InsectNet forum

Cheirotonus parryi, ~62 mm, was purchased from Rod Lewallen at LA Insect Show 20 years ago.

Awesome! One of my favorite beetles.

Members of the scarab subfamily Euchirinae are certainly very unusual looking. I have specimens of several species of the genus Cheirotonus and Euchirus, including C. gestroi, C. battareli, C. peracanus, and E. dupontianus -









I've heard that some progress has been made in recent years in breeding these beetles in captivity, but that they're considered to be somewhat difficult, and require considerable patience since the larval stage is quite long.

Amazing collection!

Well, these photos aren't actually the specimens owned by livingplanet3, they are photos from internet sites; but I am sure livingplanet3's collection must be impressive too.

I should mention that Cheirotonus species are protected in Thailand.

Adam.

adamcotton wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 8:28 am Well, these photos aren't actually the specimens owned by livingplanet3, they are photos from internet sites; but I am sure livingplanet3's collection must be impressive too.

True - the example photos I posted are not of my own specimens, which are currently in storage. I don't think that my old camera would be able to get such close-up images, anyway.

adamcotton wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 8:28 am I should mention that Cheirotonus species are protected in Thailand.

And Cheirotonus formosanus, which is endemic to Taiwan, is protected also -

Just to clarify, I wasn't criticising, I just wanted to point out to lamprima2 that these are not photos of your specimens, as he implied that was what he thought. I can understand entirely that you and other people are unable to post photos of your own specimens for whatever reason.

You find such superb photos of all sorts of insects online and post them here, which in itself is a great educational example for readers.

Adam.

adamcotton wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 6:55 pm Just to clarify, I wasn't criticising, I just wanted to point out to lamprima2 that these are not photos of your specimens, as he implied that was what he thought. I can understand entirely that you and other people are unable to post photos of your own specimens for whatever reason.

No criticism inferred; I probably should start placing source links below images when posting though, just to avoid such confusion. The internet has made it so easy to casually pull things out of their original contexts with a few clicks. When writing formal literature, I am of course much more careful to give attribution for all material sourced.

adamcotton wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 6:55 pm You find such superb photos of all sorts of insects online and post them here, which in itself is a great educational example for readers.

Many thanks; most people are highly visual, and so image content certainly helps make posts interesting to as wide an audience as possible.

adamcotton wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 8:28 am Well, these photos aren't actually the specimens owned by livingplanet3, they are photos from internet sites; but I am sure livingplanet3's collection must be impressive too.

I should mention that Cheirotonus species are protected in Thailand.

Adam.

Ops! I thought that the watermarks were inserted by livingplanet3...
Sorry for the confusion.

I forgot to add this species (C. jansoni), another Cheirotonus that I have a pair of, which are among the oldest specimens in my collection (1970s) -


https://www.flickr.com/photos/125879306@N07/45153637591

Cheirotonus is one of the beetle genera that also interest me as a non beetle person.

nomihoudai wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 9:50 am Cheirotonus is one of the beetle genera that also interest me as a non beetle person.

Yes, they are quite an interesting group of beetles. The smallest species of Euchirinae are in the genus Propomacrus -

http://www.coleoptera-atlas.com/cetonii ... opomacrus/



Some of them are very localized, such as P. cypriacus -

http://biodiversitycyprus.blogspot.com/ ... -2002.html

I enjoy this thread on this unique group of beetles. Exposure to insects outside of my core focus is actually a refreshing break.

I've never seen any of these in the wild, @adam have you?

Chuck wrote: Fri Nov 11, 2022 1:37 pm I've never seen any of these in the wild, @adam have you?

Yes, they come to lights, so back in the days when I was helping with moth studies they would sometimes come in. They are actually not that rare in the right place and season (usual story!).

Adam.

Euchirus longimanus (Indonesia) is probably the largest of the Euchirinae, occasionally reaching 85 mm. The first example shown below is a captive bred specimen that is recently emerged from its pupal cell, and has not yet darkened.


https://twitter.com/qiao_funny/status/1 ... 0545787906


https://archive.insectnet.com/post/76306