Darkling beetle picture thread

[Smokehound714]

Asbolus laevis 'Smooth death-feigning beetle'.. ..Native to dunes of the southwest, closely related to the blue death-feigning beetles.

Eusattus dilatatus (top) -Endemic to the imperial sand dunes region

Edrotes ventricosus (bottom) 'Inflated darkling beetle' ..Native to sandy areas of the mojave desert, as well as a portion of the Sonoran.

 

[Smokehound714]

tried to get a better shot of the Eusattus

 

[Smokehound714]

"YEEEEE-HAAAW! GIT ALONG, LIL DOGIE!"

Asidina confluens, a strange (even by tenebrionid standards) darkling beetle, pretty much another species of death-feigning beetle, also plays dead. My guess is this genus is closely related to cryptoglossa.. They're strongly associated with paloverdes, and also have a powder blue coating.

 

[pannaking22]

Awesome tenebs, everyone! I need to get my pics up here too...maybe later this week!

 

[Smokehound714]

my asidina is dead. Didnt realize asbolus would bully it like that. I woke up to 5 A. laevis all biting it, one edrotes was biting its face.

So, if you get some asidina, dont put them with death-feigners :\ I guess they'd prefer being with eleodes.

HOWEVER.. there is new life

I have no idea what these are. i collected them by mistake. they started hatching today.

My guess- Asbolus laevis, but they seem a bit thin.. all the asbolus hatchlings ive seen were stubby and fat. Would be sweet if they ended up being eusattus dilatatus Each egg is about 2.5mm, the hatchlings are about 4mm.

 

[pannaking22]

Sorry about your asidina Congrats on the unknown larvae though!

 

[Smokehound714]

The problem of not knowing much about various species is when you have an enclosure full of multiple species, you dont know who's offspring are who :\

I mean, I know ALOT about them, from countless hours of reading, and observing them in the wild, but yeah.. I'm just going with my gut here..

I'm assuming this is a phloeodes larva, judging from the short fat body, and enormous mandibles, I had read years before their larvae have huge mandibles for boring into wood..

And this one.. I dunno because all my osculans, gracilis, and acuticaudus laid eggs (and continue to do so), im confused :\

And I've stumbled upon a potential perfect staple food for death-feigning beetles- Roasted soybeans! Full of protein and all the good stuff. I felt they'd be a good substitute for paloverde and mesquite beans, which are a major portion of their diet in the wild, and should be very similar in nutrition.. They LOVE it!

 

[pannaking22]

Good to know about the soybeans! I'll have to start offering those to my death feigners as well. I bet my roaches would take those down as well.

 

[kellakk]

This is a Phloeodes larva: http://gallery.myff.org/gallery/735934/IMG_5037.JPG
Not my pic. I borrowed the pic from beetleforum.com.

My guess on the second larva is E. osculans, purely because they seem to be easiest to breed. My colony only stopped producing larvae when it became overcrowded. Also, I kept them mixed with other Eleodes, who haven't produced any larvae yet.

 

[Smokehound714]

This is a Phloeodes larva: http://gallery.myff.org/gallery/735934/IMG_5037.JPG
Not my pic. I borrowed the pic from beetleforum.com.

My guess on the second larva is E. osculans, purely because they seem to be easiest to breed. My colony only stopped producing larvae when it became overcrowded. Also, I kept them mixed with other Eleodes, who haven't produced any larvae yet.

Thank you, that ruled out phloeodes- though now I know there are tons of ironclad larvae in there.. I initially assumed they were some kind of hitch-hiker I brought in.

I did further searching, and those fat short ones ended up being coelocnemis. I had a feeling the skinny ones were osculans, perhaps I'll isolate one of each in a cup so when they mature, I'll know who's who at a glance

 

[Smokehound714]

Stethasida muricatula, another strange member of the bizarre asidini tribe, this species is yet another wooly tenebrionid!

They tend to be small, 20mm seems to be their maximum length. Still pretty neat, though.

Next up- Coniontis, found a female and a male.. I'm hoping they successfully breed.. Common in sandy scrub here in socal.

Some Psocids got into the tank and they're everywhere now! However that's not a problem- they're the clean-up crew! If you have a dry enclosure, consider culturing some barklice!

 

[Mat]

This is Blaps gigas recently emerged from the pupa - just trying to get a culture of these started.

I'm UK based, if anyone has any interesting darkling larvae available I'd be interested in getting some new species. Drop me a PM

Matt

 

[Hisserdude]

Great pics guys! Nice collection of tenebs you got there smokehound! The Coniontis sp should readily lay eggs in coconut fiber, if you have females of course. And the resulting larva pupate somewhat readily in small containers of moist compressed coconut fiber.
P.S: If you happen to have any spare Stethasida muricatula, Asbolus laevis or any other unusual darklings, I would love to take some off your hands.

 

[Hisserdude]

After a long break from keeping Tenebrionids, I am back and have some really unusual darkling beetles in my collection!

Eusattus muricatus:

I am keeping mine in a medium sized container filled with sand and a little bit of coconut fiber. I have witnessed egg-laying and I have discovered a few eggs at the bottom of their enclosure! The eggs are very big for darkling beetle eggs, many times bigger than Eleodes eggs. Hopefully they will hatch soon, I have never seen any pictures of Eusattus larva on the web!

 

[Hisserdude]

Coelus ciliatus:

Another really cool darkling beetle, and in the same tribe as Eusattus. These guys are sand dune specialists, and require a sandy substrate. I am keeping them in a medium sized container filled with sand and a little bit of coconut fiber. These guys have a layer of dead leaves on top of the substrate, as well as the Eusattus muricatus. They really love dog food, like most of my darklings. Hopefully these guys will breed for me, I don't know if anyone has successfully managed to get these to reproduce in captivity.

 

[Hisserdude]

Eleodes sp:

Got a sexed pair along with my Coelus.

Eleodes caudiferus:

Caught this female along with my Eusattus muricatus. Hopefully she's gravid, I have yet to see any signs of oviposition...

 

[Tenevanica]

I'll have to take some more pictures later! These are the ones I have on my computer right now: (Spoiler alert. I only have one of A. verrucosus.)

 

[Hisserdude]

I'll have to take some more pictures later! These are the ones I have on my computer right now: (Spoiler alert. I only have one of A. verrucosus.) View attachment 207548

Yeah, get some pics of your Stenomorpha confluens, those are really cool looking! You got a nice collection of darkliing beetles, too bad most of them are extremely hard to breed!

 

[Tenevanica]

Yeah, get some pics of your Stenomorpha confluens, those are really cool looking! You got a nice collection of darkliing beetles, too bad most of them are extremely hard to breed!

A little Tenebrionidae photo shoot? That sounds like a nice little weekend project for me because I just invested in a better camera. I'll get you guys some pictures, and I promise they'll be of nice quality.

I'd keep more beetles if I could breed them! As I sink deeper into the invert hobby I find my interests gravitating more towards roaches and tarantulas, and I think it's because beetles are just too damn hard to rear over multiple generations. I still love darklings though, and when a dealer has some new tenebs available (usually bugsincyberspace) I will always pick some up. The antics of darkling beetles are just too entertaining to pass up!

 

[Hisserdude]

Nice, I look forward to the pictures, and they better be nice quality, you've already promised!

Tenebrionids are actually among the easiest of beetles to rear through multiple generations, for most species the only hard part is pupation, (which I'll admit, I haven't really mastered myself). The species you have however are notoriously hard to breed, expect for your E.suturalis, those should be easy to breed. I agree though, invertebrates with simpler life cycles, (like roaches and tarantulas), are much easier to breed through multiple generations.