Beetle tarsus repair (Update)

[lamprima2]

Hi all,
I hope to repair a tarsus on the hind leg of
a huge Megasoma. The distal tarsomer with claws came
out of the joint (see the pic). It is essentially a ball joint,
or, according to the human anatomy, a "ball-and socket"
joint. Unfortunately, all my efforts to insert the "ball" into
matching "socket" failed. Is there any trick to make the receiving
tarsomer softer? Perhaps with boiling water?
Please advise.

DSC_8385.JPG (479.11 KiB) Viewed 369 times

[kevinkk]

I think you need something to soften chitin, maybe fingernail softener. I don't see how hot water could help.

[livingplanet3]

I too, have occasionally had to reattach beetle legs that came apart at a joint. It can be rather frustrating, but I've found that in most cases, the leg section can only be reinserted back into the socket if rotated to exactly match the corresponding positioning of the socket's internal structure, at which point, it should easily "snap" back into place, and you can then secure it with a tiny drop of superglue at the joint.

[lamprima2]

Thank you both!

[lamprima2]

kevinkk and livingplanet3,
Thanks again for your replies.
Following your advice, I did not use any chemicals or hot water.
I partially rehydrated Megasoma to avoid
further damage, and then easily inserted the broken
tarsomer into its socket. To my surprise, it stays there,
I applied a drop of glue on the joint to keep it safe.
All these Dynastinae are about 120 mm long.
The repaired specimen is on the right.

DSC_1337 small.jpg (600.77 KiB) Viewed 70 times

.

[livingplanet3]

Very nice!