Hercules beetles

[lukatsi]

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

 

[mushiking]

That's the d. hercules lichyi.

 

[auroborus]

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

 

[lukatsi]

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.

 

[auroborus]

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)

 

[deathwing]

@ 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.