Bugboy3092
Second Instar
Hey all, the main (incredibly wordy) post for this is on beetleforum, so i will keep this short and sweet. Recently I collected five Z. Nodulosus individuals and am currently attempting a breeding project with them. So far, we have eggs! The eggs are slender, measuring approximately 2mm in length and are an off-white. Females oviposit in crevices on wood. I am still unsure what the impetus for oviposition is, but a combination of the presence of white-rot, large bracket fungus, daily misting, and wood pieces with deep crevices is doing the trick! attached are photos of the females ovipositing, my enclosure, and of course the eggs themselves! More updates will come, but the most important note here for anyone who finds themselves with these in the future is that these are NOT desert beetles!!! The environment these were found in is quite reminiscent of a southeastern deciduous forest. I am working with another breeder to narrow down husbandry on this fantastic species, larvae are suspected to eat decaying wood (specifically fungus-infected) and oyster mushroom-based kinshi will be offered to larvae (of course assuming the eggs hatch).
