# Hercules beetles



## lukatsi (Sep 30, 2008)

I keep these beasts (Dynastes hercules hercules, to be exact) for 2 years now. I've got two pairs of L3 larvae, but only the two males have hatched... I've bought a female (from Japan!!), so now I have lots of larvae. They will hatch in about 5 months.

Young L3 larva:







L3 larva:







Female going to burrow to the substrate:







Male, about 12,5 cm:







Two males, the brown one is just hatched:







The enclosure, now without beetles (just for mushiking):









Anybody keeping beetles here?

Mark


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## loxoscelesfear (Sep 30, 2008)

those are awesome.  my dynastes tityus grubs just changed over to adults, it took 2 years!


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## mushiking (Oct 1, 2008)

The beetles I've kept are xyloptrupes gideon (about 30) and chalcosoma atlas and 2 cockchafers.


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## mushiking (Oct 1, 2008)

How common are hercules beetles in pet stores?


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## lukatsi (Oct 1, 2008)

Here in Europe, you won't find them in petstores. You can buy beetles from breeders and on insect fairs, maybe from zoos. In Japan there are lots of beetle hobbyists and they have beetle shops, where you can buy everything!
There are some breeding groups that sell worldwide, if you are interested I can send you links (I'm thinking of buying some Megasoma and stag beetles).

Dynastes hercules needs about 12-18 months (males need more time) to develop, but I've read that Megasoma actaeon spends 2.5 years as a larva!


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## MysticDragon (Oct 1, 2008)

Well, there is one online shop that sells lots of these bugs. It is in Germany  http://www.coleoptera-xxl.de/cgi-bi...ain&wkid=59172501056378115&nocache=1222880135 If anyone will buy from this shop, please write here how it is going, cuz i want to buy some too, but i dont know if this site is verified 

Btw, Lukatsi, can you post the link of the shop in Japan ?


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## mushiking (Oct 2, 2008)

MysticDragon, do they ship to the Philippines?


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## MysticDragon (Oct 2, 2008)

Well, i don't know. I think they don't ship to Philippines  I think you could find in US more breeders, that sell these bugs


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## Warren Bautista (Oct 2, 2008)

wow u guys are lucky, here in the usa beetles are somewhat of a rarity in the market. mushiking, filipino pride!


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## mushiking (Oct 2, 2008)

Does anyone know the game Mushiking other than me?


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## lukatsi (Oct 2, 2008)

Here are some sites that sells beetles, I don't know if any of the shops in Japan have websites:

http://www.insectweb.org/titan/ - from Taiwan
http://screw-wholesale.myweb.hinet.net/ - from Taiwan, I've heard good and bad about them, too

It is worth to look at these classifieds, you can find things quite cheap sometimes:

http://www.terraristik.com/sticklist/index.php
http://www.eurofauna.com/index.php
http://www.insectads.com/index.php

I don't have experience with any of them, but planning to buy from the first one. I keep Chalcosoma caucasus, too, the female just layed the eggs, but I haven't bothered them yet.


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## MysticDragon (Oct 2, 2008)

Nice, thanks for the links. When you buy from them, please, write good and bad things about the first shop


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## Kasha (Oct 10, 2008)

oh my!  Is that a fringe of fuzz on the little beetle butts I see?!  They just let ya hold them?  Crazy beautiful!


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## lukatsi (Oct 10, 2008)

Yes there are some yellow hairs on them. And they stay pretty calm when handled, only the larvae try to burrow back to the substrate.


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## ShellsandScales (Oct 11, 2008)

How much USD do these typically go for I love the big horned beetles!!!


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## lukatsi (Oct 13, 2008)

The larvae are relatively cheap, around 10 USD L1, 20-30 USD L3, but it depends on subspecies, too. As for the beetles, the starting price is 100 dollars, but a 15 cm long male can cost 500 bucks!


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## mushiking (Nov 5, 2008)

Hey lukatsi, try doing this keep 1 hercules beetle male in a drier enviroment while the other male in a more humid enviroment. It said that the elytra of the hercules beetle will be darker when it's more humid.


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## toolrick (Nov 5, 2008)

Hey there!!!

I love those beatles. I have only seen one dead in the wild near to my house here in Colombia. I wanted to keep them, but I have heard that is very difficult to raise them. How do you manage to raise those boys???


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## lukatsi (Nov 5, 2008)

> Hey lukatsi, try doing this keep 1 hercules beetle male in a drier enviroment while the other male in a more humid enviroment. It said that the elytra of the hercules beetle will be darker when it's more humid.


I'll try this if I'll have beetles again Now I have female prepupae, and big male larvae, so I hope in a few months I'll have adults. They also have various wing patterns, spots and scratch-like black lines. There's a blue-winged variant, too, but I've only seen it on pictures.


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## mushiking (Nov 6, 2008)

When you mean blue winged is it really blue or white blue. If it's white blue then it's the blue hercules beetle(dynastes hercules lichyi according to my mushiking card). It can become 173mm i think. It's aggressive.


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## lukatsi (Nov 6, 2008)

They are not really blue, rather bluish brown. Here you can find a photo of D. h. hercules "sky blue" and a blue D. h. lychi: http://www.harink.com/~benjamin/blackout_english.htm

I wish we'd have such fairs here, stalls full of beetles


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## mushiking (Nov 7, 2008)

That's the d. hercules lichyi.


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## auroborus (Nov 9, 2008)

Grrr, im so jelious. Im trying to get a permit now from udsa (aphis) so i can import beetle, until then i gotta stick to my D. Tityus, My female beetle is still alive and mated a while back and should be laying eggs if she knows whats good for her. also theres centepedes and and millipedes that got cought up in the substrae, u think they might hurt the grubs? there only the native little ones, no more than an inch long


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## lukatsi (Nov 10, 2008)

I've read on other forums that those permits are almost impossible to get, but if someone would have it, he could import for the whole hobby.

I think centipedes aren't good to have in the substrate, they can harm ova and L1 larvae, though I've never tested it. Millipedes, click beetle larvae and earthworms don't disturb the larvae, just eating their food (only noticeable when you have lots of them). I always soak both rotten leaves and wood in water for 2-3 days to sterilize it, but earthworm eggs just don't want to die...
What you should look out for are mites: they settle in wrinkles and near breathing holes, and can cause problems during molting. They don't like drier substrate so it's easy to avoid them.

And to answer to Mushiking: rhinoceros beetles can hiss, my Elephant Beetles do it, both males and females, but I haven't heard Hercules Beetles to do the same.


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## auroborus (Nov 12, 2008)

ok, cool. and yes, hercules beetles can his, though its not loud. whenever i disturbed or moved my female D. tityus she would hiss at me. Next week I might be exhuming my female from her woody domain to give any eggs a chance to hatch, (and also to look for eggs while removing centipedes)


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## deathwing (Nov 15, 2008)

@ mushiking, I know the game mushiking, anyway dont always rely on the cards, captive breeding can cause the species to be a bit smaller, I'm not sure if its due to the food we use or because of the space where we keep them, I have successfully captive bred some Nephila (spiders) and most of them turned out small compared to the massive ones in the wild, I have some Lucanidae (Dorcus) that gone hell shorter from the average length, I also have some scarabs (I dont feed them with my own cra* I used dried ones that I buy from horse stables)

I was even forced to plant a Banana tree just to make sure that the fruits that i feed to them are not contaminated with pesticides, but most always turn out short. Only the bananas that I feed them I'm assured to be safe, sugarcane, fruits and honey from the market is where I am not sure of.


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