2/18/2023: The troubles of romance for living bolt cutters

I’ve been empowered over the last year to work with some beetles I originally shied away from. With proper space, resources, and more bug experience under my belt I’ve had some calculated successes.

Among those is the first stag beetle I’ve ever reared from egg to adult, Dorcus titanus castanicolor. About a year ago I received gravid females, and a few months ago my first adult females began to mature. Frustratingly, I have yet to produce any adult males, though I suspect several are now pupating as I haven’t seen them tunneling through their enclosures in a while.

Love is a difficult thing for some Dorcus. Males reportedly may attack and kill females if they are irritated or suspect they may be another male. Fortunately, castanicolor is widely agreed to be a very docile subspecies, and I have left a borrowed male in with my females for many weeks unattended without issues. The first of the female that engaged in this multi-week affair has readily burrowed into her new solo set-up, suggesting the next generation will be on its way soon.

-Kyle