Keeping/Breeding/Rearing Euphoria sp.

[pannaking22]

I was poking around a little trying to find out about this genus and all I seem to find is that they're tough to keep successfully. Anyone have thoughts on this or has anyone had success? There are several species here in south Texas, so I figure I'd might as well give it a shot!

[Bugboy3092]

Idk about getting adults to lay eggs, but I find they're very easy to raise with little to no dieoff, although they eat alot

[Goliathus]

Euphoria larvae need a substrate with a high percentage (50-60%) of either clayey soil or very fine sand, in order to construct proper, solid cocoons. They can live in a 100% organic substrate while in the feeding stage, but once they start getting into late L3, they should definitely be given a good percentage of clay / fine sand, in order to avoid cocoon construction problems.

Most temperate Euphoria species, if not all of them, appear to overwinter as pre-pupae, and then have a brief pupal stage that starts toward the end of winter, or in early spring.

Do you ever see the blue form of Euphoria fulgida (E. fulgida fuscocyanea) in your area? I'm not sure if it's an actual subspecies, or just a colour morph that turns up in populations consisting of individuals that generally have the green colouration typical of the species.

[pannaking22]

What sort of substrates do you keep them in (while feeding)? It'd be nice if there was a way to cheaply acquire a lot of it if they're good eaters. It'd likely be the same process with Gymnetis once I get out to hunt for those too.

 

That's very good to know about the fine sand, once I collect some I'll have to pick up a bag. Only species I've seen so far is E. sepulcralis, but I'm hoping to get lucky and find other species before winter.

 

Euphoria fulgida is west of me a ways, but I'm hoping to get out that way next year to collect. Hopefully I find some of the blue individuals!

 

Thanks for the answers, guys!

[Dragozap]

Good luck with that! Keep us updated!

[Goliathus]

What sort of substrates do you keep them in (while feeding)? It'd be nice if there was a way to cheaply acquire a lot of it if they're good eaters.

A 50/50 mixture of rotten wood / leaves works well, although with Euphoria spp. you could likely use a substrate composed of either just leaves or wood, and get the same growth results.

It'd likely be the same process with Gymnetis once I get out to hunt for those too.

Yes - Gymnetis can be reared on the same kind of substrate as Euphoria. The larvae are somewhat different however - those of Gymnetis can live together at reasonably high density without problems. Euphoria fulgida it seems, are best kept at much lower densities, or perhaps individually. The tendency for fulgida larvae to kill each other might not actually be due to cannibalism, however - it might just be how they reduce competition amongst themselves for nutritional resources (a behaviour that has been observed in the larvae of various other scarab species). I'm not sure if this tendency would be true of all species of Euphoria, however. If in any doubt about the safety of group rearing, keep each larva in its own small rearing container (such as 5.5 oz) - https://www.amazon.com/Reditainer-Plastic-Disposable-Portion-5-5-Ounce/dp/B009VSFZBG

[pannaking22]

Hmmm, do you think that organic compost would work for them? They're obviously finding spots with plenty of leaf litter and rotting wood around here, but unfortunately almost all the land down here is private and I haven't made any connections with ranch owners yet to collect materials there.

 

That's good to know that Gymnetis can be kept communally since I was prepared to keep them individually. I have plenty of little deli cups since I keep tarantulas and scorpions, so those would be what the Euphoria larvae would go in. I guess that's a perk of smaller beetles, you don't need nearly as large of containers to rear the larvae!

[Goliathus]

If you can find a good quality commercial compost that you're certain is safe, that will work, but I personally avoid such products, as you can never be completely sure that they don't contain harmful substances. A better option is substrate that's been specifically formulated for rearing beetle larvae, such as the oak-based one sold by bugsincyberspace.com - http://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Beetle-Substrate-bic797.htm

[pannaking22]

Thanks for all the help, Goliathus! I'll poke around a bit more locally to see if I can source some leaves and wood first. Definitely missing being able to do that back in Illinois! I had plenty of access to pesticide free wooded areas there.

[Bugboy3092]

In the wild, i generally find e. Sepulcralis larvae feeding on sheets of rotting bark from underneath, but a leaf substrate also works.

[pannaking22]

That's good to know too! Euphoria sepulcralis has been the most commonly found species here for me so far, so that'll likely be my starter species.