What would Goliath beetles eat in the wild?

[MAcoleo]

Hello,

I read that Goliath beetle larvae eat high protein foods like dog or cat food and do not really eat rotten wood like Dynastes or Lucanus. Anyone care to speculate what their diet would consist in the wild? Would they just hunt around for insects? Would they eat dung? Where do they even live in the wild? Underground or in logs? Etc...

 

Thanks!

[Pewrune]

its a really good question. but even my specimen collector in Cameroon never seen a wild GG larvae.

[MAcoleo]

Hey, thanks for the reply! I didn't know that GG larvae are so hard to find in the wild. Given what we know about raising the larvae in captivity, can you speculate about their diet/habits in the wild? Let's brainstorm!

 

I'll start.

 

1) Goliath larvae need a high protein diet. If you place live insects in their vicinity, they will hunt the insects. Their high protein diet allows them to develop much quicker than Dynastes or Megasoma and are able to time their life cycle so that it corresponds to the annual dry/wet season in their habitat.

 

2) Goliath larvae are able to move pretty quickly (from videos I've seen), quicker than larvae of Dynastes or Megasoma, which is necessary if they want to hunt insects.

 

3) They don't eat rotting wood.

 

This suggests to me that they live in moist ground, not logs, and hunt insects or worms.

 

People must have seen where the adult females lay their eggs in the wild, right? This would give us a clue as to where the larvae live. Anyone have other ideas?

[Bugboy3092]

Id imagine they live in the ground, considering their need for sand, in the ground theyd probably also eat worms, decaying animal matter, and leaf litter. Or maybe they live in ground tree holes, there would certainly be enough food, but Ive heard that its super easy to get females to lay eggs, so a specific area may not matter. Eventually somebody is bound to find one.

[AlexW]

Note: Orin's Ultimate Guide says that grubs are very likely terrestrial predators and will probably die inside logs and most treeholes.

 

It also states that grubs have sharp talons, and that some rotten plant matter is a small but important part of the captive diet.

[Beetle-Experience]

They do have very sharp tarsal claws, and they like to curl up and stab with their mandibles.

 

I feed mine 100% protein and don't use good substrate on them. They do seem to eat a little bit right after they hatch but not much more than that.

[Beetle-Experience]

They are quite active as larvae, and "walk" on their backs like the other Cetonid grubs