This is the follow-up of my previous blog post - Surprised Find From Changi Beach (17 Feb 2021) where I found two "unknown" larvae from the Changi Beach.
Of the two larvae found, only one managed to survive the trip from the beach. The larva that survived was later put into a large plastic container filled with organic compost and shredded dried leaves.
In May, about 3 months after the larva was brought back and having not seen any movements in the soil, I decided to check on the container. To my pleasant surprise, the larva had made a pupa chamber. Not sure when the pupa chamber was made, I decided not to disturbed it further and put it back into the container. In my opinion, the best husbandry for growing out beetle larvae is to minimize any disturbances to the larvae besides cleaning out the larvae poop.
On 11 June, I heard some scratching sounds in the container in the night and decided to open up the container in the next day morning. Not knowing what to expect, I gently dig through the top part of the container and found bits and pieces of the pupa chamber. This confirmed that the beetle pupa has eclosed and has emerged from its dormant state.
Excited, I gently pour out all the soil and "dig" around using my hands. Finally, the answer to my speculation of what type of beetle the larvae belongs to, will be answered in a short moment.
My initial gut feel that the larvae could be that of the Orcytes rhinoceros beetle was correct. A beautiful adult female O. rhinoceros was found.
Although the anticipation of whether the larva would survive and emerge as an adult was pretty unbearable, it has been an interesting journey of rescuing two unknown beetle larvae, growing out of the larva, pupation and emerging as adult beetle. If there are other opportunities to rescue more beetle larvae in the future, I will gladly go through the journey again. 😀
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