Moving forward from successful Tarantula keeping we have now expanded our invertebrate collection to include a variety of “bugs” including a wide range of Beetles from the small Fruit Beetles to the largest Hercules and everything in-between. The aim of this page is to show you the wide range of inverts we keep in stock and to provide a little care and insight into each individual species
These are classified as Pachnoda and closely related species from Africa being the easiest Beetles to keep. We have had a wide range of success with most species.
We offer both the larvae stage of this Beetle and adults.
We suggest those new to keeping Beetles to start off with our larval packs these contain the chosen species in larvae form inside a rearing tub with our larval substrate and decomposing hardwood. These tubs are kept at 25°C and after a period of 3-6 months the grubs grow larger until they begin creating a ball of substrate around themselves, at this stage they begin turning into the adult stage and once ready break out, resulting in the beautiful adults. These are great for children showing all of the stages of development. These packs are great everything you need is there just keep at the right temperature and watch these amazing creatures grow.
are easily kept in small glass vivarium’s or faunariums. As adults kept around 22-25°C , provided with our specially formulated substrate places to climb and offered Beetle jelly and fruit to eat. Once these have been provided there nothing more to do, other than watch these metallic Beetles wonder around there Viv feeding on the fruit and creating generations of beautiful jewels.
(Dynastes/Lucanidae sp.)
After the successful keeping of the Fruit Beetles we suggest moving on to the larger species these are kept in almost the same manner, although the larvae can take up to 2 years to develop depending of species. As a rule the larger the Beetle the longer it takes from larvae to adult. These Beetles may look menacing but are completely harmless using the horns to fight off rival males; these never bite and again are great for children and adults alike. Adults are best kept in glass vivariums provided with our Beetle substrate and jelly. We also provide bits of rotting hardwood that both adults and larvae feed and climb on.
Again we offer both the adults and the larvae stage; these again come in containers that will see them right until adulthood as some species take a long time to develop the substrate may need replacing but always leave some old substrate as this holds important bacteria for the larvae. We offer larvae that are usually around 6 months for the bigger Beetles so you don’t have to wait as long and the risk associated with the smaller larvae have passed. These Beetles are true big friendly giants.
(Madiga liberiana)
These guys are a first for us and maybe even the UK, these are the African Giant Armoured Crickets, we source these from our invert supplier in the Netherlands and were a first for him too. Due to the lack of people keeping these there is little information to be found. Our experience with these is that we keep the adults in glass vivariums in pairs or more we offer a basking light that can get up to 90°C offer a range of food from Beetle jelly to all manors of fruit and veg these guys are not fussy we have been told that in the wild they eat the body’s of there own species crushed on the roads. A must for any invert enthusiast.
(Phylliidae sp.)
These are just amazing the best leaf mimics in nature, these guys are closely related to stick insects and are kept virtually the same kept in tall glass vivariums with secure lids as they are prone to getting out. We have found that bramble is the best food for these an occasional spay with water is also a great help especially when molting. These guys reproduce well in captivity laying eggs which hatch into miniature adults these are a fascinating species to watch and super easy to keep making them great for everyone.
These are an interesting species closely related to the grasshopper. We offer a range of species most impressive being the giant Katydid these can be kept in Glass vivarium’s kept on our Beetle substrate and offered a Variety leafs we have found bramble to be the best like the leaf insects these enjoy a spray. These are another interesting species that are easy to keep and breed.
These have long been kept in captivity and have proven to be grate we offer most species from the commonly kept giant trains to the less kept Malaysian species. These can be kept in faunariums or glass vivarium offered our Beetle substrate and a wide range of fruit and veg these guys are super easy to keep.
Aside from our harmless Beetles we also offer the more bitey type of invertebrates these are not recommended for young children as they can deliver a potentially painful bite/sting.
(Anthia thoracica)
These menacing Beetles are found in Tanzania where they actively hunt out other insects with there huge crushing mandibles. In captivity they can be kept in a faunariums or glass vivarium we offer our Beetle substrate and brown and black crickets and locust as food. We have been amazed at the sized prey these will tackle often being twice the size of them. These are great to watch hunting running after there prey with great aggression and speed. We pick these up with tweezers to move as they can deliver a painful bite although not venomous these can also spray a foul smelling acid from there abdomens when really annoyed. These are great to keep as long as caution is taken.
(Platymerus sp.)
These guys live up to there names jumping on other insects backs and driving there dagger like appendage into there victims. These are easy to keep and breed in captivity offered crickets and locust as prey. The two species we have in stock most commonly is the African Twin Spotted and Red Spotted types. These must be handled with tweezers as they can produce a nasty bite they are also capable of squirting there venom at predators this includes us as with all our carnivorous Beetles care must be practiced.
Praying Matids come in a variety of species from the commonly kept and easy to keep African greens to the harder to keep but beautiful Orchid Mantis. These are a real joy to keep provided with a tall enclosure with branches to climb on it is a real marvel to watch these guys sway in the wind waiting for an insect to grasp with it modified front legs.
(Scolopendra sp.)
These are the kings of the carnivorous insect world some species can reach up to 12ich long fitted with powerful fangs and a venomous bite and an attitude problem to match these are only sold to experienced keepers.
We also stock a wide range of scorpion and tarantulas more info on these can be found on our livestock page
We offer a wide range of supplies to the invert keeper and have formulated our own substrates and food so we can offer the best for your “bugs”. We recommend you keep a small dish of bug gel in with all inverts this provides a safe water source so that they do not drown.
If you have any questions on invert keeping or the inverts we stock don’t hesitate to email us or pop into the shop for a chat. Our currently available inverts can be found on our livestock page.
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