egg--laying and rearing medium for beetles

[Adam Cotton]

A friend at the Entomological Museum of Dept. of Agriculture, Bangkok asked me for assistance. Can anyone help with the formula for egg-laying and rearing medium for the following beetles, please?

He has some Rainbow Stag Beetles (Phalacrognathus muelleri) and various species of Dynastinae, and would like to breed them. He said the Lucanidae and Dynastinae medium formulae are different but doesn't know the ingredients and how to make the medium.

Thanks on his behalf for any advice.

Adam.

[Bugman]

Just fill 5 cm of soil into a high enough plastic container. Put bigger white rotten wood pieces on the soil and fill it up with fermented wood until the pieces are completely covered (no coniferous trees!). Now you can put humus and rotten leaves on that. In the end the height of the substrate should be at least 15-20 cm. Keep it moist. Room temperature is fine.

This method works for most Lucanidae and Dynastidae.

[Adam Cotton]

My friend passed on his thanks for the information. I sent him the links to your website and Youtube channel too. It is a pity that the website is only in German though, as my friend, who only speaks basic English, has very little chance of understanding anything in German. I couldn't see a link to an English version, but perhaps I missed it.

Does anyone else have any recommendations for breeding these beetles?

Adam.