[the-life-of-nick]

Hey, Im new to this forum, i was told be by my mum (Lynchbeve) that this was a good place to to get get advice on how to keep Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules).

I already have a stag beetle larvae. which is in a good size enclosure.
it has 'The Pet Factory' Beetlefix ratio 1 and 2, which i bought from the shop which i purchased the larvae from. I give it moisture everyday also.
The reason i bought the Stag beetle was that the shop was closing down and the Larvae was going for cheap along with the set-up, Plus, ive always wanted one.

I have recently bought a hercules beetle Larvae. As the shop closed down i can no longer gets the Beetlefix, I have gathered some dead wood and leaves form out the back and put them in a slighty smaller enclosure that i found in the shed.
I am getting a bigger enclosure which is a 40 litre tank. But, i was wondering should i try and get that beetlefix. or, is the dead wood and leaves o.k.

Thanks

 

[Sarracenia]

The Pet Factory is a pretty good German shop, so their soil sounds good quality. I've never come across it though, so If you've got a nice supply of deciduous wood and leaves (NEVER coniferous - it will certainly kill the larva), then use that. It needs to be soft and white though, and crumble easily. Remember to re-use old soil when you use the wood from outside, as it contains bacteria that the grub stores in a little organ, necessary for digestion of the wood. :2thumb:

Couldn't help but notice the K.K. Slider avatar. I've been catching loads of Hercules Beetles on Animal Crossing today. : victory:

 

[the-life-of-nick]

O.k

Where do you get your substrate for your Larva and Beetles from?
Id feel safer with the right stuff.

Lucky You, Ive only caught about three.

Thanks

 

[Sarracenia]

I get all my substrate from the local woods, and just grab a bag full of dead leaves (usually oak and birch) and dead chunks of wood (anything deciduous really, but oak is preferred). I then crumble it all up, remove all live insects and then put the wood in a blender (if it isn't soft enough to do by hand), and I shred the leaves into little pieces by hand too.

I'm not sure what sort of trees are in your area, but just use native deciduous stuff. : victory:

And if you're Dorcus starts running out of soil, have a similar mix of ingredients to before, but include a bit more hard rotten wood, as they usually eat that more.

 

[Corvidae]

Off topic, but I'm still looking for a tarantula and scorpion on Animal Crossing...I've been tagged about a million times.

 

[Sarracenia]

I started playing yesterday (last time I played was February 1st) and already have about 3 of each beetle (including coconut ones) and a T as well. No scorp though. I've got most of the summer fish too.

I always loved huge beetle species, but Animal Crossing kind of brought the idea of keeping them to reality. I have dead adults/larvae of all 4 Wild World coconut Beetles (and pretty much all the other beetles) and I'm currently setting up a taxidermy Beetle frame with all 4 major males + partners together. :mf_dribble:

 

[Corvidae]

I've got about 5 fish and 10 bugs to go.

And that's a really cool idea I love taxidermy and all kinds of animal preservation, I'd like to start a collection of mounted inverts myself. Put pics up when you're finished!

 

[Gaboon]

Ignore!!

 

[Sarracenia]

Heh, it won't be ready for ages though... It'll be Christmas when my Goliathus will be pupating, and by then my D. hercules will be too. This time next year it'll be done. :gasp:

Maybe I'll order major males of those two. I've got a mediocre atlas, and my lovely major M. elephas died last week. He's really good quality though.

 

[the-life-of-nick]

I just noticed my Stag Larva is making itself a ,...almost tunnel type place,..its moving dirt around in the one place?,...

Is that normal Larva behaviour?

Plus, could someone tell me the diference between L1, L2 and L3,.whats the difference in these numbers

Thanks

You thought catching a Beetle in animal crossing was hard, wait until you have to catch a ' BANDED DRAGONFLY'

 

[Sarracenia]

It could just be random tunnelling, maybe shedding his skin (if it's a small larva) or possibly pupation (if it's a big fat yellow-ish larva).

Each number represents the stage the larva is at. For example, L1 is when the grub is just out of it's egg. after a few weeks it sheds it's skin to L2, then L3 after a couple of months. Then pupa after a few more months, which is practically L4, but nobody calls it that.

I caught a Banded on Tuesday actually. If you think they're hard, you should see Giant Petaltails. :gasp:

 

[the-life-of-nick]

Giant Petaltails !!!!,..whats that,.. how do u get that!!

 

[Sarracenia]

Huge dragonflies, even bigger than Birdwing Butterflies. Really rare, only in the Wii version. Faster than Bandeds too.

Out of interest, how big are the two larvae? And did you know that Animal Crossing's "Giant Beetle" is a large Dorcus species? : victory:

 

[the-life-of-nick]

How Big?, the hercules beetle is at L3 and the stag is rouglhy the same length, Slighty shorter.

Where can you find that?

 

[Sarracenia]

On trees, 11pm-8am. Rare, although I got 2 right next to each other. Looks like Dorcus hopei, possibly even D. curvidens.

My 3 hercules have just turned L3 in the past month, my biggest is only 10cm though. Currently munching through dog biscuits, but I need to get some high-protein fish food to make him grow big and plump.

 

[the-life-of-nick]

How long before the L3 gets to Adult stage?,..

Have you got the wii version?

 

[Sarracenia]

Generally, L3 lasts 6 months upwards, then pupation lasts 2 months-ish.

I got the Wii version, as I sort of felt obliged. I completely finished Wild World, all paintings, everything within the museum, full size mansion etc. but my parents "accidentally" lost it.

 

[the-life-of-nick]

Do You Have any Dynastes Neptunus? or Rainbow Stag??,.(didnt know the Latin for That) lol,.. is the care for the neptunes and rainbow rouglhy the same as a Hercules?

Thanks

DiD you pay of the Boonbox loan thing?

 

[Sarracenia]

I don't have neptunus, but I nearly got them instead of my h. hercules. They're currently on my "Must Have" list, but I haven't really seen any decent ones lately. Rainbow Stags (Phalacrognathus muelleri) are fairly similar care to Dorcus, but really do extremely well on Kinshi, a mushroom mycelium pot that simulates the late stages of decay on wood. And Neptunes and Hercules are the same care to each other.

I didn't do any of that Boondox stuff, but my brother did. I just caught an Allotopus rosenbergi on Animal Crossing too. :mf_dribble:

 

[the-life-of-nick]

One of the the guys on this this site is selling neptunus,

Whats Kinshi?

Allotopus rosenbergi?

Sorry Bout this but could you give the details on how to look after a stag.
Thanks.

Caught a Elephant, Golaith, Giant and Stag beetle last night!