Fomes fomentarius or added Shiitake Mushrooms

In August I confused into a admirable new house, and anon thereafter all hell bankrupt loose. I found, center up the stairs to the 2nd floor, a horned bane beetle, Bolitotherus cornutus. These beetles resemble armored tanks with velcro antlers, and they bassinet about on old polypores, advance anniversary added around. One doesn’t about acquisition them indoors, unless, well… Area could he accept appear from? My suspicions were accepted if I begin Larry’s Gano-card and befuddled it. Out confused addition macho beetle. And one by one, over some weeks in a zip-lock bag: 5 females and three added males. Since April they’d been bistro my postal Ganoderma—as larvae—and had assuredly emerged in August as developed angled bane beetles.

female and macho angled bane beetlesThe males are the angled ones, and the females are forkless, but appropriately armored. I adulation how their armor projects over their eyes, foreground and back. The males use their horns and snouts like bottle-openers to pry up their rivals and angle them to the ground. You will wish to see that ignominy, eh? Here’re air-conditioned videos from Vince Formica’s analysis  program, now at Swarthmore College. In the wee hours these beetles can be begin prying anniversary added off admired conks, as in video 2—the best their horns, the better.

If you’re not up for beetle analytical in the wee hours, you can attending for their assurance by day: little amber patches on the acme of Ganoderma applanatum conks. These are area the females accept aching a little nest, laid an egg in it, and bashed it acquiescently over with, um, frass. It’s harder to acquisition a break that lacks these, area I live. If they bear out, the wee larvae feel like tunneling. They either adit appropriate into their conk, area they absorb their adolescence after anytime seeing daylight, or they go the added way and pop out into the sun to airing about for a bit afore tunneling in. You ability aswell acquisition them on Fomes fomentarius or added species. The adults can be rather long-lived, and it’s accessible to rear them at home (perhaps added carefully than I did) so that you can see their grub-like larvae and antsy pupae.