Housing:
Unmated adults/males should be kept in at least 32 oz containers, any kind of tupperware or plastic container will work, just make sure they are kept SINGLY, as they are quite aggressive towards each other and will bite each other's legs off (which can severely hamper a female's ability to oviposit, more on that later). For a breeding female, I'd recommend half a gallon to a gallon sized container, with more priority given to height than width.
Adult's enclosures should be moderately to highly ventilated, and the substrate kept humid, but not too wet.
They should be provided with a thin substrate of coconut fiber, sphagnum peat, or flake soil, around a centimeter or so deep. This is just to maintain humidity, as this genus does not oviposit into substrate. Rather they adhere eggs to objects such as pieces of dead wood, craggy hardwood bark, cork bark, and even wadded up paper towels. All such hides should be arranged standing vertically or vertically slanted, as females only seem to oviposit consistently when they are climbing vertically. This is why females with bitten off legs seldom produce much in the way of eggs, they are unable to climb and oviposit.
As for larvae, the first few instars can be kept in 2 oz deli cups filled with a substrate of somewhat compressed, moist substrate, until they reach almost an inch in length. After that they will need something bigger, 16 oz deli cups or something of a similar size will work well, again filled nearly to the top with substrate. If the larvae reach 1.5 to 2 inches in length they should be moved to a 32 oz deli or larger. Then they should be set for the rest of their larval stage and will pupate comfortably in such a container. Larvae are GREAT at chewing through plastic, so either use very thick plastic containers, or glass if necessary.
Unlike a lot of other click beetles, at no point do Chalcolepidius larvae seem to require rotten wood in their diet, so the substrate can consist of any fine soft substrate, such as coconut fiber, sphagnum peat, or if you have some to spare, flake soil. It seems like most species will create their pupal cells in moist, compressed substrate.
Diet:
The adults feed on fresh fruits like apple and banana, beetle jellies work fine for them as well.
The larvae on the other hand, are completely carnivorous from the moment they hatch, and only readily consume living or pre-killed invertebrate prey.
For live prey, beetle larvae such as mealworms are recommended, they can not catch fast moving, non burrowing prey and specialize on eating other beetle larvae in the wild.
For pre-killed prey you can use beetle larvae, roaches, crickets, etc., as long as it's soft bodied and meaty they'll love it. Large larvae have even been fed dead pinky mice in captivity, though insects are probably healthier for them.
It should go without saying that because of their nature, the larvae are quite cannibalistic from the moment they hatch, and therefore the desired amount should be isolated from the breeding container as soon as you notice hatchlings.
Larvae should be fed every couple days for optimal growth, but can go quite a while in between feedings. Watch out for grain mites and remove any uneaten food a couple days after feeding, mites and dryness are really the only things that can easily overwhelm and kill the larvae of this species, they are very hardy otherwise.
Also, be sure to use relatively small prey items for smaller larvae, especially when using pre-killed, because if the prey item is big enough small larvae may bore into it when feeding, and you may accidentally throw them out with the prey when it comes time to replace it.
Also, be sure to use relatively small prey items for smaller larvae, especially when using pre-killed, because if the prey item is big enough small larvae may bore into it when feeding, and you may accidentally throw them out with the prey when it comes time to replace it.
Temperature:
A temperature range from 75-85F° seemes to be best for all life stages. They can likely take warmer temps, up to 90F° or so, and while this may even make the larvae grow faster, that excessive warmth could potentially lead to them maturing into rather small adults.
Breeding/Life cycle:
Adults live for 4-5 months, depending on the species and temps. Females adhere eggs to objects in their enclosure, usually in small clumps of 3-6 covered in frass. They are quite large for Elaterid eggs and perfectly spherical. The eggs can take some dryness, but misting the hides they are laid on every few days is recommended to avoid them dessicating completely.
Larvae typically start hatching out after less than month, and are TINY, around 2-3 mm long.
As I mentioned before, they are fully predatory and cannibalistic from the first instar, so the desired amount should be separate from the breeding container as they are found, without hesitation.
Most larvae usually take about a year to complete development under optimal conditions, all depending on the species, feeding frequency and ambient temps.
After they are fully grown, the larvae of most species will construct a pupation chamber towards the bottom of their enclosure in the same manner as most Tenebrionid larvae, they just push substrate up and away from themselves until a little chamber has been cleared out. Their cells lack the thick saliva/frass reinforced walls that scarab beetles make, so be sure not to dig them up or anything. Leave them alone during this stage, just make sure they don't dry out. The larvae sit in the pupal cell for a couple weeks, then molt into a pupa, which will then take about 2-3 weeks to develop into an adult, depending on species and temps.
Once the adult ecloses, it will typically take another week or two for it to dig it's way up to the surface, let it do it's thing, no need to try to dig it up by yourself in an attempt to help it, (though it's not particularly harmful to do so, as long as the beetle isn't very freshly teneral). Once it rises to the surface, you may remove it from the deli cup and put it in a more permanent accommodation.
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