Sunburst Diving Beetles (56k warning)

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V

Villosa

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Just got 11 of these guys in this morning and already two of them got themselves butchered when I was at school...I fear non-stop feeding on my part coming soon...darn.

I think they're so into feeding that when they accidentily bite each other it's usually fatal or near fatal and that causes them to swarm the injured. when they're not feeding they just sit around and sometimes males will try to grab a female (which usually lasts only a few seconds)

Anyway here are some pictures. My plan with these guys is to start a breeding program and to study if controlled feedings will lead to larger beetle sizes and also time of development. That is if they don't murder each other...

Sunburst4.jpg


Stuff like this gets each other killed, I feed smaller worms now that can be scattered instead on a single piece of food.

Sunburst3.jpg


Sunburst2.jpg


Sunburst1.jpg


backswimmer.jpg


Look who snuck into the shipment...a backswimmer.

 
you could sepparate them, so as to not have injuries, then start your controlled feeding thing...i would just put in mosquito larvae or something they can snack on when i'm gone.

as for updown boatman, i love them!

how were they shipped, i mean since they are an amphibious-ish creature?

 
Aren't they just the cutest little things? But they are voracious...I've read they probably won't hesitate to take a little nibble when handled.

 
Thats very cool, I've always wanted those. I had one of those things that look like the backswimmer but they don't swim upsidedown. I think they're called "boatmen?"

 
Nice beetles you have there !

I used to keep Dytiscus many years ago, three of them lived for 3-4 years !!!

I was surprised when you said that they are eating each other; this is VERY rare with predatory diving beetles. It is physically difficult for them to damage one another. And then I saw that you have a backswimmer in with them :shock: I would suggest that this is the culprit.

Make sure you give the female beetles some plants with thick stems, they need these to insert their eggs into.

Best of luck !

Rob.

 
Thats very cool, I've always wanted those. I had one of those things that look like the backswimmer but they don't swim upsidedown. I think they're called "boatmen?"
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acually when they're hanging around the surface they are upside down, this is so they can grab prey and pull them under. when searching the surface they will continue being upside down. i think that's how they got the names such as backswimmer or upside-down boatman.

 
Not the ones we have here. At night they'll fly around really bright light

and I caught a few. When they arrive to the surface they do not turn upside down, but stick their abdomens up. Probably to get some air.

They hunt prey thats under the surface so when I put an ant in there it'll wait at the surface and if it doesnt sink, it doesnt catch. I had to poke the ant down until it sunk.

 
they boatmen that i had would hang out at the surface upside down and would pull food under and eat them when i dropped insects on the surface, they did eat tadpoles though.

 
Those are called backswimmers like mine (it died btw). They have a beak for stabbing prey from under the surface and drinking their body fluids much like giant water bugs or water scorpions. Their eyes are also much larger than those of water boatmen.

Water boatmen are essentially the same but their bodies are flatter and not as torpedo shaped. They really do look like tiny boats with oars. They, however, don't drink fluids from other animals but instead feed on algae and other pond scummy things. Their preferred water level is also much lower than that of backswimmers since boatmen don't need to stay up at the surface to catch prey, so they hang around the mid to bottom levels usually clinging to rocks.

It is also worth noting that backswimmers tend to be very aggressive and will stab people when given the chance. Both boatmen and backswimmers can leave the water and fly away when needed, as can most aquatic insects.

I hope this takes care of any confusions about the two.

The beetles are doing fine, very peaceful and settled now. Everyone is well fed and I don't see any wild chasing anymore.

 
ah, okay, i didn't know they were two different animals

what i had was a backswimmer then..

it 'bit' me when i picked it up... i had two they lived for a long time

 
Where did you get your beetles?
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Hi, you'll want to introduce yourself in the introduction forum.
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How do you know that? Ian's annoucement says,"Obviously don't feel obliged to post". But, I'm just being argumentative :D . Ignore me :wink: .

Vissola,

I love your photos. They're very good.

 
i used to have a 10 gallon tank of of many many sunburst diving beetles. it was a really nice set up with a nice waterfall filter too. i had more than you crammed in there, and i never lost one to cannibalism. maybe you're not feeding them enough? these guys are extremely voracious, and i wouldn't be surprised if they become cannibalistic if you starve them.

i also had a couple of whirligig beetles, but the sunburst diving beetles kept harassing them, even though the whirligig beetles were a little bigger. i also had a pair of giant scavenger beetles; luckily, the sunburst diving beetles never bothered them, although the giant scavenger beetles were very bashful and shy.

all my diving beetles started to die at around the same time one month. i still am not sure if it was just because it was their adult lifespan or something in their tank got to them. do sunburst diving beetle adults live more than a year? mine lived for about almost a year. my giant water scavenger beetles lived for maybe like 6 months, but for all i know, the place that shipped them to me could have have these guys in their tank for years, so it's impossible for me to know. my whirligig beetles lived even shorter, but i expected that since they were constantly stressed out by the sunburst diving beetles. i even had a couple of water striders, but they mysteriously disappeared over time...i'm pretty sure the sunburst diving beetles got them lol.

anyway, i fed my diving beetles fish food pellets. it's better than fish flakes since flakes are messier and certain fish food pellets have much more protein and meat in them.

also, don't ever stick your arm in the water lol. the sunburst diving beetles, regardless of innocent or cute they may look, will not hesitate to latch onto your arm and start biting you! and believe me, it does hurt!

 
i used to keep the british 'great diving' beetles, dytiscus marginalis. they are the most entertaining insects ive ever kept, (next to mantis and dragonfly larvae) watching them hunt tadpoles is awesome. we used to go look for them in the stream, and they were rare enough to be quite a find

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DytiscusLifeLyd.png

this is a new species to me. can you buy them in the uk?

 
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