anybody else here kept a subterraneus Scarites

[Wolfspidurguy]

hi so i find subterraneus Scarites around my house all time and ive attempted to keep them 3 times and ive only been kind of successful one time so i wanted to know if anyone else has successfully kept these and how you went about doing that

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

also are they communal ive never tried keeping them communally

 

[Myrmeleon]

Never kept them, but I assume they are like any other ground beetle. Besides that they are carnivorous, burrow (provide soil), and nocturnal. Probably specialize in some subterranean prey like earthworms.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

I've kept them. They don't seem to be cannibalistic, but they fight if they don't have enough room.

Although they do spend a lot of their time burrowing, i've seen both wild specimens and my captive ones wandering around above ground at night hunting for prey. They eat anything they can catch, including other beetles whose shells they crunch through effortlessly.

 

[All About Arthropods]

I've kept a species of Scarites before and was able to successfully keep adults alive, get larvae from said adults, and get a large larva to pupate and eclose successfully on a separate occasion, so I think culturing them would be relatively easy.

I kept the adults on a roughly 2 inch deep substrate mix of coconut fiber and sand (which I kept moist), and fed them various pre-killed invertebrates, which they usually dragged under ground and consumed during the night. I basically did the exact same thing for the larva for the brief period that I kept them, but kept them separate instead of together. For pupation and eclosion, I just gave my large larva a bit of moist sand and coconut fiber in a deli cup and it did the rest.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

They eat anything they can catch, including other beetles whose shells they crunch through effortlessly.

so they canableize?

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

does anyone know if they can be found at this time of year like even through digging for them (ive caught one before by doing this)

 

[coniontises]

Most (if not all) carabids will also eat fruits and “meaty” vegetables like corn.

so they canableize?

Carabids in general vary in their cannibalistic tendencies. Some are nice to all bugs of similar size/armor level, even if the latter are dying. Other carabids tolerate each other, but may cannibalize if starving.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

Most (if not all) carabids will also eat fruits and “meaty” vegetables like corn.



Carabids in general vary in their cannibalistic tendencies. Some are nice to all bugs of similar size/armor level, even if the latter are dying. Other carabids tolerate each other, but may cannibalize if starving.

ok so dont starve them. but can they be found at this time of year like through digging for them or seeing them out and about

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

so they canableize?

No, they don't cannibalize, but they eat other beetle species.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

Is there any chance of me finding one this time of year including digging for them

 

[coniontises]

Is there any chance of me finding one this time of year including digging for them

I chose not to answer this because I have no Scarites experience, but...

Carabids are normally long-lived and thus probably active whenever the weather and food suitability allows it

All About Insects found Scarites at approximately the same season as now

Good luck! Carabids can be quite fun to watch. =)