Tiger Beetle

[Tarantula_Hawk]

Hi all, i was planning to catch and eventually breed some tiger beetles. But before that i have some questions for you guys who know much more than me: first of all, how can i capture tiger beetles?? i have seen them on beaches but they are incredibley fast and can also fly. can anyone give me an advice on how to catch them??
second, when i will eventually capture one, can anyone tell me where to keep them, what type of substrate to put etc... like should it be a big cage since they run alot??
thx for the help!!

 

[insect714]

Nature is our best guide

Hello, when trying figure out what type of habitat to set up for wild caugt animals it is best to observe the habitat that they come from and attempt to mimic that as best as poss. and you can make small adjustments from there. You can even photograph the area to have an example with you when you are setting up your new enviroment for them, best of luck with keeping the tigers and please keep us posted on your project....

 

[Dark Raptor]

I've kept european specie Cicindela hybrida. They are easy to keep, but difficult to breed. After 7-8 months I've lost almost all larvae I had (and I don't know why).

Here is the tank and adult beetles:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=440228&postcount=109

Here you will find pictures of larvae:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=455745&postcount=123
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=516938&postcount=173

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

thanks for the help!!! just one other question:

Dark Raptor:
where did you get tiger beetles?? did you order them or did u catch them on the field??? i'm sorry for your larvae do you still have some??

 

[Dark Raptor]

where did you get tiger beetles?? did you order them or did u catch them on the field???

This specie is very common in Poland. I find them every year from April to October in sandy places (like field roads, beaches near rivers ect.).
I think that the most beautifull polish specie is Cicindela campestris, but much rarer than C. hybrida.

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

i found once cicindela campestris but i wasn't able to catch it since i wasn't expecting to caputre tiger beetles.. however, just a simple question, how big were cicindela hybrida adult and larva approximately??

 

[Dark Raptor]

how big were cicindela hybrida adult and larva approximately??

Adult C. hybrida reach 2 - 2,5 cm.
Larva L1 - 0,3-0,5 mm, L2 - 0,8mm, L3 - 12-14mm (I've lost them when they were L3).

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

oh okok thx.. but when the larvae are young and very small whith what do u feed them with? and with adults did you give them crickets?
sry for all of these questions but i kinda don't want to jump onto tiger beetles without really knowing how to treat them..

 

[Dark Raptor]

oh okok thx.. but when the larvae are young and very small whith what do u feed them with? and with adults did you give them crickets?

No problem
I've been giving them Tribolium sp. larvae, adult bean beetles (Acanthoscelides obtectus), small mealworms and young crickets. They've got incredible apetite.