Lucanus placidus is one of the largest lucanids in the US, and yet it is very rarely kept. One of the reasons is due to them needing sand for breeding.
Yes - you heard me right - sand!
I used 70 percent washed play sand, and 30 percent raw sawdust when making a breeding bin (5 gallons), and added an art thickness rotten birch log in there vertically. The sand is over 6 inches deep and kept moist.
The adults were old and lived only a week, and I checked the substrate after 4 weeks of adults dying.
There were nearly 30 larvae in the substrate, a very good result considering that I tried a few females in a just flake soil setup, and 3 females only returned 6 larvae.
Do give this species a try if you ever have a chance, placidus is one of the most unique members of the genus Lucanus out there!
A sand reliant stag beetle? Who would've thought!
*Adults used were gifted to me by an awesome professor at MSU university! Collected from Manistee National Forest in central Michigan in early June.
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