Hercules grubs

[Wade]

Dynastes tityus. I was checking on these guys today and they've gotten pretty hefty!

 

[Wade]

Awww...

 

[Steven]

Yowwww, great !!!

I'll be honest, i mostly find the grubs more intresting then the adult beetles, anybody else who's got the same opinion ???

How much do grubs of Hercules beetles cost were you from???

greetz

 

[genious_gr]

Mmmmmmmm,
It looks tasty!!!!

 

[Wade]

Gongyles,

I know what you mean about the grubs, especially since they're in that stage for so much longer than they are beetles! These take two years or more to reach maturity, while the adult live 2-6 months tops.

These didn't cost me anything, they're a local species, I collected females last summer and they laid eggs. I'm always amazed at how fast they go from being an egg the size of a grain of rice to being thes golf-ball sized monsters.

Wade

 

[Steven]

I collected females last summer and they laid eggs

mmm just wondering, are you gonna collect some females this summer??? and would you consider sending some eggs to Europe??? for a reasonable price that is

I'm living in Belgium and biggest beetle here is a Melolontha melolontha i guess, about 4 cm big, so i'm really jalous you can go out and just grab some Dynastes species at your backdoor,...

greetz

 

[Wade]

If I can figure out if it's legal, sure, we could probably work something out. There's so many laws here regarding plant feeding insects, I'm not sure it's even legal to ship them accross state lines within this country! They might not care about sending them to Europe, however.

They're not super common here, they require areas with old-growth hardwood forests because they lay eggs in cavities in very large old oak trees. They can be abundant in certain spots in late summer, however, especially around the lights at all-night gas stations in rural locales.

Do you have Lucanus cervus where you live? That's an impressive Eurpean species!

Wade

 

[Steven]

Hey, like i said the biggest beetle here in Belgium is Melolontha melolontha, but Lucanus cervus or "vliegende herten" like we call them here are common in the south of Europe, more in the area of Spain and France, you also find them in England.

I'm going on holiday from 15 june t'ill july to Barcelona, Spain.
I'm gonna look for some Empusa mantids species and hopefully i'll find even a scolopendra cingulata? i wasn't planning on searching for Lucanus cervus, but now you mentioned it, i'll try catching some pairs of "vliegende herten", any idea iff they become adult around this period of year???

anyway, keep me informed about those Dynastes

I'll do my best finding those

greetz

 

[Bob the thief]

Always wanted one of those. to bad I live A. in the city and B. in PA all bugs freeze up here

 

[Philth]

Thats cool, do you have a picture of the adult beetle?

 

[Wade]

Steven-

I don't know about L. cervus, but our local L. elaphus is active about this time, so mabe it's the same. Good luck! My wife has some close friends in Spain and someday we want to go there together (she's been many times). I'd love to go collecting in the south!

Philth-

Here ya go! This is a male.

Wade

 

[Steven]

That male looks fine!!!, does this species also has the ability to change color in a second????

I really love these little colorspots on his back


nice litle beetle, mmmmmmmm

See what you can do for me W.

 

[Wade]

When they've been burried in the substrate (which they are often) the adults darken to almost black, but change back to the olive coloration after being exposed to the air for a few minutes, if that's what you mean.

Wade

 

[Steven]

if that's what you mean

Yep, that's what i was talking about, sorry for my sloppy englisch i'm from out there (Europe, Belgium) , not so easy to describe in Englisch everything i mean

I thought they also changed color when two males meet eachother and start to rummble???

greetz

 

[genious_gr]

Gongyles, there are many Cingulatas here.... I could send you a couple......

 

[Wade]

Originally posted by gongyles
Yep, that's what i was talking about, sorry for my sloppy englisch i'm from out there (Europe, Belgium) , not so easy to describe in Englisch everything i mean

I thought they also changed color when two males meet eachother and start to rummble???

greetz

Steven-

Your English is fine, in fact I'd say it's better than that spoken by many of my fellow Americans

I'm not aware of their color changing when males meet each other, but then again I keep the males separate to avoid fights. I'll have to try to put two together and see what happens the next time have some live ones (probably in July/August).

Wade

 

[Professor T]

Originally posted by Wade
Dynastes tityus. I was checking on these guys today and they've gotten pretty hefty!

What do you feed them?? roots??

 

[Wade]

In the wild, the grubs are found in the cavities near the base of large oak trees. The cavities are formed by fungal infections that cause the heartwood to rot. The grubs feed on the rotten wood as well as other debris (leaves, etc.) that accumulate there.

I feed the captives a mixture of crumbled up rotten hardwood and dead, composted hardwood leaves.

Wade

 

[genious_gr]

where do you find the stuff?

 

[Wade]

I just go out in the woods to collect it. I look for areas dominated by hardwoods (oaks, maples, birches). Softwoods (pines) are not good, unless the wood is so well rotted that you can't smell pine at all. Also, it's harder to collect good leaves from areas with alot of pines because it's a pain to seperate out the pine needles.

Rotten logs that can be broken up by hand are perfect. I usually fill a bucket with wood and then fill it with water and let it sit overnight to drive other bugs out. After draining the water off, I freeze it for a couple of days to kill any remaining pests.

Wade