# Keeping/Breeding Pachnoda - Fruit Beetles



## InternetReptile

Does anyone do it? Can you point me in the direction of some information regarding their care and breeding?

In particular how easy are they to keep and how many larvae do they have?


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## macro junkie

easy to keep.i fed mine on beetle jelly.not sure about breeding them tho..i have a larvae thats pupated..just waiting for it to hatch


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## ashrob1993

easy to do... i got given 10 beetles 6months later i counted 30 dead adults which i removed and uncountable grubs and alive adults =]
adults only last a few months ive found but breed during this time
i fed my beetle jelly too and fruit but then you get flies =[
good luck


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## jack_rep

GeckoMorphs said:


> Does anyone do it? Can you point me in the direction of some information regarding their care and breeding?
> 
> In particular how easy are they to keep and how many larvae do they have?


Im giving pachnoda marginata a try recently. Bought some grubs, put them in a rub with a good 4 inches of potting soil. i then burried some sticks and twigs in there. Most of the twigs decided to germinate and grow shoots, they havent touched that. However the sticks that were dead, its quite impressive how much they have eaten. Seems they will only eat wood if its dead and rotting. Ive been poping a few bits of fruit in too, apparantly they will bury it and eat it. Havent seen that happen myself however.

Last few days ive found some of them have pupated (is that the word?) they have formed a hard ball and have fused themself to the thicker branches. No idea how long they will take to emerge into beatles. Anyone know?

Getting them from larvae and beetles seems straight forward. After setting them up Ive done next to nothing really and they have done it. Cant find much literature on getting them beatles to breed after that. The small amount i have found suggests they just do it themselves. You feed the adults a piece of fruit couple of times a week and they lay eggs in the soil.

Apparantly they dont like higher temps. Strange for an african species i thought?!?! Temperature numbers ive read are around 20F - 25F. Because my house gets quite cold i just sit their container on top of my beardy viv. Heat from the ceramic/uv bulb is more then enough. 

humidy wise ive not heard mentioned what they should be kept at, but mine are kept very humid. No other reason then that i was worried if they dont eat the fruit i put in, they wont get much moisture from dead wood! Plus the increased moisture will help in breaking down the wood. 

If you find a details care sheet on them give me a shout, as ive been looking for a good one for a while now!


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## ashrob1993

adults just breed... but you probs wont know its happened until you see more adults as they dont like there substrate being changed ... and if you do change it keep it as its full of eggs more than likely! i give mine a normal light bulb the adults gather around it for light more than heat temps around 25 under bulb room temp in rest


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## InternetReptile

Thanks guys, that gives me something to go off.

Any idea where I can get the beetles from or would I be better getting the grubs (which are available as livefood)?


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## jack_rep

GeckoMorphs said:


> Thanks guys, that gives me something to go off.
> 
> Any idea where I can get the beetles from or would I be better getting the grubs (which are available as livefood)?


Never seen the beetles available, but seen plenty of places with the grubs for sale, i think thespidershop is selling some.


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## InternetReptile

jack_rep said:


> Never seen the beetles available, but seen plenty of places with the grubs for sale, i think thespidershop is selling some.


My livefood wholesaler does them too... (I supply them at £2.95 for 10 if anyone else wants some :2thumb I'll get some for myself this week I think


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## macro junkie

GeckoMorphs said:


> Thanks guys, that gives me something to go off.
> 
> Any idea where I can get the beetles from or would I be better getting the grubs (which are available as livefood)?


 the spidershop has some wicked ones in stock


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## Slinkies mum

I have a sucessful colony of P.Marginata. I've recently sold over 20 as I had a bit of a population explosion.
They can take a while to get going. I use organic compost with added leaf litter and wood. I would add a little more compost if I were you at least 6/8 inches deep and keep it moist (not wet). If the sub isn't deep enough they may fail to lay eggs, also egg eating can be a prob in shallow sub.

You mentioned temperature, when I had mine at room temp they were very slow in pupating and hatching but since I stood them on top of a heated viv they have come on great guns. I was advised that a temp of up to 30C is best but if you can get a gradient of say low to high 20sC they can choose where to cocoon.

I always have a slice of orange on the top as a source of fluid, I've never known them refuse any fruit but they especially love banana, occaisionally with a half teaspoon of honey on it. Unless it gets too unpleasant and smelly I don't take the old fruit out as it all composts down and enriches the sub. You will see the fruit gradually slipping under as they drag it down. I put a tub of beetle jelly in once a week.

Don't clean them out or go rooting thro the compost or you may destroy the eggs. They are very tiny (about 2mm) spherical and white. Adult male beetles have a groove down their bellies and I've just found out that at L3 the larvae can be sexed. If you scroll down you will find my thread ' Can beetle larvae be sexed'

There is scant info about these but I've picked up tips and advice where ever I could, some good, and some not so good, but everything seems to be running smoothly now.

Hope this helps Christine


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## jack_rep

Slinkies mum said:


> I have a sucessful colony of P.Marginata.........
> ...
> ...
> Hope this helps Christine


Thanks for the info. very helpful indeed!

Im tempted to put my grubs in a huge rub and make a bit of a multi species set up. Im thinking some milipedes in there to occupy the surface, maybe some stick insects to take up the arborial space? Already put some dubai roaches in with them, wanted to see how successful the adults would be in that set up as opposed to set up i have the main colony in, which is very clinical. Turns out very well indeed! just would be a pain getting the nmyphs out of the soil! Maybe also earthworms too, but id worry these would compete directly with the pachanoda grubs.
Any1 think of some other species that would work?


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## Slinkies mum

I can't really remember but I'm sure I read somewhere that earthworms will damage the cocoons.
As for the other species you mentioned I really couldn't say, except that the beetles will climb given the chance and have a habit of barging thro rather than going around any obstacles in their way, which may be bad news for the stickies.:lol2:

I've recently put 6 larvae of the purple jewel beetle in and waiting to see if they make it to adulthood.

Where do you keep yours, mine are near the window (not close enough to cook when sunny) they love to mouch about in the sunshine and you def see more of them when it's sunny.


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## tony23

wot kind of rotting wood do u feed them as some trees are poison thanks
tony


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## tony23

Fruit Beetles


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## smokedkez

*hi*

hi there is a site called ricks livefood.co.uk
they sell breeding kits for grubs with care sheets:2thumb:


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