Salmonsaladsandwich Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Introduced European relative of C. Scrutator. http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/salmonsaladsandwic/media/image.jpg1_zpsxzkzshwb.jpg.html Found him in a park that was experiencing a gypsy moth explosion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Oooh, pretty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbpolish Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 According to this site, they were introduced to New England in 1905- to control the gypsy moth. Sound like he was doing his job, but I wonder if he has a taste for the native lepidopterans as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 Probably. I doubt they pass up a good tent caterpillar or white marked tussock moth. Most of the caterpillars were dying from the Entomophaga maimaiga fungus, which is clearly doing a better job than he is, so I don't feel too bad about taking him away. Supposedly they live a long time as adults, 3-4 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 Here's some pictures that show the devastation caused by the Entomophaga fungus: http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/salmonsaladsandwic/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsoh1oacuz.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1 You can't tell from the pic, but those caterpillars are all dead or nearly so. After a few hours, they'll look like this: http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/salmonsaladsandwic/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsscpfcxmp.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0 The fungus is very effective and fairly host- specific. It is, however, kind of gross when every single tree and building is carpeted with dead caterpillars that ooze fluid and drop onto the heads of unsuspecting beetle- catchers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Found a larva today! http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/salmonsaladsandwic/media/image.jpg1_zpsosca4pq0.jpg.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Cool! I really like the look of Calasoma larva, they look very sturdy, though in captivity they are not, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 You mean they're tough to keep alive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Well no, they just can't eat fast moving food, they need incapacitated crickets, isopods, etc. Basically slow moving food. Plus some species have random die offs as larva. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Well, it turns out the beetles are much more abundant than I thought! I've located over a dozen more larvae and another adult beetle- only this one is a C. scrutator! I have seven larvae happily munching away on gypsy moth pupae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Here's a picture I took of a larva eating a caterpillar on the side of a defoliated tree. http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/salmonsaladsandwic/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps09sr9dl0.jpg.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 I realize that this probably seems boring to many people because caterpillar hunters are apparently very common in many areas... Yet somehow they have eluded me until now, so this is more exciting for me then it should be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 It's not boring to me, unfortunately it does not seem like these range into ID, so I love learning as much as I can about them from other people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 I think you do have at least one (plain black) calasoma species in Idaho. I think it's really interesting how calasoma larvae, even though they don't look built for it at all, climb up the sides of trees in broad daylight to search for prey. I imagine its a recently evolved behavior and they will become more adapted for arboreal hunting with time. One thing I've noticed is that the grubs can climb vertically but not upside down, so all the gypsy moth caterpillars that decided to pupate on the underside of a horizontal branch remain untouched on a tree where most of the the pupae on the trunk have been torn to pieces by ravenous grubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Yeah, but none of the brilliant green species, which I really love! Interesting, I have heard that the larva and adults can climb trees to catch caterpillars, though I thought it was more of a last resort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornelius Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 You're raising Calosoma species? That is just the most awesome thing I think I have ever seen. I apologise for my enthusiasm. But Calosoma species are one of my all time favorite beetles. You ought to post a guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Unfortunately all but one of the ones I kept shriveled up and died as pupae... My guess is some kind of fungus. I didn't know what their requirements were so I kept 4 of them moist and the rest fairly dry. The ones I kept moist died much faster than the others. All I have now is a single male C. scrutator, he's awesome and makes me wish more survived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Sorry to hear that. Carabids are a very hard to rear group, and are prone to dying for no reason at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornelius Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Carabids are very particular as to their conditions, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Sure seems that way... supposedly its easy to get calasoma to lay eggs if you mix caterpillar frass (which i've got plenty of, lol) into their substrate but all i have left are 2 adult beetles, both males and of different species. I found scrutator female before when i was collecting the larvae but she died (she was already quite weak when i found her) before the male emerged. The male sycophanta i found originally and the male scrutator that pupated and eclosed successfully are both doing great. Probably my favorite insect pets right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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