Chalcosoma Atlas questions

I have 2 pairs of C. Atlases and they began to breed. The females dug under the substrate shortly afterward. I noticed that they stay under there for a long time. They've been down there overnight. The males have also dug in and are buried in the substrate. Do they always hide like this? Can the females lay their eggs this quick?

Hi

Most of these big Dynastine beetles behave like this - males hide by day in the substrate & females can spend several days underground laying before they come up to feed on stuff like bananna. Make sure you have a deep layer of substrate for them to lay in - 20-30 cm. Press this down reall hard at the bottom - the females like to lay in a very compact substrate.

If you get any larvae drop me a line - I'm always looking to get new species for my collection

Regards

Mat

it's not easy to get eggs from those, cuz they often turn black and rott according to my friend's experience

Randolph XX() said:

it's not easy to get eggs from those, cuz they often turn black and rott according to my friend's experience

Click to expand...

Sounds like the substrate is too wet - try using drier material. If you get a handful of substrate and squeeze it in you hand, it should not stick together in 1 lump - it should fall apart easily. To wet is worse for these beetles than too try.

Regards

Matt

Thanks for the replies. I have another question. What can a person do to make substrate for raising C. Atlas larvae if they live in a place where it's next to impossible to find decayed hardwoods like oak, beech, and birch? Purchasing beetle mats online can get expensive. Is there an alternative method to making substrate for these beetles? I heard that you can use hardwood sawdust and commercially available fungal cultures to make your own decomposed hardwood. Has anyone tried this?

Another thing...I read that the use of conifer is a no no because of their resins and oils. Is it possible to boil the resins and oils out? Maybe someone has tried this?

My C. Atlas...

impressive
however, this species in the market are mianly WC, even in Asia that beetle keeping has already been several decades
one of the reasons is CBs are harder to reach the size of WCs, smaller horns, too
the biggest WCs i've ever seen is 135mm, the biggest CB one is about 120mm
the keys of raising bigger beetles are temp control, more nutritious food,larger room, less distubance, and the selection of parents
http://kuwastudio.adsldns.org/kuwa/
it's always better to buy specialized substrate for beetles if you want them be bigger, but you can always make them by yourself
mixed wheat, mushroom fungi, lill bit dog food(although some claimed the larvae tend to prefer rotten wood, but protein is aloimportant) , but the main thig is always decay woods
however another thing is bigger pupas often have problem molting into adults
just my two cents

Speaking as a beetle newbie how hard are those to raise? They look really impressive