Inducing BDFB to pupate

[Dean Rider]

I've wanted to know how to sex these for a long time. I've seen people say "I have three males and two females" when referring to their beetles, and I've never figured out how they determined that.

 

[Smokehound714]

They are strongly crepuscular in the wild. While they do occasionally wander around at night, they are most active in the early morning.

I had previously assumed they take up to three years to mature, as cryptoglossa take a long time. With this information, I'll have a large colony going.

Thank you.

 

[Dean Rider]

They are strongly crepuscular in the wild. While they do occasionally wander around at night, they are most active in the early morning.

I had previously assumed they take up to three years to mature, as cryptoglossa take a long time. With this information, I'll have a large colony going.

Thank you.

You should post your methods on Cryptoglossa (which species?), and keep us updated on your progress with BDFB!!!

 

[MrCrackerpants]

Dean Rider: Great job!

 

[MrCrackerpants]

Hold at 75% RH but RT does not work...when the incubator hits 88 F, that's when you see some serious pupation!

Do you think you can achieve similar results by taping a heating pad on the bottom and then let the pupa find the temperature (in the substrate above the pad) that it wants? I only ask because growth chambers are not cheap.

 

[Dean Rider]

Do you think you can achieve similar results by taping a heating pad on the bottom and then let the pupa find the temperature (in the substrate above the pad) that it wants? I only ask because growth chambers are not cheap.

I have almost the same thing as you describe going on now, but I have not seen it work yet (5 months on). In a separate experiment, I placed larvae on a temperature gradient (hot plate like surface) and waited for them to choose their location...always ended up in the area near room temperature. So, it may be that if they have a choice to stay cool, it may not work. I totally agree on the cost of incubators and it was a mental struggle to make that initial plunge with the ReptiPro and then again with an Exo Terra. But, now I have them and I wish I had one the size of a fridge!

 

[Dean Rider]

Dean's bringin' the science again! I'm going to link to this video every time somebody asks me if bdfb's reproduce in captivity. Somebody out there needs to get some giant pill millipedes (pillipedes) into this guy's hands!

UPDATE August 2018: Cincinnati Zoo now claims to have bred BDFB in captivity!
http://cincinnatizoo.org/news-relea...sects-40th-anniversary-at-the-cincinnati-zoo/

 

[Orbe]

I have almost the same thing as you describe going on now, but I have not seen it work yet (5 months on). In a separate experiment, I placed larvae on a temperature gradient (hot plate like surface) and waited for them to choose their location...always ended up in the area near room temperature. So, it may be that if they have a choice to stay cool, it may not work. I totally agree on the cost of incubators and it was a mental struggle to make that initial plunge with the ReptiPro and then again with an Exo Terra. But, now I have them and I wish I had one the size of a fridge!

Have you have any that made it to adulthood?

 

[ilder lady]

I have almost the same thing as you describe going on now, but I have not seen it work yet (5 months on). In a separate experiment, I placed larvae on a temperature gradient (hot plate like surface) and waited for them to choose their location...always ended up in the area near room temperature. So, it may be that if they have a choice to stay cool, it may not work. I totally agree on the cost of incubators and it was a mental struggle to make that initial plunge with the ReptiPro and then again with an Exo Terra. But, now I have them and I wish I had one the size of a fridge!

hey, any new update from you Dean? How is it going with the breeding, I would like to know more, like will the female burry down to lay her eggs, or doesn't she care?

 

[Hisserdude]

@Dean Rider, I just accidentally reared up an adult Cryptoglossa muricata LOL, (received two larvae, apparently misidentified as another Teneb species), pupated after a heat spike, (being shipped in warm weather), like Asbolus do... Have you reared this genus before?