Some species spend the winter as pupae; others emerge to spend the winter in the water as adults. I mist the bark down to keep the lichens fresh and he eats it right off. Their bumpy Ten of the species live in North America, and they are spread from Texas to Venezuela. It is found in deserts of western North America, where it lives on fungi growing under tree bark. It takes about 6-12 months from hatching of eggs to adult emergence. These guys are super easy to care for and make great pets. Measuring just 5/8 to 1 3/16 inches in length, the adult ironclad beetle gets its name from its extremely hard and durable exoskeleton thats covered in off-white and black colored spots. Harvesting blades can also be dulled when going over fire ant hills. If you have several beetles, be sure to break the bark into a few pieces and scatter them around their habitat so everyone can have a chance at finding some. It is whitish and oval in shape. With such a large representation, the Coleoptera order is one of the largest orders of the animal kingdom. Its tough exterior could influence . It is not thought that these beetles damage living plants, so you dont need to worry if you find them on your garden plants. Photograph: Nature Insects This article is more than 2 years old Scientists reveal how diabolical ironclad. The beetles will naturally mate if you keep them together. Birds, lizards and rodents frequently try to make a meal of . It is important to keep the food you feed your beetles off of the substrate to prevent mold growth. It will simply crawl off once the pressure is removed. So they don't need a lot to eat? I am Haomaru. "Very easy-to-follow setup information - specifically, the sub straight and how to determine the proper size. The diabolical ironclad beetle, a Southern California native, can withstand being crushed by forces almost 40,000 times its body weight. As a small thank you, wed like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). Do I need to be worried that it could bite? Instead, they, feed on mostly fresh and rotting plant materials. They can also be found on sand dunes, or at the base of many desert plants. Enjoy! Like already said try ground up mushrooms or even whole mushrooms. I started to develop interest in insects since 2007 and have kept some insects as pets for a few years. This is the 'diabolical ironclad beetle' ( Nosoderma diabolicum, formerly Phloeodes diabolicus ), found in the southwestern USA. True ironclad beetle species occur in California. Keep the beetles at room temperature and low humidity. They do have an unusually long lifespan, living up to 17 years in captivity, so be prepared for the long commitment if you plan to adopt a few. Alright, thats it for this article, here are a few hand-selected articles that you might also find interesting reads: Mad about bugs and wanting to publish as many articles as I can to help educate people about these amazing beautiful creatures! Ok, so it's been a while now. It can accumulate on the beetles' feet and become hazardous to their health. If you use live plants, there is a good chance that your beetles will slowly eat them. Try lifting up rocks and pieces of wood. Although every ironclad beetle has the same hard shell, the pattern on each isnt always the same. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. This insect's rugged exoskeleton is so tough that the beetle can survive getting run over by cars, and many would-be predators don . The Darwins bark spiders webs are 25 times stronger than steel. I started to develop interest in arthropods since 2007, and have been keeping them for a few years. The hairs on the antennae of the female beetles are tiny and barely noticeable. There are only about 20 species that belong to this family of beetles. It was a discovery that they hope can lead to better technology for vehicles and planes. Along the way, Ive added fish and geckos to my collection. This finding has led researchers to conclude that the dead wood of pecan trees may serve as the developmental site for this species. That's more impressive than sounds: A car tire would apply a force of about 100 newtons if running over the . {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/53\/Care-for-Blue-Death-Feigning-Beetles-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Care-for-Blue-Death-Feigning-Beetles-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/53\/Care-for-Blue-Death-Feigning-Beetles-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid5806397-v4-728px-Care-for-Blue-Death-Feigning-Beetles-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"