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Post by papilio28570 on Dec 19, 2014 18:22:28 GMT -8
I'm not a beetle guy at all, but the question occurred to me the other day concerning what adult beetles eat. I know Japanese beetles eat the leaves off my rose bushes among other landscape plants, but I am particularly asking about the really, really large beetles. I know grubs eat decaying wood/vegetation and will also bore into live plants. Do adult beetles also eat rotting logs, etc., or do they simply not feed?
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Post by lucanidae25 on Dec 19, 2014 23:53:15 GMT -8
Most Adults of Lucanidae, Dynastidae, Cetoniidae, Euchiridae, Cerambycidae, Buprestidae...... will feed on flower nectar, tree sap, bamboo shoots and fruits in the wild. Pretty much the same as butterflies in the wild. In captivity they will feed on jelly and fruits like banana, pineapple.......
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ckswank
Full Member
Posts: 239
Country: USA
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Post by ckswank on Dec 19, 2014 23:56:19 GMT -8
I believe many of the larger scarabs and cerambycids will feed on fruit and/or tree sap.
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Post by papilio28570 on Dec 25, 2014 21:16:26 GMT -8
Thanks. I never would have guessed..
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Post by cabintom on Dec 26, 2014 7:44:40 GMT -8
Fresh fruit? or rotting? (Could you conceivably create a trap for large beetles?)
Tom
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Post by bichos on Dec 26, 2014 13:35:48 GMT -8
Fresh fruit? or rotting? (Could you conceivably create a trap for large beetles?) Tom You would obviously have to be more specific. "Large beetles" includes members of different families. What you consider "large" might be small to me. Anyway, baiting or fruit traps are sometimes used to attract beetles in the tropics. |
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Post by cabintom on Dec 26, 2014 20:52:08 GMT -8
Fresh fruit? or rotting? (Could you conceivably create a trap for large beetles?) Tom You would obviously have to be more specific. "Large beetles" includes members of different families. What you consider "large" might be small to me. Anyway, baiting or fruit traps are sometimes used to attract beetles in the tropics. I'm not sure what size the original poster had in mind... but for me large is about the size of your thumb. How would a fruit trap work for beetles? |
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Post by lucanidae25 on Dec 27, 2014 5:26:52 GMT -8
I never had any real success with fruit traps in the tropics, the fruits need to be fermented for more than 3-7 days. It's the smell of the alchol that attracts the beetles to the fruits because alchol will give the beetles highest energy return to burn.
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Post by cabintom on Dec 27, 2014 6:47:31 GMT -8
I never had any real success with fruit traps in the tropics, the fruits need to be fermented for more than 3-7 days. It's the smell of the alchol that attracts the beetles to the fruits because alchol will give the beetles highest energy return to burn. I shouldn't have any trouble fermenting the fruit that long... though I assume the traps are different from those used for butterflies? |
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Post by alandmor on Dec 27, 2014 8:43:03 GMT -8
I never had any real success with fruit traps in the tropics, the fruits need to be fermented for more than 3-7 days. It's the smell of the alchol that attracts the beetles to the fruits because alchol will give the beetles highest energy return to burn. I shouldn't have any trouble fermenting the fruit that long... though I assume the traps are different from those used for butterflies? For a brief overview of fruit trapping for scarabs in the tropics, see the article "Trapping with Bananas" by J. Touroult at the link below. museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Newsletter/Scarabs21.pdf There are many different techniques and trap styles but a basic 1.5L plastic bottle, some string, some ripe fruit, a place to hang it and some sun is all you need. Good luck! |
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Post by cabintom on Dec 27, 2014 20:24:37 GMT -8
For a brief overview of fruit trapping for scarabs in the tropics, see the article "Trapping with Bananas" by J. Touroult at the link below. museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Newsletter/Scarabs21.pdf There are many different techniques and trap styles but a basic 1.5L plastic bottle, some string, some ripe fruit, a place to hang it and some sun is all you need. Good luck! Thanks! I wish the image of the trap itself was better there. Do you just basically cut a largish flap into the side of the bottle and bend it upwards? How does that trap the beetles? |
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Post by bichos on Dec 28, 2014 1:01:20 GMT -8
Peeps will have to remember, beetles are the most diverse organisms on earth. So answers to such trapping questions will be equally varied depending on what beetles people hope to catch. Moreover, where and when they are trapping said beasties would need to be considered also, therefore, having some prior knowledge of local fauna would be most advantageous when designing the traps. I believe goliathini are baited with fruit traps in equatorial Africa...
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Post by alandmor on Dec 28, 2014 12:00:29 GMT -8
For a brief overview of fruit trapping for scarabs in the tropics, see the article "Trapping with Bananas" by J. Touroult at the link below. museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Newsletter/Scarabs21.pdf There are many different techniques and trap styles but a basic 1.5L plastic bottle, some string, some ripe fruit, a place to hang it and some sun is all you need. Good luck! Thanks! I wish the image of the trap itself was better there. Do you just basically cut a largish flap into the side of the bottle and bend it upwards? How does that trap the beetles? I have had good luck in the tropics with just a 32 oz. plastic cup with some ripe banana/beer in the bottom, hung in a tree and left in the field for 2-3 days. Cups have holes in the sides and/or bottom for rain to drain through. It is basically an aerial baited pitfall trap. I'm sure some do escape but many do not. Works for many Cetoniinae including: Goliathini, Cetoniini, Diplognathini, Gymnetini etc. although some species will not be attracted. Fruit traps can work well in Africa. By the time I've finished placing a trap line of 10-12 traps and am walking back, the first ones can already have beetles in them! Photos are from Vietnam:    |
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Post by cabintom on Dec 28, 2014 20:53:21 GMT -8
Thank you very much for posting the pictures! It seems a lot simpler than I imagined.
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Post by jackblack on Mar 19, 2015 1:04:56 GMT -8
I`m in north qld and use a 20 ltr bucket hanging on its side , a mesh funnel in each end like a crab or cray pot , bait with fruit and check every couple of days , beetles stay live and can be released if not wanted , all sweet fruits work well. I collect a number of cetonidae like this.
Good luck.
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