Two Alabama Beetles

Roachcrossing April Package Series Pt. 2/5

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So, Kyle went on a trip to Alabama last month before he sent me this package, and he collected a couple beetles there that he thought I might like. 😄 Unfortunately, just one of each species, and I'm starting to doubt either are females, since I've not gotten larvae from either yet. I'll still be holding out hope for another month or so though!

First off, let's show off the more unusual of the two, Temnoscheila cf. acuta, a metallic species of so-called "Bark Gnawing Beetle" (family Trogossitidae). I've been wanting to try my hand at breeding these for years, and have found dead adults here in Idaho, never had any luck finding live specimens, either in the wild or available online. These beetles are predatory and typically live under bark, where they feed on other beetle larvae are various soft bodied inverts under bark.

I've been keeping mine in a well ventilated deli cup with a rotten wood substrate, with vertical bark pieces slanted against each other for hides. I'm keeping it at room temperature, humid, and am feeding it prekilled inverts and fruits (it only seems to eat the former). So far no larvae have popped up, so I kinda doubt mine is female.

Here are some pictures of the beauty:

Such an amazing genus of beetles, they may not be especially large, but they're super pretty, and given the ease of care of the adults, they're super underrated in the hobby IMO! At the very least, if I can't breed this species from this one individual, it's good practice for when I inevitably get a larger breeding group one of these days. 😁

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Next up, Kyle also found an adult of a very attractive click beetle species, Ampedus rubricollis, from Tuskegee AL. I've bred Ampedus species previously, and that was prior to me really knowing what I was doing... so I've REALLY been wanting to try my hand at a pretty species in that genus again. Unfortunately, again after a month of good husbandry, I've not gotten any larvae yet, so starting to doubt this one's a female too... But at least it's good eye candy. 😂

I've got it in a moderately ventilated deli cup with a thin layer of crushed rotten wood as the substrate, and bark pieces for hides. I'm keeping it at room temps, quite humid, and am feeding it fruit. Still looks quite healthy, and I'm still holding out hope that the eggs of this species just take a while to hatch and that I've got a gravid female... 😅

Here are some photos of the cutie:

Again, not the largest of beetles, but it's still a respectable size for Ampedus, and a stunning species in terms of color! If I can't breed them this go around, hopefully I'll be able to find plenty more when I move to North Carolina... 😁😜

Anyways, that's gonna do it for this post, thanks for reading, stay safe, hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see everyone next time! 😉