Tetracha carolina Care?

[itchygrrr]

Ordered some of these tiger beetles, has anyone cared for them? Is breeding likely or would specific conditions need to be met? I've read they can also be pretty unpredictable and sometimes fight so should I give them a larger enclosure? Is keeping them communally even worth it or should they just be be housed individually?

 

[paumotu]

@mantisfan101 has experience with the genus

 

[mantisfan101]

sorry for late reply. Easiest and most aggressive invertebrates I have kept, toss in crickets and red runners and you will soon see them running around half eaten. If you don’t have access to those, prekill super/mealworms will work fine. Make sure there’s enough for everyone since they will gladly start to eat each other. Breeding is easy, you’ll likely see males mounting females by themselves, but ovipositing and rearing larvae(specifically pupation) is the issue. Use a clay based soil if you can, and remove larvae as you see them(although less disturbance is better). Larvae will make little holes where they stick their heads out and grab food that walks by. I used fruit flies and pinhead lateralis roaches. They apparently need a diapause to pupate, which I had trouble achieving.