Tiger beetles?

[1Lord Of Ants1]

I never thought I had any in Florida, but lo' and behold, on a simple walk down a hill, several specimens were discovered. They appeared drab, but made up for it with their vicious appearence. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted one. After sweating and swearing in the hot Florida sun for 30 minutes, it was apparent that catching them with nothing but a test tube would be immpossible; I had no idea they could fly so well. I'll figure something out eventually as far as catching goes, but how do I care for them? I know people out there do keep them, and even breed them. (I would like to know how to as well!) But first off, I need to know the basics - Temperature? Humidity? Substrate? Food? Lighting? How long do they live? Are these community animals? I have a medium sized critter keeper which I figure will easily handle one, but two would be nice if cannibilism isn't a problem. Thanks.

 

[1Lord Of Ants1]

Helllloooo out there? Anyone care to answer the questions?

I was impatient today so I headed out with my new butterfly net and snatched 2 tiger beetles after a sweaty run around. They are quite neat, but are still spending time trying to climb the enclosure walls, which the of course can't since it's smooth plastic. I might add one or two more. When do I feed them and what?

 

[Monthud]

You can feed it crickets and fruit flies make sure that the crickets to are not to big

 

[zonbonzovi]

Just be careful what you collect in your location. Some FL species are endemic and protected for very good reason. I think U of F has a visual ID chart of the elytra that would be useful. I don't know of anyone that's had much luck with them in captivity:?

 

[beetleman]

ive kept them,they need alot of room,they are always on the go,sandy soil substrate,light misting 3x weekly,tiny shallow waterdish,small prey items,they like mealworms,waxworms(small ones)they don't live that long,but still very cool beetles to observe fun to keep.ive bred the nocturnal sp.but the diurnal sp. i didn't have luck...........yet

 

[1Lord Of Ants1]

I got the two I caught to take some ants and mealworms. Wanting to breed them, I went back out and caught 3 more. Having them inside the tank side by side, it was apparent that I had 4 females and one male, juding from size. It hadn't even been 5 minutes before the one male mounted a female. So I now have one mating pair. I assume all the female will need to lay eggs is damp soil/sand? How many eggs will she lay? I'm keeping a corner moist and I sometimes see the beetles drink from it. I was also wondering if males can mate more than one time before dying. I also found out my species is the common Cicindela punctulata. Thanks.

 

[1Lord Of Ants1]

Another mating pair. So I guess that's 2 males and 3 females.