# Anthia Cinctipennis (african ground beetle)



## Mattias (Nov 11, 2015)

Hello everyone

Here are a few pictures of my African ground beetles. 
I have them for about a month now and the're really fun to watch, especially when they hunt and eat.
I'll try to post a video of it, once i find out how to do that. :biggrin:






greetings
Mattias

Reactions: Like 6


----------



## Mattias (Nov 11, 2015)

*video African ground beetle*

so, posting a video wasn't as hard as i thought it would be :sarcasm:

[YOUTUBE]KmL5gmxShaM[/YOUTUBE]

Reactions: Like 4


----------



## pannaking22 (Nov 11, 2015)

Very very cool! Thanks for sharing them! Planning on breeding them I'm guessing?


----------



## beetleman (Nov 11, 2015)

awesome! man i love the large ground beetles from africa(anthias,manchicoras),hope you can breed these guys,what ive heard it's not that easy,enjoy! oooh i wish they were avalible here in the states,i mean i'm beetleman,they should be in my collection along w/the manchicora(spelling)


----------



## Hisserdude (Nov 12, 2015)

Urghhh, you dang Europeans with your fancy Carabids, making all us Americans jealous!  JK, really nice beetles, hope you can breed them!


----------



## Mattias (Nov 13, 2015)

Thanks,
Yes i'm trying to breed them but there's not much information available on the subject.
I see them mating a lot and the female has been digging for a few nights. 
The only thing to do now is wait. :coffee:


----------



## Tenevanica (Nov 13, 2015)

Damn you Europeans and your fancy African beetles  Seriously though, those are wicked cool! I wish the USDA would stop putting up such a fuss about this hobby so US hobbyists can experience things like these.


----------



## pannaking22 (Nov 13, 2015)

Mattias said:


> Thanks,
> Yes i'm trying to breed them but there's not much information available on the subject.
> I see them mating a lot and the female has been digging for a few nights.
> The only thing to do now is wait. :coffee:


That's definitely a good sign! I think Wizentrop has some experience with these guys so he may be able to offer some insight. Are you on Beetle Forum too?


----------



## Mattias (Nov 23, 2015)

Yeah,  
i like to think so too. Fingers crossed.  
No i'm not on the beetle forum. I'll check it out.


----------



## Mattias (Nov 23, 2015)

*African tiger beettle ( Anthia cinctipennis)*

So, i went to check on the beetles and managed to get a great shot.




greetings 
Mattias

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## pannaking22 (Nov 24, 2015)

Mattias said:


> Yeah,
> i like to think so too. Fingers crossed.
> No i'm not on the beetle forum. I'll check it out.


Please do! We'd be happy to have you there 
http://beetleforum.net/forums/


----------



## Hisserdude (Nov 24, 2015)

Mattias said:


> So, i went to check on the beetles and managed to get a great shot.
> 
> View attachment 140279
> 
> ...


Haha, hopefully you can get them to lay some eggs!


----------



## beetleman (Nov 24, 2015)

awesome! we will keep our fingers crossed, deep deep substrate,and slightly moist is some of the very little info i got.ooh i want these


----------



## Mattias (Jan 12, 2016)

A little upddate on my ground beetles.
They're all still doing very well. They always have acces to water and as you can see they use do use it. ( a lot actually ) 
I tried uploading a video of one of them digging a tunnel but it wouldn't work. I'll try and post it later.
Still no sign of eggs or larvae tho...

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 12, 2016)

Did you change the substrate to sand? They need actual sand to lay eggs in.


----------



## Mattias (Jan 13, 2016)

No it's still the same substrate. it's excavator clay, sand and eco earth. Ill change it this weekend. 
Here's the video i couldn't upload yesterday.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 13, 2016)

Cool video!  

Did you ever see Wizentrop's reply on you thread on beetleforum? He has some really good information on breeding these guys!


----------



## pannaking22 (Jan 13, 2016)

Thanks for the update! Glad to see they're still doing well and hope you get some eggs from them. I wonder if you just change out a portion of the enclosure to make it full sand if they would lay there?


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 13, 2016)

pannaking22 said:


> Thanks for the update! Glad to see they're still doing well and hope you get some eggs from them. I wonder if you just change out a portion of the enclosure to make it full sand if they would lay there?


They might, though I would want to provide as much egg laying space as I could with these guys. Especially considering how little eggs they lay.


----------



## pannaking22 (Jan 13, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> They might, though I would want to provide as much egg laying space as I could with these guys. Especially considering how little eggs they lay.


Same here. I can't say that I know how many eggs they lay, but whatever it take to increase your chances of successfully getting larvae the better.


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 13, 2016)

pannaking22 said:


> Same here. I can't say that I know how many eggs they lay, but whatever it take to increase your chances of successfully getting larvae the better.


