Warrior beetle pupation

[dragonfire1577]

2 years as a larvae plus brumation is apparently wrong this guy reached pupae after hatching over the summer.

 

[dragonfire1577]

So i'm just gonna leave him alone and wait now

 

[BobBarley]

2 years as a larvae plus brumation is apparently wrong this guy reached pupae after hatching over the summer.

It's not wrong per se, it's just that in captivity the larva isn't receiving the same signals from weather, pressure, seasonal changes, etc. as it would in the wild ,and it's probably being fed more in captivity. Congrats!!! Now all we can do is wait and hope.

 

[dragonfire1577]

Yeah but how was the 2 year cycle observed? I can't imagine it being easy to track a wild larvae from hatching to pupation and nobody else has had one pupate in captivity.

 

[Hisserdude]

Well surprise he pupated today!

WOW, really!?!?! That's great, was not expecting such a fast growth rate! Would love to see pictures of the pupa if possible! (But don't disturb him too much for my sake).

EDIT: Nevermind you already did!

 

[Hisserdude]

2 years as a larvae plus brumation is apparently wrong this guy reached pupae after hatching over the summer.

It may be false information, it is from an old source, but it's probably like @BobBarley said, it probably got much more food in captivity than it did in the wild and there were no periods of drought or anything, which probably allowed it to grow much faster than it would in the wild.

 

[dragonfire1577]

It may be false information, it is from an old source, but it's probably like @BobBarley said, it probably got much more food in captivity than it did in the wild and there were no periods of drought or anything, which probably allowed it to grow much faster than it would in the wild.

Honestly I didn't feed him a ton only when I saw he was on the surface searching for food and I did allow the enclosure to dry out a couple times, so I mean I don't think I accelerated his growth that much but who knows.

 

[dragonfire1577]

Also I will try and get a clearer image of the pupae tomorrow since its quite visible to me but I refuse to disturb it besides rotating the container. I also want to take a closer look and try and see which adult features are visible on the pupae.

 

[Hisserdude]

Honestly I didn't feed him a ton only when I saw he was on the surface searching for food and I did allow the enclosure to dry out a couple times, so I mean I don't think I accelerated his growth that much but who knows.

Yeah, but the meals may have been bigger than what he would catch in the wild. Or that old information could have been wrong, it wouldn't be the first time we've been wrong about an animal's life history.

Also I will try and get a clearer image of the pupae tomorrow since its quite visible to me but I refuse to disturb it besides rotating the container. I also want to take a closer look and try and see which adult features are visible on the pupae.

Yeah, it's probably a good idea not to disturb it, definitely don't want to stress it out, the pupal stage is the most fragile and crucial stage of development! Really hope it encloses for you!

 

[dragonfire1577]

Yeah, but the meals may have been bigger than what he would catch in the wild. Or that old information could have been wrong, it wouldn't be the first time we've been wrong about an animal's life history.



Yeah, it's probably a good idea not to disturb it, definitely don't want to stress it out, the pupal stage is the most fragile and crucial stage of development! Really hope it encloses for you!

I hope it successfully reaches adulthood too haha i'm very hopeful as its been a breeze so far.

 

[Hisserdude]

I hope it successfully reaches adulthood too haha i'm very hopeful as its been a breeze so far.

I know, I'm surprised by how easy it was for you to rear this little guy! Hopefully you can continue to breed this species, is your original female still alive? Hopefully she lays more eggs next year!

 

[dragonfire1577]

I know, I'm surprised by how easy it was for you to rear this little guy! Hopefully you can continue to breed this species, is your original female still alive? Hopefully she lays more eggs next year!

Original female is still alive along with one other female and a male

 

[Hisserdude]

Original female is still alive along with one other female and a male

Nice, hope you can get some more young out of them next year!

 

[dragonfire1577]

Here's a slightly clearer image of the pupae still not easy to see though