Stag beetle originated from California, USA, has a recorded size of about 2.5-3.5 centimeters. Megasoma (the genus of Stag beetle) consists of 15 species, more than half of which are heavyweight species distributed between the southern United States and South America.
Like most beetles, the Euptilon stag beetle has a thick and hard shell on its back. The adult is matte black, with some individuals appearing dark brown. The male has well-developed head and large chest horns that extend forward. Because of the two large chest horn protrusions, some insect enthusiasts jokingly call it the Batman stag beetle. The female does not have horns and is entirely black, with rough particles on the anterior pronotum and elytra. It is the largest and easiest to breed species. Its Chinese name comes from the Latin species name Actaeon, which is the name of a hunter in Roman mythology.
Megasoma, the genus of the stag beetle, means "huge body" in Latin, with "mega" meaning huge and "soma" meaning body. The genus Megasoma currently has 15 species, more than half of which are heavyweight species distributed between the southern United States and South America on the American continent.
Stag beetles are recommended to be kept as pets. Generally speaking, as long as you maintain a stable breeding environment, it is not difficult to breed stag beetles, and the joy of successful breeding is also an incomparable enjoyment.
The environment that should be given during the dormant period, darkness, the container does not need to be too large, sawdust or water moss as padding, pay attention to maintaining humidity, the depth should be enough to completely bury the adult beetles in the soil or water moss, so that the adult beetles will feel more secure. Place objects such as tree bark on the surface for the adult beetles to turn over. Occasionally, the dormant insects may crawl to the surface. If there is no tree bark for them to turn over, it will inevitably consume energy and may cause death! The temperature should be kept at 22-28 degrees Celsius, and the higher the temperature, the shorter the dormant period.
The environment for raising stag beetles is similar to that of the longarm stag beetle, and their lifestyle is also the same. They live for about 1.5-2.0 years during the larval stage, undergo three moults and pupate, and the adult stag beetles only have a lifespan of about 4-6 months. Therefore, raising them also starts with the larvae. The larvae mainly feed on humus soil and they especially need high-protein food in order to grow into the largest adults. The adult beetles, on the other hand, mainly feed on ripe fruits such as bananas, apples, and honey. Of course, using commercially available ready-made food is more convenient. The space for raising adult beetles is more suitable with a two-foot wide upright breeding tank, with several dead branches arranged and a substrate mainly composed of 20 cm deep cultivation soil or humus soil. Male adult beetles are more aggressive and it's better to raise them separately.
First instar larvae require one liter of space, while third instar larvae require 5-8 liters. In order to avoid unnecessary interference or harm to each other, it is best to raise the larvae separately. It is worth noting that the larvae of stag beetles are more aggressive, so be careful when catching them to avoid being bitten.
Female adult beetles do not have the large mandibles like male beetles, and they are smaller in size. The female beetles will lay eggs several times after mating, and the substrate for egg-laying is the same as that for raising the larvae, but it needs to be tightly compacted. The female beetles will burrow into the soil to lay their eggs, laying about 7-10 eggs each time. After 5-6 weeks, carefully dig open the substrate to find the hatched larvae, or you can also move the eggs out two weeks after they are laid and incubate each egg separately in a pudding cup.
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