If all gas stations were this clean, I'd have more fun collecting Dynastes granti |
Apparently I am in good company with my appreciation for Dynastes grantii. Here Ben Warner documented Bill Warner's August 13th, 2014 encounter with a big guy. Bill is one of our leading scarab specialists, but obviously still impressionable. " My theory of Dynastes being a "degree day" bug is again confirmed--they are out weeks earlier this year (with a warm winter) than last year when we had a long, cool spring."
On my Beetle Safaris with clients, I usually look for Dynastes granti at artificial light sources with a strong UV component, like those overhead mercury vapor lights of some gas stations along the Mogollon Rim in central Arizona. The further away from civilization and other lights the better. Most of these locations are well known and draw beetle collectors from all over. Even though the competition is usually good-natured and one is at least rarely alone, it is not always pleasant to spend the night at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. But if the weather is right, a warm night after a storm is ideal, the beetle hunt in those locations is usually rather successful.
Young Ash Trees in a canyon close to Prescott |
Left and middle: fresh bark scrapings, right: old scar all on the same Ash tree |
I started my search in the early morning because I had been told that the beetles, once they had chewed a sap producing wound into the tree, would hang around during the day, mainly resting in place from their nightly activities. It was at first difficult to spot them because they were all rather high above my head, at about 12 feet. So I was staring up against the sky while at the same time trying to keep my footing on slippery rocks and not to stumble into the creek. Catching them was a whole other problem. The two first ones I spotted took off, buzzing like helicopters, as soon as my net came close to their branch. In the act of mating, they were obviously alert and warm enough for immediate take-off. They disappeared high into the blue sky. Night-active scarabs?
Something else moved. Disappeared behind the branch. So I scrambled across the creek to check the other side. The right size and color, but - a cicada.
Slowly a search image formed: the beetles are round and shiny like ripe chestnuts, just not brown but greenish like the ash leaves themselves. And unlike chestnuts, they were not going to eventually fall down. I had to make them. So I got a thin stick, long enough to reach the beetles while I was standing on a tall boulder in the creek. I found that single males could be encouraged to walk down from their perches by pushing the end of the stick between their two horns. By backing off, they may have reacted as they would when faced with a powerful wrestling partner of their own kind. So I coaxed several males within range. A single female fell into the creek and I fished her out.
Overall the technique was extremely exhausting but fun.
The result of an over 400 mile round trip, still cold from traveling in a cooler |
The beetles will augment my own breeding stock, and a few are going to other breeders. A Montessori teacher is building a school project around a pair, the insect photographer Alex Surcica ordered some as models, others will go to entomology classes, an insect festival and a museum exhibit. With some luck, they can outlive their wild brethren by any number of months.
It turns out that I did not get quite enough specimens this year.
Eggs and larva of Dynastes granti, pupa of Strategus sp. ( Strategus is another Dynastini, I have no Dynastes pupae yet) |
My largest wild-caught pair this year |
And I'm really just breeding beetles for fun ... but I can already see that I could be easily tempted to add a couple more species to my beetle breeding room - there is still space on the shelfs....
Cottonwood Stag Beetle, Lucanus mazana, with egg and young larva |
About the first photo: it's photoshopped. I was inspired by a flickr picture of a big dung beetle from Africa taken with ultra wide-angle at night in front of a gas station. So I planned on following that idea. But the situation at the Arizona gas station was so frustrating (see above) that I completely forgot about it that night. So I decided to reconstruct the scene in a photo editing program. The photo shows very much what you'd see lying on your belly at the gas station in a mix of cigarette buds and tire-rub-off/oil slime. Except that some one would have quickly stolen the bug from in front of your lens.
cool post!
ReplyDeleteOk, I am going to sounds very unadult like here lol.. oh my gosh they are SO freaking cool!
ReplyDeleteNow I have something else to look for the next time I am in Arizona. I Looked for many things and found only a few.. Beautiful pictures!
Thanks for the excellent natural history info. Your colorful writing and outstanding photography make for a captivating read!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the delightful read!
ReplyDeleteThank you Margarethe for the Beetle adventure. These are one of my favorite beetles. I could only imagine the things you have seen. When I read your pages I get to feel like Im there with you. Thank you.
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