Mattias Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Hey everyone My name is Mattias. This is my first post on the forum. I recently bought some ground beetles. (Anthia cinctipennis) I've got 4 of them in 1 enclosure: 2 males and 2 females. The're all eating VERY well and are really active. Of course i would like to breed them but i actually have no idea what the right conditions are to get this species to lay eggs. I see them mating all the time but i haven't seen any eggs. Here are some pics The enclosure ( 60x30x30 cm) the video is a little foggy at first but it gets better. Does anybody have any info or tips on how to breed these? Greetings Mattias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manticora Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 awesome!! i love these guys wish i can have them where i am anyway what ive heard about them they need very deep substrate half moist(sand mixture,soil,clay) your setup looks great and your substrate looks fairy deep,i think they go threw a little rainy season,so maybe alittle spraying to "get the females to lay" but very deep substrate is a must,maybe the others here can chime in aswell,good luck with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Welcome! I saw your post on Arachnoboards, glad to see you made it over here! I do hope your beetles lay eggs, I really want to see someone be successful with this genus in captivity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratmosphere Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 That's so cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pannaking22 Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Hey Mattias, glad to see you made it to Beetle Forum! Welcome, and super excited to see what happens with your Anthia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizentrop Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Hi Mattias, these are great!I do not have experience with this exact species, but most Anthia's have the same biology and requirements. If you want to get to the next stage in breeding:First, separate your pair. They have mated a few times already, there is no point in leaving the male in there. He can actually stress the female and damage the eggs.Second, I could not figure out the substrate from your photos (coco fiber?), but Anthia species are psammophiles, they need deep sand substrate. They can survive in an enclosure like yours, but will not lay eggs.Next, make a moist area in one side of the enclosure, about 20% of the surface area. The sand in that area needs to be wet, but the rest of the enclosure should be dry sand. This moisture gradient will trigger the female to lay in the wet area.You will only get 1-2 eggs, but they are HUGE. The female places them either on the substrate or partially buried. It is best to remove the female from the enclosure because she can step on the eggs and destroy them.DO NOT touch the eggs or they will break at the slightest of touch.If you are lucky, the eggs will hatch in 1-2 weeks (keep them on the warm side and do not let them dry out), and a big black larva will appear. The larvae are cannibalistic. They are active and can be fed with paralyzed crickets. The second (and last) instar is immobile and trickier to feed. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Hi Mattias, these are great! I do not have experience with this exact species, but most Anthia's have the same biology and requirements. If you want to get to the next stage in breeding: First, separate your pair. They have mated a few times already, there is no point in leaving the male in there. He can actually stress the female and damage the eggs. Second, I could not figure out the substrate from your photos (coco fiber?), but Anthia species are psammophiles, they need deep sand substrate. They can survive in an enclosure like yours, but will not lay eggs. Next, make a moist area in one side of the enclosure, about 20% of the surface area. The sand in that area needs to be wet, but the rest of the enclosure should be dry sand. This moisture gradient will trigger the female to lay in the wet area. You will only get 1-2 eggs, but they are HUGE. The female places them either on the substrate or partially buried. It is best to remove the female from the enclosure because she can step on the eggs and destroy them. DO NOT touch the eggs or they will break at the slightest of touch. If you are lucky, the eggs will hatch in 1-2 weeks (keep them on the warm side and do not let them dry out), and a big black larva will appear. The larvae are cannibalistic. They are active and can be fed with paralyzed crickets. The second (and last) instar is immobile and trickier to feed. Hope this helps! That is some really great information, thanks for sharing! Interesting how the larva only have two instars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizentrop Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Anthia's are really unique among carabids with the reduction of a larval instar. The egg and the first instar are also unusually big - it is an edaptation for a "stressful" life cycle. In the wild, these larvae infiltrate ant colonies to feed on the brood. The faster they complete their development and leave the nest, the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Anthia's are really unique among carabids with the reduction of a larval instar. The egg and the first instar are also unusually big - it is an edaptation for a "stressful" life cycle. In the wild, these larvae infiltrate ant colonies to feed on the brood. The faster they complete their development and leave the nest, the better. Ah, I see, that makes sense. Man, insects have such interesting life cycles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattias Posted January 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Hey everyone. Thanks for all the replies and info. Good news! I found eggs!!!! I was changing the substrate to sand when i found them. There are 2. I've put them in separate cups with moist eco earth. ( like in the photo but i covered it with a little bit of substrate. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOECUTTER Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 hi mattias i have anthia cinctipennis as well , i had my first egg laid 2 days ago have you any news on your eggs yet ??? regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 He just posted on Arachnoboards that one of the eggs hatched and showed a video of the larva! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOECUTTER Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 awesome , im on it !! hopefully mine wont be far behind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcos Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 Hi, so far I have been successful enough to get 3 larvae from my pair of Anthia cinctipennis. I gave them about 10 cm of moist sand and soil, fed them ad libitum with crickets and mealworms and sprayed them frequently with water. Apparently they need quite deep substrate for breeding, moist enough for creating burrow/breeding chamber for laying eggs. They also like to drink quite a lot and mating seems to be triggered by spraying with water. I`m feeding the larvae with land isopods, pre-killed mealworms and crickets, but they like mealworm pupae best. The pupae are also quite safe food, since they do not move around and fight back. I also keep all the Anthia 3 larvae separately to avoid canibalism. Hope to get them to imago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 Hi, so far I have been successful enough to get 3 larvae from my pair of Anthia cinctipennis. I gave them about 10 cm of moist sand and soil, fed them ad libitum with crickets and mealworms and sprayed them frequently with water. Apparently they need quite deep substrate for breeding, moist enough for creating burrow/breeding chamber for laying eggs. They also like to drink quite a lot and mating seems to be triggered by spraying with water. I`m feeding the larvae with land isopods, pre-killed mealworms and crickets, but they like mealworm pupae best. The pupae are also quite safe food, since they do not move around and fight back. I also keep all the Anthia 3 larvae separately to avoid canibalism. Hope to get them to imago Cool! Glad to see so many people being successful in getting larva of this species! I hope you are able to rear them to adulthood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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