Wizentrop said they lay 1-2 eggs every year, and that once they are laid you should remove the adults so that they don't trample the eggs, they are EXTREMELY fragile. I should really just copy his whole post over here, but I'm too lazy.


----------



## pannaking22 (Jan 13, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> Wizentrop said they lay 1-2 eggs every year, and that once they are laid you should remove the adults so that they don't trample the eggs, they are EXTREMELY fragile. I should really just copy his whole post over here, but I'm too lazy.


Whaaaat? Geez, I really should head over to Beetle Forum and check it out lol. That'll be some nice reading later tonight.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## wizentrop (Jan 13, 2016)

Just did that for you, @Hisserdude 

If you want to get to the next stage in breeding:
First, separate your pair. They have mated a few times already, there is no point in leaving the male in there. He can actually stress the female and damage the eggs.
Second, I could not figure out the substrate from your photos (coco fiber?), but Anthia species are psammophiles, they need deep sand substrate. They can survive in an enclosure like yours, but will not lay eggs.
Next, make a moist area in one side of the enclosure, about 20% of the surface area. The sand in that area needs to be wet, but the rest of the enclosure should be dry sand. This moisture gradient will trigger the female to lay in the wet area.
You will only get 1-2 eggs, but they are HUGE. The female places them either on the substrate or partially buried. It is best to remove the female from the enclosure because she can step on the eggs and destroy them.
DO NOT touch the eggs or they will break at the slightest of touch.
If you are lucky, the eggs will hatch in 1-2 weeks (keep them on the warm side and do not let them dry out), and a big black larva will appear. The larvae are cannibalistic. They are active and can be fed with paralyzed crickets. The second (and last) instar is immobile and trickier to feed.

Hope this helps!

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 13, 2016)

wizentrop said:


> Just did that for you, @Hisserdude
> 
> If you want to get to the next stage in breeding:
> First, separate your pair. They have mated a few times already, there is no point in leaving the male in there. He can actually stress the female and damage the eggs.
> ...


Haha thanks!


----------



## Mattias (Jan 14, 2016)

While changing the substrate i found these.
There's 2 of them. They're the size of a tictac.
If you hold a flashlight behind them you can see the larvae.
You can see it a little bit on the second photo but since it was taken with my phone it's not so clear.




I'm so happy!!!

Reactions: Like 3 | Love 1


----------



## Mattias (Jan 14, 2016)

Thanks for all the info by the way. I really appreciate it!
I've put them in separate cups with moist eco earth. 
I hope that's enough.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 14, 2016)

Mattias said:


> While changing the substrate i found these.
> There's 2 of them. They're the size of a tictac.
> If you hold a flashlight behind them you can see the larvae.
> You can see it a little bit on the second photo but since it was taken with my phone it's not so clear.
> ...


Awesome! I hope you didn't accidentally damage the eggs, they are very fragile. If they hatch you have to give us some pictures of the larva!! Fingers crossed!


----------



## Mattias (Jan 14, 2016)

yeah, i hope so too. and of course there will be pictures

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## pannaking22 (Jan 14, 2016)

Congrats on the eggs!


----------



## beetleman (Jan 14, 2016)

Mattias said:


> While changing the substrate i found these.
> There's 2 of them. They're the size of a tictac.
> If you hold a flashlight behind them you can see the larvae.
> You can see it a little bit on the second photo but since it was taken with my phone it's not so clear.
> ...


oh man that is awesome!! great job,this is great news,good luck,yeah pics when they hatch


----------



## Mattias (Jan 21, 2016)

Hey everyone,
One of the eggs hatched.






Does anybody have any idea how to care for it?
I've put it in a large cup with a deep layer of sand.
i'm planning on giving it some crickets tomorrow.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1 | Love 1


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 21, 2016)

Mattias said:


> Hey everyone,
> One of the eggs hatched.
> 
> 
> ...


YEAH! Awesome!  Again, read Wizentrop's post above, he briefly discusses care for the larva.


----------



## pannaking22 (Jan 21, 2016)

Whoaa, super cool! Glad you have eggs hatching now!


----------



## beetleman (Jan 21, 2016)

wow! look at that little stinker,that is so awesome,man ! your very lucky,try prekilled small crickets,mealworms,hopefully it will start feeding


----------



## TOECUTTER (Jan 25, 2016)

mattias that is fantastic news for me , im currently incubating 2 eggs also after following wizentrops directions my female laid within a week , how long did your egg take to hatch and what temps did you keep it ? ive kept mine on sand at around 85 degrees 
regards
Andy

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## beetleman (Mar 18, 2016)

hey just courious if those anthia larvas ever made it to adulthood,old post but i'm courious!

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## AntJ (Feb 16, 2017)

beetleman said:


> hey just courious if those anthia larvas ever made it to adulthood,old post but i'm courious!


Same here! I have a small group of them (2 males 2 females) but have never had any eggs.


----------

