Beetle rearing

Tour de France time! Amazed it has come around again already… doesn’t seem like a year since all those late nights watching the cycling on SBS. Anyway, inspired by the beetle rearing antics of Beetles in the Bush, I thought I would put some larva bearing twigs (or should that be twigs bearing larvae – either way conjures weird images in my head) into an old aquarium and see what eventually would emerge. I actually found these larvae by complete chance, when my little boy broke a twig against the back of my leg (!!), and I noticed a neat shavings plug where the pith would normally be. Being the big kid I am, I had to investigate further rather than just popping the twig in the tank and waiting. After a little excavating, I uncovered a rather chubby creamy white grub which I believed to be a moth larva. I encouraged the little chap back into its hole, put the twig in the aquarium and left it be.

A few days later I went back to check for progress, and much to my dismay the grub had popped back out of the twig and was on the tank floor. I decided to leave it there, rather than poking it even more. Turned out to be a great move, as I was able to watch the daily change as it underwent pupation! Due to its position in the tank, I couldn’t take photos – but it was still fun to see the developmental changes happen.

Well… it wasn’t a moth! Here is the final fruits of my first rearing experiment (well – more of just a wait than an experiment). A small (~7mm) Cerambycid beetle! A handheld camera, no flash and huge aperture aren’t conducive to a good macro photo, but you get the idea. Not sure on the ID, and for the time being It will have to wait. I have ants to point and cyclists to watch!

Advertisement