# Japanese rhino beetles



## KevinsWither (Oct 9, 2016)

I was wondering, are these guys easy to care for? And I am wondering as I encountered titan monster beetle shop and they told me they ship world wide. Are the larve delicate?


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## Hisserdude (Oct 9, 2016)

Yes, they and several other Asian beetle vendors ship worldwide, and that particular vendor is pretty reputable, but it's highly illegal to import beetles from other countries, so you really shouldn't be talking about it in a public place...

That being said, yes, the larva should be pretty hardy, and if all goes well then they should arrive alive.  They could very well arrive DOA though, there's even more of a risk of that than there is when you buy from US vendors.

They are also pretty easy to care for, so long as you have access to plenty of well rotted hardwood logs around you, as well as dead hardwood leaves. Those materials should make up most of the substrate and is the bulk of their diet, nothing that has no nutrition should be mixed into the substrate like coconut fiber. You can offer dog food from time to time to the larva but the rest of their diet should be high quality, rotten wood and leaves, (about a 60-40% ratio respectively).


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## KevinsWither (Oct 9, 2016)

I was wondering if I could use coco fiber in the adult enclosure or something. Any breeding tips? I was just wondering about getting them from internationally.


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## Hisserdude (Oct 9, 2016)

KevinsWither said:


> I was wondering if I could use coco fiber in the adult enclosure or something. Any breeding tips? I was just wondering about getting them from internationally.


You can keep the adults alive in coconut fiber, since they eat fruits, sugar water and beetle jellies, but if you want them to breed you'll need to put them in a container filled with several inches of rotten wood, dead leaves, and compost if you wish to add it, the females won't lay eggs in coconut fiber. 

Really coconut fiber shouldn't be used in any of the breeding or rearing setups, only use it for adults if you want them on display. If you want to breed these you'll need tons of rotten wood and dead leaves, and that's really all you need, which can make them really easy to keep if you live in a lush forested area, or an absolute pain in the butt if you live in a desert or scrubland area, (like me). 

If you are serious about breeding these, I definitely recommend the book "The Ultimate Guide To Breeding Beetles", by Orin McMonigle, it is chock full of _invaluable_ information on breeding rhino, stag, flower, and all sorts of other beetles. It tells you all about what substrates are the best, what conditions are needed for breeding, etc., I highly recommend you get it before getting your beetles.


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## KevinsWither (Oct 9, 2016)

For me I live in a desert. Any options of making homemade wood substrate for them?


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## truecreature (Oct 9, 2016)

Welp you better hope customs doesn't catch you having illegal insects shipped in or you're gonna have a fun time with those fines

Reactions: Agree 1


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## KevinsWither (Oct 9, 2016)

I'll probably attempt to find them on beetleforum or something along the lines.


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## Ratmosphere (Oct 13, 2016)

It's possible but illegal. Titan is a legit dealer. I know "friends" who did this before . We have a lot of interesting species here in the United States. One of my favorites is _Lucanus elaphus_. As I always say; "America, where obtaining a firearm is easier than legally obtaining a non-native beetle."

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Jacob Ma (Oct 15, 2016)

I never really understood why these types of beetles were illegal in the US... Not only are they pretty much harmless to pretty much every other organism, but they would do more good than bad even if they happened to get into the environment.  Certain scarabs on the other hand I can understand why, since they feed on the roots of certain plants, but stag beetle larvae only eat dead matter.  I can see the interspecific competition argument might pose a problem as well, but there are a lot of introduced species that have been brought into the US such as _Tenodera sinensis_ and certain ladybird beetle species that pose much more of a threat than detritivorous stag beetles.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## Ranitomeya (Oct 15, 2016)

It's probably easier for them to apply blanket bans than for them to have personnel actually trained to check for and identify which beetles should be allowed through. It's also pretty near impossible to identify most larval beetles.

