Breeding Chrysina woodi, the jewel of Texas!
Chrysina woodi is a beautiful jewel scarab living in West Texas, the large emerald green beetles sports beautiful blue tarsi, that only...
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Beetle Culture
The Wonders of US native beetles
Welcome to my website where I share with you the wonders of native US beetle species. The beetle hobby in the US is often said to be restricted by the lack of species in the hobby. Here, I want to show you the wonders of US natives and how I keep and breed them. I want to make the process as easy as possible and make getting into this hobby extremely easy!
All photos on the site are mine!
This site is still extremely new and under a lot of work, so please wait if certain species info aren't out yet. I will get there!
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About
This site has pages for most beetle groups commonly kept in the US, and I will keep adding more as I try more species. The Beetle Basics page will include tips and tricks for making various types of beetle substrate, hopefully making beetle keeping a lot easier for everyone. I will continuously update with blog posts of new species I'm working with. Hope you all enjoy!
Basics in Beetle Keeping
There's so many details to beetle keeping that it can be very confusing to a newer keeper. Here, I hope to make everything easier with some most commonly kept genera.
Organic Raised Bed Soil Works!
A common issue with new beetle keepers is that they have trouble making flake soil. But what is not often mentioned is not all species need to eat flake soil. Most, if not all Strategus and Dynastes species (Ox and Hercules beetles), along with most Cetoniids (flower beetles) can grow up just find on organic raised bed soil from Home Depot or Walmart!
Some Beetles are Long Lived!
a common misconception with beetle keeping is that a lot of people assume beetles are all short lived as adults. That is simply not true. Of our native rhino beetles, Phileurus truncatus can easily live over 3 years as adults, while most Strategus species can live 1-2 years! If you go outside of commonly kept beetles, Calosoma sp and Warrior beetles both can live over 3 years as adults, while bess beetles live 2-3 years commonly in captivity.
Store Bought Jelly Works!
Beetle jelly is extremely hard to access within the US without paying outrageous prices. But that really isn't an issue. Asian fruit jelly bought at various supermarkets and asian marts works just fine for beetles! I personally love to use the mango flavor, but all the ones I've tried have worked so far! And there is no difference in adult lifespan of those raised in asian jelly compared to fruit.
Short larval periods!
A common thing that is stopping a lot of hobbyists is also the lengthy larval period of some species. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the joy of beetles. In fact, quite a few species have larval periods of 3-5 months with a decent adult lifespan. If this is your cup of tea, try some harlequin flower beetles or Euphoria flower beetles. The beetle hobby is for everyone, just gotta find your niche within the sea of beetles!
Get In Touch
I do take exchanges for some of the species I am working with, and I'm always excited to meet others in the hobby!
Please email us at the email below!
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