Beetle Breeding

[JLDomestics]

I have now 7 Pasimachus elongatus beetles and there is definately some beetle sex going on. It looks really neat in a sick and twisted kind of way. Anyways, Im wondering what would be a good substrate to keep these on in the hopes of some "mealworms" getting laid. I don't really know too much about keeping beetles, but they have sure been eating and thriving on moist coco bedding. Beetleman where are ya?

 

[beetleman]

here i is. you can use the coco fiber/ecoearth substrate alittle moist ofcourse it should be fairly deep for them to lay their eggs, mine kept mating like crazy but never had any eggs from them,ive raised the fieryhunter(calosoma callidum)with no problem,and tiger beetles aswell, but the pasumachus were "toying" with me with all of their screwing around and all they are such teases but hopefully you will have better luck,yeah keepthem well fed that will keep their juices going.good luck.

 

[JLDomestics]

I found 2 more today so now I have 9. Will these beetles become cannibalistic if they are overcrowded?

 

[beetleman]

yes they can be,ive kept alot of them together, and there was antennas missing,afew legs here and there,they need alot of space when there are alot of them. but keeping them well fed may minumize that......for awhile

 

[JLDomestics]

Yeah I have 12 of them in a 2 pound margarine container with peat moss and I noticed some shells on the top today so at least one got munched. I hadn't fed them for about a week so I dropped in some crickets tonight. What do the beetle grubs eat?

 

[beetleman]

their larva are predatory aswell,they'll eat mealworms,waxworms,prekilled crix.