Of course, while they're applying blanket bans, we have poorly-kept European Honey Bees distributed across the country that are spreading diseases that are wiping out native bee species, highly invasive and competitive earthworms being distributed for use in the garden where they eat leaf litter faster than it is replenished that are altering the native landscape and outcompeting native species, and other environmentally disruptive actions that are permitted to continue occurring. It's pretty much this: as long as it doesn't affect agriculture and provides benefits to agriculture, the effects to the environment hardly matter, but if it even remotely has a chance of affecting agriculture, they're up in arms.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4


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## Ratmosphere (Oct 15, 2016)

Very good points here guys!


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## Hisserdude (Oct 15, 2016)

KevinsWither said:


> For me I live in a desert. Any options of making homemade wood substrate for them?


You can ferment wood pellets used for grilling, Traeger is a good brand to use. Just soak the pellets in water, mix with an appropriate amount of flour and yeast, stir daily for a few months and presto, you have substrate suitable for rearing all sorts of rhino and stag beetles. I wrote a post on my blog about fermenting Traeger pellets here.


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## G. pulchra (Oct 15, 2016)

I have always wanted to try my hand at keeping large beetles.


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## BobBarley (Oct 15, 2016)

Ranitomeya said:


> Of course, while they're applying blanket bans, we have poorly-kept European Honey Bees distributed across the country that are spreading diseases that are wiping out native bee species, highly invasive and competitive earthworms being distributed for use in the garden where they eat leaf litter faster than it is replenished that are altering the native landscape and outcompeting native species, and other environmentally disruptive actions that are permitted to continue occurring. It's pretty much this: as long as it doesn't affect agriculture and provides benefits to agriculture, the effects to the environment hardly matter, but if it even remotely has a chance of affecting agriculture, they're up in arms.


Wow, that's very well said, and very true.  Never thought of it that way...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Kayota (Oct 15, 2016)

.


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## myrmecophile (Oct 16, 2016)

*"I never really understood why these types of beetles were illegal in the US... Not only are they pretty much harmless to pretty much every other organism,* *but they would do more good than bad even if they happened to get into the environment.* Certain scarabs on the other hand I can understand why, since they feed on the roots of certain plants, but stag beetle larvae only eat dead matter. I can see the interspecific competition argument might pose a problem as well, but there are a lot of introduced species that have been brought into the US such as _Tenodera sinensis_ and certain ladybird beetle species that pose much more of a threat than detritivorous stag beetles."

Are you talking about the rhino beetles or stag beetles?
either way, I am not sure how you can say that having them escape into the environment would be a good thing in any way.


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## Ratmosphere (Oct 16, 2016)

KevinsWither said:


> For me I live in a desert. Any options of making homemade wood substrate for them?


Here is a guide I made on how to make suitable substrate.

Reactions: Like 1


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## KevinsWither (Dec 19, 2016)

I managed to get a pair of sexed larvae from a US seller.


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## Ratmosphere (Dec 21, 2016)

Which species?


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## KevinsWither (Dec 21, 2016)

A dichotoma. If you look around persistently there are us sellers with just about almost any insect species.


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## Stugy (Jan 1, 2017)

That is one of my major pet peeves about the U.S., I can't have stag/rhino beetles that I could easily get when I lived in Japan. Every summer the pet stores would be filled with them and there were even some stores completely dedicated to them. I lived in Japan for 6 years and every summer I was there, I purchased at least 1 pair of them. Ugh.. the U.S. species are so boring too xD

Reactions: Agree 1


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## EricSJCA (Oct 29, 2017)

Ratmosphere said:


> Here is a guide I made on how to make suitable substrate.


More details in the description of the video would helpful. For example, how do you maintain moisture over the weeks, and how do you determine the right amount of moisture?


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## Ratmosphere (Oct 29, 2017)

As I describe in the video, you want it to be damp but not too wet to squeeze water out of it. If it gets dry just add small portions of water until it gets damp again. If you don't stir it/add too much water, the bottom will become a light brown color and it will stink like feces.

Reactions: Like 1


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