Rearing of Osmoderma eremicola
Osmoderma
eremicola is a neat bulky beetle. Adults can be reared over 30mm long.
Large adults can have really pronounced sculpturing on the pronotum.
Food:
Adult Hermit beetles eat all sorts of sugary liquid including banana
slices, apple slices , sugar water, etc. Larvae of Osmoderma enjoy a mixed
diet of rotten wood, old leaves, dog food, and compost.
Life cycle:
O. eremicola take two years in the wild to go from egg to adult. The
first winter is spent as 2nd instar larvae and the second winter as fully
grown 3rd instar larvae inside of pupal cells.
Hermit beetle larvae actually use a secretion mixed with dirt to make these
pupal cells which can be removed from the substrate and seem much like
a cocoon. In captivity Osmoderma can take as little as 6-8 months to complete
its entire life cycle after a generation or two of captive breeding.
Difficulties:
Hermit beetles are very easy to raise and are great for a beginner.
One thing to be careful of is damaging pupal cells. It is very unlikely
to get a live adult if the pupal cell is damaged.
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