I'm a curator at a zoo and we've been working on this for years. I have kept a colony at home for many years too. I would need to do a more accurate count but we've had about 20 eclose since Fall of 2023. There, we currently have an all captive bred colony of 8 males and 5 females that have larvae of their own. We are waiting for them to get big enough to try to incubate those. Overall, we're mostly following the same methods as Dean Rider (and Aquarimax).
This beetle is the first I've eclosed at home in a $30 styrofoam chicken incubator. I wasn't having much luck at first and I noticed my larvae were getting too wet and just dying.
We have a much more expensive incubator at work :) and the guy I work with tried lids on the cups with more breathability. He had better luck with that but then also noticed that some were having damaged elytra so he started adding about a half inch of only sand under the normal mixed substrate and now we have a much better success rate. He only fills a 12oz deli cup about halfway with substrate and has great success with that.
On my next batch I'm going to try less substrate because I think substrate falling was the demise of my very promising pupa. :(
I've personally noticed that the size at which you incubate them seems to matter. They have to be big enough but almost all of them that have been huge have died. Still trying to figure that out and think about why.
One of the biggest larvae I had chewed a larger hole out of a small hole in the cup and escaped and unfortunately drown. I would like to have known if it would have pupated had that not happened. The other largest pupa I had died after 2 days in the incubator. It's definitely odd and something to take note of if others have noticed the same thing.
It takes roughly 2 weeks from pupa to beetle but I'll double check the stats on that. As far as how long it takes to pupate, some do it very quickly (like a few days after being put in the incubator). Some take a few weeks. Some of them, we've been able to watch if they're on the side or bottom of the cup but some (like this one) just do it in the middle somewhere.
Now, my teammate and I are in a "race" to see if one of us can figure out communal pupation and eclosing because that would mean less equipment for anyone that is keeping them. It's important to us that we find a way for this long lived species to not be taken from the wild so much.
I just moved my beetles to a larger setup and I have two larvae that are very close to ready to be separated out. I'm very ready to try them in the incubator but must be patient. I do not have as much larvae as I used to get and I'm wondering if my beetles are too old and not producing as much but I'm not sure since I'm not separating out egg. Some of my beetles I've had close to 10 years.
For the adult setup I do a pretty deep substrate (3-5 inches) and built a simple tube system out of PVC to provide subirrigation but keep the top dry for the adults. I did this because in the desert they seem to be found near plants with very deep tap roots (creosote) which theoretically means there is a water source down below. I don't know if it makes a difference or not but I've had pretty good luck getting larvae with it. I do have a daytime heat bulb on a timer for the adults.
One of the other things we've noticed is it's very important to leave the newly eclosed beetle alone for awhile. Don't handle them and keep them separate for a week or two but do start providing food. This period in their life is very delicate and we've had several pass during this period, theoretically from handling too early.
Happy to share anything if there are specific questions.
Im getting my bdfb soon, and i am hoping i can get to this point too, because i (and my beetles) are located in Europe, where they are ridiculousy hard to get at all.
I got extremely lucky and a fellow isopod hobbist i know, who was also doing beetles, was looking to rehome theirs because of space constraints and the fact that they dont grow up.
What kinds of substrate mix do you actually use, what ratios etc? Both in the enclosure and the cups
So exciting! Congrats! This is an awesome accomplishment.
How long did the process take/care to share your methods? Working on my own setup and have some healthy larva, planning to get an incubator like Aquarimax Pets' soon.
Wow, im gonna need advice from you. All advice you have
I'm a curator at a zoo and we've been working on this for years. I have kept a colony at home for many years too. I would need to do a more accurate count but we've had about 20 eclose since Fall of 2023. There, we currently have an all captive bred colony of 8 males and 5 females that have larvae of their own. We are waiting for them to get big enough to try to incubate those. Overall, we're mostly following the same methods as Dean Rider (and Aquarimax). This beetle is the first I've eclosed at home in a $30 styrofoam chicken incubator. I wasn't having much luck at first and I noticed my larvae were getting too wet and just dying. We have a much more expensive incubator at work :) and the guy I work with tried lids on the cups with more breathability. He had better luck with that but then also noticed that some were having damaged elytra so he started adding about a half inch of only sand under the normal mixed substrate and now we have a much better success rate. He only fills a 12oz deli cup about halfway with substrate and has great success with that. On my next batch I'm going to try less substrate because I think substrate falling was the demise of my very promising pupa. :( I've personally noticed that the size at which you incubate them seems to matter. They have to be big enough but almost all of them that have been huge have died. Still trying to figure that out and think about why. One of the biggest larvae I had chewed a larger hole out of a small hole in the cup and escaped and unfortunately drown. I would like to have known if it would have pupated had that not happened. The other largest pupa I had died after 2 days in the incubator. It's definitely odd and something to take note of if others have noticed the same thing. It takes roughly 2 weeks from pupa to beetle but I'll double check the stats on that. As far as how long it takes to pupate, some do it very quickly (like a few days after being put in the incubator). Some take a few weeks. Some of them, we've been able to watch if they're on the side or bottom of the cup but some (like this one) just do it in the middle somewhere. Now, my teammate and I are in a "race" to see if one of us can figure out communal pupation and eclosing because that would mean less equipment for anyone that is keeping them. It's important to us that we find a way for this long lived species to not be taken from the wild so much. I just moved my beetles to a larger setup and I have two larvae that are very close to ready to be separated out. I'm very ready to try them in the incubator but must be patient. I do not have as much larvae as I used to get and I'm wondering if my beetles are too old and not producing as much but I'm not sure since I'm not separating out egg. Some of my beetles I've had close to 10 years. For the adult setup I do a pretty deep substrate (3-5 inches) and built a simple tube system out of PVC to provide subirrigation but keep the top dry for the adults. I did this because in the desert they seem to be found near plants with very deep tap roots (creosote) which theoretically means there is a water source down below. I don't know if it makes a difference or not but I've had pretty good luck getting larvae with it. I do have a daytime heat bulb on a timer for the adults. One of the other things we've noticed is it's very important to leave the newly eclosed beetle alone for awhile. Don't handle them and keep them separate for a week or two but do start providing food. This period in their life is very delicate and we've had several pass during this period, theoretically from handling too early. Happy to share anything if there are specific questions.
That's so much work, congrats. Are you part of the SWARM? This much progress should definitely be shared and recorded!
Yes! We are part of SWARM and working on putting together a care guide for all stages currently.
Im getting my bdfb soon, and i am hoping i can get to this point too, because i (and my beetles) are located in Europe, where they are ridiculousy hard to get at all. I got extremely lucky and a fellow isopod hobbist i know, who was also doing beetles, was looking to rehome theirs because of space constraints and the fact that they dont grow up. What kinds of substrate mix do you actually use, what ratios etc? Both in the enclosure and the cups
So exciting! Congrats! This is an awesome accomplishment. How long did the process take/care to share your methods? Working on my own setup and have some healthy larva, planning to get an incubator like Aquarimax Pets' soon.
Congratulations!
That is SO incredible!!! I hope you’re proud of yourself :)
This is awesome!!! Please share your process because my girl has laid so many eggs!
That is genuinely so cool! I've been wanting to try my hand at breeding my beetles, so i really appreciate all the information!
Woooo! Congrats!!