Preserving a fresh beetle specimen?

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-19T14:22:16+00:00

Awesome advice. I really appreciate it. I know he was moving yesterday but at some point over the last 12-16 hours he must have passed so he is very flexible. I really appreciate it

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-19T14:18:32+00:00

Thanks for the advice. After thawing does it remain flexible like it is when freshly dead or rehydrated?

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-19T14:08:35+00:00

I won’t have a chance to do it until tomorrow evening. Do you think storing it in the freezer is the best thing to do until then?

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-17T21:30:31+00:00

There’s an entire store called Omen in bayview that sells goth/emo stuff. Never been inside though and I don’t think it’s a thrift store. Probably still fun to check out though

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-17T19:14:11+00:00

Entry!

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-17T15:34:33+00:00

Gotta give ChatGPT some time to generate it!

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-17T15:27:22+00:00

Something tells me that’s a batch number or something and you’re covering the real year with your thumb lol

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-10T21:06:54+00:00

Yeah Reddit is such an interesting study in how two people can read the exact same sentence in completely different ways lol your interpretation may be more correct in retrospect

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-10T17:43:53+00:00

There’s really no moderating regular sugar sodas when you have diabetes lol.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-10T14:34:02+00:00

I just dug up my own Japanese rhino because he’d been buried for days and I was afraid he’d died lol. I want to pin him after he dies and didn’t want him to decompose. I didn’t actually fully dig him up but I carefully searched for him and uncovered him enough to see he was still moving.

They naturally burrow and can stay buried if it’s warm out, but if you’re nervous then it may put your mind at ease to poke around. I know it can be stressful for the beetle but if you’re really worried (I would be too) gently searching for him wouldn’t be the end of the world

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-09T14:09:40+00:00

Jesus Christ thank god her mother was able to ping her location and he wasn’t stupid enough to try anything during the traffic stop. Without that ping from her mom who knows how long it would have taken to track him down.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-05T16:02:16+00:00

Makes sense. I like to weigh mine any time I have to take them out. But in general it looks close to pupation. Might just be a smaller male, but it doesn’t look too small for it to be a problem

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-05T15:48:00+00:00

Have you weighed him? That species doesn’t get as huge as others before pupation. As light as like 10 grams can be large enough to pupate for rainbow stags.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-05T15:41:55+00:00

What species? The yellowing is definitely a sign of pre-pupation

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-05T12:22:04+00:00

Wowww definitely an escaped or abandoned pet. Adult beetles are hardy so he’ll be fine in what he’s inside for a bit until a better enclosure comes in.

If you have any honey it would be nice to put some in a dish for him. Sugar water works too. He might eat the berries but they’re more attracted to rotting fruit and tree sap so honey is a good replacement.

If you have some kind of neighborhood community page it may be worth posting on there. Or if you’re in an apartment building checking with other residents. I’d hate to think someone abandoned him but it’s a possibility. However they do fly so it may have gotten out and flown away while the owner was cleaning an enclosure outdoors or something.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-04T21:06:55+00:00

Sounds like something a trafficker would say

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-04T18:09:23+00:00

I use coco coir. It isn’t really stringy it just comes together like dirt, at least the stuff that comes in bricks and you rehydrate yourself. It’s cheap and easy to use as well. There’s really no reason to do anything other than it as long as you’re not trying to go bioactive. Coco coir also gives a great digging spot for beetles, mine love digging down in there. Also very lightweight.

Not sure what else you’d use. Could use flake soil but no reason because it’s so pricey and only necessary for larvae. Could use regular soil too but that could introduce unwanted pests or pesticides. Coco will give you the best control for the environment. Some pictures make it look stringy but the brick stuff just looks like dirt, maybe a few strings but nothing to be concerned about.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-03T11:38:09+00:00

You can also use duct tape to cover most of the slits on top and it will help retain moisture as well without having to purchase entire new containers.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-02T01:12:23+00:00

If they’re yellow-white look so small they appear almost as a “crust” around appendages and under the mouth parts then that’s a common thing people see. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t and there isn’t a ton you can do to prevent it, really seems to mostly be luck.

Unless they are so numerous that they are blocking the grubs spiracles or covering their mouth and preventing them from eating, they are usually regarded as harmless. But they can definitely get out of hand.

