Geotrupes sp. in captivity?

[davehuth]

Hello, Beetle Brain Trust – Recently I've been attracting really cool looking Earth-Boring Scarabs to lights in the forest near my home (Western NY state). Are these interesting and easy enough to keep (for a beginner?)? They are close to an inch long and seem energetic when they're out and about so I was wondering if anyone has any tips or experience to share. (Also I guess if anyone would like me to collect any for you I always love to trade). Thanks!

[Goliathus]

I don't know much about Geotrupidae, but I've occasionally found blue, gold or black species of Geotrupes in my local area.  As with other beetle families, there are some considerably larger, even more impressive ones in the tropics, such as Enoplotrupes sharpi (Thailand) -  

[JKim]

If what you are interested in is breeding (reproduction), then you will need to feed animal feces or your own works fine too. (I'm serious! ). If not, just keep them on substrate, spray water lightly, and nothing much can be done. They feed on animal feces, and I believe they lay eggs under piles of animal feces, as some other dung beetles do. (not a brood ball).

[davehuth]

14 hours ago, Goliathus said:

I've occasionally found blue, gold or black species of Geotrupes in my local area. 

!!!! I’m constantly amazed by the diversity of your local taxa. Those iridescent Geotrupes are blowing my mind. 

14 hours ago, JKim said:

They feed on animal feces, and I believe they lay eggs under piles of animal feces,

I’ve been trying and trying to resist bringing feces into my bug room (I like being married to my patient spouse!) but these cool scarabs are testing my resolve. I also don’t have a reliable source, other than deer scat and the occasional horse ridden past my driveway  

Im curious about the necessary “quality” of scat. If I use manure that’s dried and aged for a bit (to reduce the ripe odor of fresh stuff), would that contain sufficient nutrition for these beetles and their larvae?

[davehuth]

15 hours ago, Goliathus said:

Enoplotrupes

Oh, I see those photos are examples of tropical Thai Geotrupidae. 

[Beetle-Experience]

Davehuth,

I have worked with a similar species here (Louisiana). If you use cow or horse dung it really doesn't smell for very long (dry dung would not work well). You could also try banana slices if you can't manage dung - but just for keeping adults alive, they will not lay eggs on banana. When I was working on the dung beetle book, I kept large plastic breeding totes in a spare bathroom and never noticed the smell in any other room.

I DO NOT suggest using human or dog. Both work great for collecting in the field but would not be pleasant to work with in captivity. I could make a list of reasons why you shouldn't use these but you can probably already figure out most of the list.

If you are looking to breed them, you would need rather deep substrate (just dirt is fine in this case), Place dung on the surface and replace when it is gone.

Of the geotrupids that use dung for egg laying (like the species in your photo; many other geotrupids do not use dung) - they are paracoprids (tunnelers), not endocoprids as JKim suggested.

Yours might be Geotrupes blackburnii, or a closely relates species.

Good Luck!
Steven

[Ratmosphere]

Imagine using dog or human feces just to breed a beetle... reminds me of people keeping leeches and letting them feed on their arms etc.

[Goliathus]

Not a geotrupid, but I've always thought it might be quite worthwhile to try breeding the giant metallic blue phanaeine Coprophanaeus (=Megaphanaeus) lancifer from South America, if an opportunity ever turned up for some hobbyist to do so.  It's one of the largest dung beetles (the size of a golf ball) found in the Americas, and interestingly, instead of feeding on dung like most other Phanaeini, they're carrion eaters.  They're incredibly strong for their size, and I've heard that a pair of these beetles can actually bury a pig carcass, over a period of several days!  Another unusual characteristic is that both sexes have horns.

[Ratmosphere]

Really an amazing looking species!

[Goliathus]

On 7/18/2019 at 10:43 AM, Ratmosphere said:

Really an amazing looking species!

Oxysternon is another beautifully colored genus of Neotropical dung beetles.  They're closely related to Phanaeus.  Some photos -  

[JKim]

On 7/18/2019 at 8:13 AM, Beetle-Experience said:

Davehuth,

I have worked with a similar species here (Louisiana). If you use cow or horse dung it really doesn't smell for very long (dry dung would not work well). You could also try banana slices if you can't manage dung - but just for keeping adults alive, they will not lay eggs on banana. When I was working on the dung beetle book, I kept large plastic breeding totes in a spare bathroom and never noticed the smell in any other room.

 I DO NOT suggest using human or dog. Both work great for collecting in the field but would not be pleasant to work with in captivity. I could make a list of reasons why you shouldn't use these but you can probably already figure out most of the list.

If you are looking to breed them, you would need rather deep substrate (just dirt is fine in this case), Place dung on the surface and replace when it is gone.

Of the geotrupids that use dung for egg laying (like the species in your photo; many other geotrupids do not use dung) - they are paracoprids (tunnelers), not endocoprids as JKim suggested.

Yours might be Geotrupes blackburnii, or a closely relates species.


Good Luck!
Steven

Good info from an expert + experienced person. I used my own for dung beetle trapping an year ago, and I was able to collect roughly over 200 Geotrupes blackburnii excrementi, as well as many different dung beetles and other Geotrupid species. I never tried to breed them though. Maybe I should try this year if I can acquire horse or cow manure. The reason not using human or dog must be the "smell." Since horse or cow only feed on plant materials, makes their feces not too smelly, but humans (or dogs) consume all kinds (meat+veggie), makes the feces smelly...  I never really thought of using my own for breeding indoor, maybe in backyard, far from my house (building).. If the project fails to breed, then I was thinking about dumping the entire plastic container away...haha