Tiger Beetle?

Kuwagata

Arachnopeon
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May 5, 2017
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11
Is anybody selling tiger beetles/domino beetles? Does anybody know the care requirements or breeding conditions for these animals? Have they ever been bred in captivity?
 

basin79

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Is anybody selling tiger beetles/domino beetles? Does anybody know the care requirements or breeding conditions for these animals? Have they ever been bred in captivity?
I think it was Bristol zoo that successfully bred predatory African ground beetles. I'm not sure but they still might be the only ones.

They're easy to care for and are absolutely brutal. I had a male and female. They'd often mate but no offspring. My female would hunt whilst the male was locked with her.

 

Kuwagata

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May 5, 2017
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Yeah, they do look awesome, but I have trouble finding them online, and all listings for them were sold out a long time ago.
 

basin79

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Yeah, they do look awesome, but I have trouble finding them online, and all listings for them were sold out a long time ago.
That's just down to the fact they're always wild caught.
 

beetleman

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Jan 5, 2005
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aaaaand, they are never for sale here in the US only in the UK and everywhere else across the pond,but once i did get some anthias here in the states long time ago from a wholesaler,i'm sure they came in by mistake,but that was it,believe me ive been on the hunt for years to get somemore anthias,and the holy grail........manchicoras! and i'm not giving up, someday they will be availible,our native predatory beetles are awesome aswell,but they are not as big as the african/indian ones. polypede de always gets some sort of large predatory beetles,but he's in germany.
 

VolkswagenBug

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Feb 26, 2017
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Can't you find these in the US? Maybe if somebody figures out how to breed them, they could get WC specimens and distribute the offspring in the hobby.
 

RTTB

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Dec 4, 2016
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I'd like to learn more about native US predatory beetles.
 

pannaking22

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I know of a few people keeping US tiger beetles. Sandy substrate, a light directly overhead and lots and lots of food at no matter how old they are (larvae or adults).
 

Hisserdude

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aaaaand, they are never for sale here in the US only in the UK and everywhere else across the pond,but once i did get some anthias here in the states long time ago from a wholesaler,i'm sure they came in by mistake,but that was it,believe me ive been on the hunt for years to get somemore anthias,and the holy grail........manchicoras! and i'm not giving up, someday they will be availible,our native predatory beetles are awesome aswell,but they are not as big as the african/indian ones. polypede de always gets some sort of large predatory beetles,but he's in germany.
Actually @wizentrop was selling them on the Beetle Forum a couple years ago I think, was the first time in forever that anyone in the US could have bought them, don't know who ended up buying them actually.

But yeah, @Kuwagata you aren't gonna find them here anytime soon, they NEVER get imported here, never, not since all the import regulations were set in place. You'd think that the Tarantula people would be able to export them, but for some reason no one ever does.
 

beetleman

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amblychielia! are our biggest native tigerbeetles,i keep them,they are like the african types....but alittle smaller,just as awesome too,but yeah i want the big african ones,ahh someday...........
 

BobBarley

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Sep 16, 2015
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amblychielia! are our biggest native tigerbeetles,i keep them,they are like the african types....but alittle smaller,just as awesome too,but yeah i want the big african ones,ahh someday...........
Second to Amblychielia (and many times much cheaper) are Pasimachus sp. They are mostly slightly smaller than Amblychielia. However, californicum gets very large and all are great hunters! If you're looking for good hunters, I'd avoid Pasimachus viridans. Although viridans is probably the prettiest Pasimachus out there, they are rather timid compared with the others and prefer to scavenge IME.
This is my Pasimachus depressus --
 

VolkswagenBug

Arachnobaron
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Feb 26, 2017
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500
They aren't technically tiger beetles, but they're very cool. Calosoma species are also very pretty and look similar to tiger beetles.
 

basin79

ArachnoGod
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Sep 14, 2013
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Found some more pics of my Anthia fabricii.





I was cleaning them out so put them both in a tub with a couple of adult male dubai roaches. The aftermath.


 

Salmonsaladsandwich

Arachnolord
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Jul 28, 2016
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I know of a few people keeping US tiger beetles. Sandy substrate, a light directly overhead and lots and lots of food at no matter how old they are (larvae or adults).
And lots of water. They should either have a gravel filled water bowl or the substrate should be sprayed very frequently. And the substrate should be sprayed either way if you want them to breed.
 

wizentrop

to the rescue!
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Apr 20, 2005
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I think the OP needs to make the distinction between tiger beetles (family Cicindelidae) and Anthia beetles (family Carabidae). Each has its unique habitat preferences and its biology. You cannot keep tiger beetles the same way you keep Anthia. Especially if your ultimate goal is to breed them.
 

beetleman

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Jan 5, 2005
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Found some more pics of my Anthia fabricii.





I was cleaning them out so put them both in a tub with a couple of adult male dubai roaches. The aftermath.



ahhh, man those are awesome! makes me want them even more,thanks for those pics.we have to get them here in the US.
 
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