# Hunting Dynastes granti (and other beetles) in Payson, AZ



## billrogers (Aug 27, 2016)

For years I have wanted to visit Payson, Arizona. For those who don't know, collectors from all over the country come to Payson in August and September to collect beetles. Specifically _Dynastes granti_. If anyone is considering going, do it. It was awesome. It lived up 100% to its beetle reputation.

I have kept and bred _Dynastes tityus_ for a few years (you can read about how I got them here: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/my-dynastes-tityus-story.286374/), but I have always wanted to have the _Dynastes granti_.

On Friday, when I got home from school my dad and I started driving. We live pretty far away so we didn't get there until after 10. We then drove around beetle hunting until after 12. Let me just say that the best spot to beetle hunt is in the Home Depot parking lot. It's on the north side of the town (which is more forested than the south). The library (which is kind of on the east) was the only other place we found anything (I found three _Dynastes granti_ there!). Home Depot had Longhorns, _Xyloryctes thestalus_, _Chrysina gloriosa_, some sort of _Carabidae_ beetles, and _Dynastes granti_. There were billions of _Xyloryctes thestalus_. They were everywhere! There were also a good amount of insects that looked like owl flies (idk what they were) and a few sphinx months at the lights.

Besides insects, on our drive we saw a squirrel, a flock of turkeys, what looked like an owl, a fox, a herd of deer, a herd of elk or something (not deer), an unknown small animal with a death wish (it ran in front of the car and we barely missed it), and a bunch of bats. The mountains around Payson are a wildlife hotspot! Besides animals, there are so many beautiful trees! It's amazing up there!

The final beetle count is:

1.1.0 _Chrysina gloriosa_ (I'm guessing gender based on body size)
5.4.0 _Dynastes granti_
2.1.0 _Xyloryctes thestalus_

I also found two dead (well, one was dying) Dynastes granti, and two dead Chrysina gloriosa.

Here are the pics!

*Tenebrionidae sp.*
I found this guy under a light. Any idea on what the species could be?



*Chrysina gloriosa*





*Xyloryctes thestalus*
Here are the males:



And here is the female. She would not hold still so this is the best pic I could get (Terrible, I know).



*Dynastes granti*
Female #1



Female #2




I can only attach 10 files  I'll ad another post

Reactions: Like 5


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## BobBarley (Aug 27, 2016)

Awesome!  These are truly amazing beetles that I'd love to keep one day.  Good luck breeding!


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## billrogers (Aug 27, 2016)

Female #3




Female #4 (still dark from the humidity of being burrowed)




And now for the males... (starting at the least impressive)

Male #1



Male #2




Male #3



Male #4




One more post...

Reactions: Like 2


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## BobBarley (Aug 27, 2016)

Wow, male #2 and #4 are gigantic major males!  Beautiful finds.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## billrogers (Aug 27, 2016)

And now... The pride of my trip... my best find... He is truly magnificent.

Male #5





Please exuse the poor photos, I'm having trouble with my nice camera so I had to do all these with my iPhone.

Reactions: Like 5


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## BobBarley (Aug 27, 2016)

billrogers said:


> And now... The pride of my trip... my best find... He is truly magnificent.
> 
> Male #5
> View attachment 218984
> ...


Wow, ok.  Now that thing is HUGE!

Reactions: Like 1


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## chanda (Aug 27, 2016)

Wow!!! Great finds! Now I want to go to Payson, too! I need to visit my brother in Phoenix one of these days... and Payson is only a couple of hours further... Hmmm....

Reactions: Agree 1


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## BobBarley (Aug 27, 2016)

Those would make amazing preserved specimens (as you know, their adult lifespans are rather short).


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## billrogers (Aug 27, 2016)

BobBarley said:


> Those would make amazing preserved specimens (as you know, their adult lifespans are rather short).


This is my eventual plan for D. granti and D. tityus. I don't feel comfortable shipping live specimens so I plan to raise and sell mounted pairs. I'll for sure post a link here when I start.

Reactions: Like 1


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## BobBarley (Aug 27, 2016)

billrogers said:


> This is my eventual plan for D. granti and D. tityus. I don't feel comfortable shipping live specimens so I plan to raise and sell mounted pairs. I'll for sure post a link here when I start.


Try the hand sanitizer method.  Definitely my favorite for  preserving.


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## Hisserdude (Aug 27, 2016)

VERY nice finds man, looks like your trip was a total success! 

That Tenebrionid is a Stenomorpha species, it's a big genus that has many similar looking species, so I don't think you'll be able to get an ID beyond that. Hope it's a gravid female, that'd be awesome!

Reactions: Like 1


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## billrogers (Aug 27, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> VERY nice finds man, looks like your trip was a total success!
> 
> That Tenebrionid is a Stenomorpha species, it's a big genus that has many similar looking species, so I don't think you'll be able to get an ID beyond that. Hope it's a gravid female, that'd be awesome!


Thanks for the ID! Can they just live on sand with some wood as cover? I have a velvet ant that lives by itself in a large tank set up that way and I was considering putting them together they are both eat fruit/vegetables (I assume for the beetle) and live in the same habitat area. The tenebriodid also likes dog food, right? Would it be a potential disaster to house the velvet any and beetle together?


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## billrogers (Aug 27, 2016)

Also, does anyone have any info on care for the C. gloriosas? I assume they just eat fruit/sap?


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## Hisserdude (Aug 28, 2016)

billrogers said:


> Thanks for the ID! Can they just live on sand with some wood as cover? I have a velvet ant that lives by itself in a large tank set up that way and I was considering putting them together they are both eat fruit/vegetables (I assume for the beetle) and live in the same habitat area. The tenebriodid also likes dog food, right? Would it be a potential disaster to house the velvet any and beetle together?


Yes that setup should be fine, darklings and velvet ants can be housed together with no problems.  Darklings love dog or cat food, and it should be a regular part of their diet.


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## Lucanus95 (Aug 28, 2016)

billrogers said:


> Also, does anyone have any info on care for the C. gloriosas? I assume they just eat fruit/sap?


They feed on juniper leaves in the wild. Larvae feed on decomposing wood (oak worked for me).


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## Jacob Ma (Aug 31, 2016)

I have tried to feed _C. gloriosa_ on sweet foods.  It didn't work out too well.
They will only eat juniper fronds that are somewhat still fresh.


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## billrogers (Sep 1, 2016)

Is this juniper?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ratmosphere (Sep 4, 2016)

Nice finds! Let me buy some _Dynastes grantii_. Do you have an account on www.beetleforum.net?


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## Jacob Ma (Sep 4, 2016)

I'm not quite sure if that is a juniper frond or not, but I would try experimenting with several different kinds of fronds and see which one seems to work the best.


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## PuckMonk (Dec 12, 2016)

Very impressive specimens. I think it's awesome your father was willing to travel so far to collect them with you. He sounds like a keeper too.


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## Smokehound714 (Dec 12, 2016)

Yes that's juniper.

  BTW your tenebrionid is Stenomorpha marginata.


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