What beetle species is this? They produced young for me!

[Mastigoproctus]

So I found these little guys in Vaughn NM about 6 months ago and to my surprise they made babies!! I can't seem to ID them though, none of my NA Feild/bug guides mention them and they are definitely not called shield back beetles as I would expect. They are excellent tank cleaners it appears but unfortunately the two I originally college are now both on their backs dying, luck me the had the babies. Anyways, can anyone tell me what they are and would anyone like some of them?

 

[Tenevanica]

Embaphion sp. It's probably Embaphion constusum.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/110853/bgpage

You can look through that site to try to get a more accurate ID.

 

[Mastigoproctus]

E. Muricatum for sure! Thanks so much for the help!

 

[Hisserdude]

Yup, Embaphion muricatum, aka the Pie dish beetle! Very nice darkling beetles, can't believe you found them and didn't give us pics sooner!

I would love some, but alas I am completely out of money, couldn't even pay for shipping for a trade.

You could alway rear them yourself, they aren't particularly hard to keep. Keep them in a container with coconut fiber/sand and coconut fiber as the substrate, and feed them carrots, fruits, dog food, and dead leaves. The dead leaves are optional, but can improve growth and overall health. Once they are ready to pupate, put the larva in a small container with semi moist, compressed substrate. The larva should burrow down, hopefully to the bottom, and pupate. Once it molts into an adult you need to act QUICK and get it to a dry, well ventilated container. This species in particular is VERY sensitive to high humidity as adults, and they will quickly perish if kept humid.

Hope this helps, and let us know how they do!

 

[Mastigoproctus]

It helps a ton! Thank you. I'll do my best and as adults I'll trade them off and keep breeding them as well. Let me know if you ever want some, I'll trade for common harvestmen and stuff like that.

 

[Hisserdude]

It helps a ton! Thank you. I'll do my best and as adults I'll trade them off and keep breeding them as well. Let me know if you ever want some, I'll trade for common harvestmen and stuff like that.

Yup, you'll probably want to move them to their own container, the millipedes may get stressed out by the larva burrowing around. And the adult beetles should be moved to a much more arid enclosure, though it's probably too late for them.

I will, once I get some more money and invertebrates start becoming more active I'd love to buy/trade for some!

 

[Jacob Ma]

Yeah, apparently the larvae look a lot like your typical mealworm when they grow larger. I would probably supply these with some sort of decaying wood and leaves (probably from a local woods) to feed the larvae and adults. Apparently they also eat dung as well, but I much rather prefer old wood than the stench or possible bacteria from dung.

 

[Hisserdude]

Yeah, apparently the larvae look a lot like your typical mealworm when they grow larger. I would probably supply these with some sort of decaying wood and leaves (probably from a local woods) to feed the larvae and adults. Apparently they also eat dung as well, but I much rather prefer old wood than the stench or possible bacteria from dung.

You can feed darkling beetle larva wood and leaves, but it is not absolutely necessary, unlike rhino and stag beetles for example. The larva of these guys eat the same diet as the adults, dog food fruits and veggies. I would add dead leaves, as it is good for them, but if you're like me, and leaves are hard to come by, don't worry, they aren't needed.

 

[Tenevanica]

After reading this thread I decided to google "shield back beetle" just to see if there was such a thing. The only pictures that pop up on google images are of Hemiptera! When will people ever learn that "beetle" is not interchangeable with "large insect?"