# Blue Death Feigning Beetle Egg Hatching



## Dean Rider (Apr 12, 2014)

I have been collecting eggs of _Asbolus verrucosus_ to prevent cannibalism.  Some of my females bury their eggs, and others do not.  At least one eats her own eggs.  I kept the harvested eggs on the surface of a sand / coir mix at about 70 degrees F and 50% RH.  This is my first larva during hatching. Being the first, it gets special treatment, and is now named Casper. Casper was an egg at 8:09 am and his head was out about 11:22 am.  This photo was taken about 1:00 pm and Casper finally started digging into the substrate about 2:10 pm.  Casper was pretty slow and took an additional few hours to bury itself almost all the way, where it seemed to stop for the night. Casper is about 5 mm long. Anyway, I thought this was a pretty rare event to have photographed, so decided to share:

Reactions: Like 13


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## Trailblazr80 (Apr 12, 2014)

That's so cool! Good luck! What's your sand/coir ratio?


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## pannaking22 (Apr 12, 2014)

Congrats on the larva! And good luck rearing it out! It's about time someone figured out how to get all the way from egg to adult!


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## Dean Rider (Apr 12, 2014)

trailblazr80 said:


> That's so cool! Good luck! What's your sand/coir ratio?


Thanks.  For the egg hatching, it is about 90% sand 10% coir by volume and the mix is dry. The coir was originally expanded in water, but then allowed to dry out again before mixing with the sand. I do mist lightly once every other day, but I have no evidence that this is needed. My main tank is sand except that in one area (about a fourth of the surface area of a ten gallon tank), it is moist coir with a buried carrot. The carrot is not really needed, but since it has a green top growing, I think it looks nice.

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pannaking22 said:


> Congrats on the larva! And good luck rearing it out! It's about time someone figured out how to get all the way from egg to adult!


Thank you.  I have been absorbing all the posts by those that dared to try before, and that wisdom is proving to be very helpful. These beetles are awesome enough that somebody will eventually figure them out. No guarantees that it will be me, but I am committed to understanding their needs.


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## Trailblazr80 (Apr 14, 2014)

That's about the same ratio as mine- actually mine is about 80/20, I would say. I think one of my females is laying eggs because I have noticed her in two different areas in the tank with her butt sunk into the sand for a few minutes. She will also make digging motions with her back legs. When she stood up, I saw her ovipositor and something that looked like a tiny egg, but it went back in. I wonder if she laid any or was just attempting?


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## Dean Rider (Apr 15, 2014)

trailblazr80 said:


> That's about the same ratio as mine- actually mine is about 80/20, I would say. I think one of my females is laying eggs because I have noticed her in two different areas in the tank with her butt sunk into the sand for a few minutes. She will also make digging motions with her back legs. When she stood up, I saw her ovipositor and something that looked like a tiny egg, but it went back in. I wonder if she laid any or was just attempting?


Could very well be egg laying. I did dig through the sand to find a few eggs, but when I tried to find ones I thought were just deposited, I never found them. Most that I have collected were from the female that does not bury her eggs. There is a video on You tube by another person (not me) that shows some typical laying activity.  If you are like me, you may have already seen this:


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## Trailblazr80 (Apr 26, 2014)

Yes, I remember that video. I haven't seen any other activity so I have no idea what is going on. I guess I will just have to wait and see. Any updates on your larva?


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## Dean Rider (May 2, 2014)

*Update on Hatched Egg*



trailblazr80 said:


> Yes, I remember that video. I haven't seen any other activity so I have no idea what is going on. I guess I will just have to wait and see. Any updates on your larva?


At one week post hatching, it molted to second instar:




Unfortunately, it died about one week after molting.  The good news is that I have more eggs and have two more second instar larvae, and one first instar.  With a bit of time and experimentation, I hope to get better results. I kept Casper as a specimen, so it's not a total loss.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Dean Rider (May 2, 2014)

Make that one third instar and two second instar...they are growing!


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## Trailblazr80 (May 5, 2014)

Congratulations! I just discovered two larvae in my beetle tank! I don't really know if I should move them, they are buried pretty deep in the coir. (The side that has more coir than sand and is always kept moist).


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## Dean Rider (May 6, 2014)

Awesome.  Good luck with your larvae.  I think my first one basically got desiccated since I was keeping it in a dry mix.  The three new ones are in a small box with a moisture gradient (more moist at the bottom) and they are hanging out towards the bottom.


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## Trailblazr80 (May 9, 2014)

Dean Rider said:


> Awesome.  Good luck with your larvae.  I think my first one basically got desiccated since I was keeping it in a dry mix.  The three new ones are in a small box with a moisture gradient (more moist at the bottom) and they are hanging out towards the bottom.


Good luck! I found more, so now I have seen a total of five. The corner they stay in is half moist/half dry, but it looks like the more active ones travel back and forth through the dry sand, back to the coir. I buried a small carrot near them, but can't tell if they are eating it. I don't know what else they would eat. I never see them by the food bowl like my other larvae (different species).


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## MrCrackerpants (Aug 27, 2014)

Anybody got an update? I get mine to 2 inch larva and then they die. No pupation... any luck with getting pupation for this awesome species?


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 12, 2014)

OK. I am assuming Dean Rider has run into the massive non-pupating wall that we have all ran into. 

Attention!!: If you can figure out how to get Blue Death Feigning Beetles to pupate in captivity I will worship you as a BUG GOD! lol


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## Smokehound714 (Sep 15, 2014)

Hm.. im not sure if this helps but I've noticed some peculiar things about these beetles

 #1- They're extremely crepuscular- meaning they are ONLY active around dawn and dusk.

 #2- They seem to be drawn to palo verde trees.


  Perhaps they require palo verde leaf/flower/pod litter to grow properly?   These beetles are extremely enigmatic


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## High Lord Dee (Sep 15, 2014)

Convinced me to add them to my collection!  Thanks for sharing.


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 16, 2014)

Smokehound714 said:


> Hm.. im not sure if this helps but I've noticed some peculiar things about these beetles
> 
> #1- They're extremely crepuscular- meaning they are ONLY active around dawn and dusk.
> 
> ...


Good point... worth a try.


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 17, 2014)

Smokehound714: Have you observed this species in its natural ecosystem? I am assuming in California. Thanks in advance.


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## Dean Rider (Jan 22, 2016)

MrCrackerpants said:


> OK. I am assuming Dean Rider has run into the massive non-pupating wall that we have all ran into.
> 
> Attention!!: If you can figure out how to get Blue Death Feigning Beetles to pupate in captivity I will worship you as a BUG GOD! lol


It's your choice who you want to worship...see the update on progress here!

Reactions: Like 2


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## MrCrackerpants (Jan 25, 2016)

Wow! You did it!! Congratulations!


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