a sudden increase of moisture (both in air and substrate).

[Matt]

Thanks for the reference, I'll ask the Librarian at the Royal Ent Soc if they have the paper in the library anywhere - they should have it.

[Matt]

They did

[wizentrop]

Glad to hear that. You might also want to check another refernce by the same author about the biology of Graphipterus serrator larvae in ant nests. Very intersting.

[Matt]

If you mean: "Ecological, behavioural and chemical adaptations to ant predation in species of Thermophilum and Graphipterus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Sahara desert" then I have that one already - interesting reading.

[wizentrop]

This one is good as well, I actually meant an earlier paper:
Paarman W (1985) Larvae preying on ant broods: an adaptation of the desert carabid beetle Graphiperus serrator Forsskal (Col., Carabidae) to arid environments. Journal of Arid Environments 9: 210–214.

This tribe has such interesting and beautiful beetles. Graphipterus is cute (with the velcro sound it makes while running) and one of my favorite carabids.