Hisserdude Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 Jesse Greene at Shapes In Nature collected an adult female of this species in @Peter Clausen's yard in Sonoita AZ, who then bestowed her upon me for hopeful captive breeding! I am incredibly impressed at the sheer size on this gal, she's about 56 mms long, and THICC as heck! Seriously, this beetle has got some weight to it! Pretty sure this is the largest of the US Alaus species, and is endemic to Arizona and New Mexico, making it one of the rarest too. . I am really really hoping she'll lay some eggs for me, she still looks young and lively, so fingers crossed! The larvae of Alaus, unlike some of the other click beetles I breed, are fully carnivorous as soon as they hatch, and only feed on other inverts, they won't accept dog food or other protein sources. As such they are a bit more challenging to breed than other Elaterids, and you have to have a keen eye to find and isolate hatchling larvae before they start eating each other... Still, I am up to the challenge, it's certainly worth it for such a stunning species! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratmosphere Posted August 9, 2021 Report Share Posted August 9, 2021 56mm?! That's a big one! Wish you the best in breeding her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted August 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2021 On 8/9/2021 at 7:25 AM, Ratmosphere said: 56mm?! That's a big one! Wish you the best in breeding her. Yeah, these things area MASSIVE, this species may honestly be the largest US Elaterid, unless any of our Chalcolepidius get bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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