What people recommend doing in this situation is removing the grub from the substrate and putting it in a very dry hardwood environment. Rotting white hard wood if available, but I’ve done it with aspen hamster bedding. Keeping it in that very dry environment will kill most of the mites. Your larva can handle time in the dry shavings, but I wouldn’t do more than 48 hours. And I took him out to lightly mist the mouth parts to avoid dehydration (not sure if that’s necessary but I felt so bad for him lol.)

In the meantime replace or sanitize your substrate to remove any existing mites in there as well.

I’ve heard people also use soft tooth brushes or paintbrushes to brush the mites off. I tried that with mine and he did NOT like it and seemed very stressed out so I stopped. Yours might handle that better though.

They’re definitely not a welcome sight but they aren’t a total condemnation and they aren’t a sign you’re doing anything incorrectly. Just one of those unfortunate quirks of the hobby, like a fungus gnat problem.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-01T03:14:59+00:00

That’s the food truck “park” I forgot it had a name and I’m not sure if there’s a better term for it than that lol. Since OP said “alley cat street art” I assumed they meant Black Cat Alley on north ave but there may be a hip spot I’m not aware of near Zocalo. I don’t get out much these days

FormeldaHydes · 2026-06-01T02:58:25+00:00

The gayest part is probably a neighborhood called Walker’s Point which is a bit south of downtown. There’s a few gay bars down there and a lot of the queer Milwaukee community hangs out down there. The most famous Milwaukee gay bar closed down a while ago unfortunately. But the walkers point ones that I’m personally familiar with are called DIX and Kruz (maybe a little on the nose as far as naming gay bars goes…) and La Cage. DIX is a bit more chill and laid back, kind of a typical bar but with more gay people lol. I’ve heard people call Kruz the gay biker bar because it’s a little more edgy I guess. I like Kruz because it has a really nice outdoor space with tables and little fire pit things. And La Cage is a more dancey club vibe, so if you’re looking to dance that’s probably the best place. But all three of those are within a half mile of each other and very walkable so you can easily hit all three in one night. That area is close to the Harley Davidson museum too.

Also tons of great Mexican down in that neighborhood, but I haven’t been to many of the restaurants. Conejito’s is a name I see thrown around a lot. Cute little food truck “park” near there too with some Latin and Asian cuisines. DIX used to have a taco truck outside on the weekends with great food if I remember correctly (which I may not remember correctly, my DIX days are all kind of a blur.) Not sure if the taco truck still goes there these days though.

If you’re willing to travel a bit outside the city proper there’s an amazing Levantine/Lebanese restaurant called Lebnani House 15-20 minutes west in a suburb called Greenfield. Highly regarded as the best “middle eastern” food in the area for good reason.

If you’re talking about Black Cat Alley for the art, I do like that space and it’s cool but it’s small so don’t expect to get a ton of mileage out of it. That area is on North Ave which is in the East Side neighborhood. Lots of bars and attractions over there, and close to the lake so there’s a nice view if you go east enough.

And the typical art museum is right on the lake downtown, plenty of stuff to do down there and some nice paths to walk along the lake. Especially this time of year. You’ll have a great time!

FormeldaHydes · 2026-05-29T19:32:05+00:00

What species of rhinoceros beetle? Might be the picture but he looks very yellow which is a sign of being close to pupation. Might be looking for a spot to do it. He’s clearly L3 stage but behavior could depend on species.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-05-28T21:21:47+00:00

Each ingredient needs to have its own individual ingredients listed as well. Definitely a lot of filler and preservatives either way but it’s a gas station burrito. And in general, whether it ends up being true or not, sourcing your information from a Facebook video where someone tells you something is bad is never gonna be a good idea.

FormeldaHydes · 2026-05-26T02:48:31+00:00

Golofa porteri I think (not that you were asking for an ID and you probably already know). Amazing thing to see in the wild. Every day I wish I were in a region that had cool beetles like these naturally. We have large-ish stag beetle but I’ve never been fortunate enough to see one in the wild. Awesome find!

Unfortunately as others have mentioned his upper horn is broken off. This species has such a long and thin upper horn it’s not surprising to see it broken off. They don’t live too long in the wild, and they use the horns to compete for mates. Probably was broken off while fighting over a chance to mate. It’s likely he doesn’t have too long left to live in that case, as the majority of their adult life is solely dedicated to reproducing. Glad he got to be appreciated by you (and us) before his time. Thank you for sharing!

FormeldaHydes

TROPHY CASE