{"product_id":"sun-beetles-pachnoda-marginata","title":"Sun Beetles (Pachnoda marginata)","description":"\u003cp\u003eMany reptile keepers know the sun beetle only as a grub. Its larvae are sold all over the UK as livefood, usually as fruit beetle grubs or Pachnoda grubs, so it is easy to forget what they grow into. The adults on this listing are captive-bred and were raised here from larvae. Sun beetles are yellow flower beetles boldly patched with chestnut brown, active by day, and they feed on fruit in the open and fly readily.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eSun beetle, fruit beetle or Congo chafer\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is \u003cem\u003ePachnoda marginata\u003c\/em\u003e, first described by Dru Drury in 1773. The hobby calls it the sun beetle and the livefood trade the fruit beetle, and it is also known as the African fruit chafer or Congo chafer. It is one of the flower chafers, the subfamily Cetoniinae of the scarab family. In the wild it ranges from Senegal and The Gambia across Central Africa and into East Africa, and it varies so much over that range that eight subspecies are recognised. It is commonly kept in UK zoos and private collections, usually listed as \u003cem\u003ePachnoda marginata peregrina\u003c\/em\u003e. Its close cousin \u003cem\u003ePachnoda fissipunctum\u003c\/em\u003e, which I sell as the African fruit beetle, shares the fruit beetle name, and the husbandry in my \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/beetle-useful-articles\/african-fruit-beetle-care-guide-pachnoda-fissipunctum\"\u003eAfrican fruit beetle care guide\u003c\/a\u003e carries straight across.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAppearance and sexing\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdults are roughly 20 to 25mm long, and the colouring varies across the species' range. On these beetles the shield behind the head is bright yellow with a large chestnut-brown centre, and \u003cem\u003emarginata\u003c\/em\u003e means bordered, which suits that wide yellow margin. Each wing case carries a big chestnut patch at the front and a smaller one towards the tail, both edged in black and separated by a band of yellow, and the head and legs are black. To sex one, turn it over: a male has a lengthwise groove down the middle of the underside of his abdomen, while a female is smoothly rounded there. Males run slightly larger on average, but not by enough to tell the sexes apart by size.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eHousing and care\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSun beetles fly often and readily, so the lid is what keeps them in. Their feet have no adhesive pads, so they hold on by hooking their claws into rough surfaces: clean glass and smooth plastic defeat them, while bark, wood and coarse textures give them grip. Rely on a close-fitting mesh lid rather than the walls, and never release one outdoors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe grubs live in the bed beneath the adults, so make it at least 10 to 15cm deep: \u003ca href=\"\/products\/flake-soil\"\u003eflake soil\u003c\/a\u003e with \u003ca href=\"\/products\/leaf-litter-substrate\"\u003ecrushed leaf litter\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"\/products\/shredded-rotten-wood\"\u003eshredded rotten wood\u003c\/a\u003e mixed in, kept damp but never wet. Freeze new flake soil for 48 hours to knock back any mites, then give it a few days open to the air, as a fresh bag can still be fermenting. Stick to hardwoods and leave out pine and other conifers. A few \u003ca href=\"\/products\/mixed-wood-bark-flats\"\u003ebark flats\u003c\/a\u003e across the surface give the adults something to climb and cling to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe target is 22 to 26°C. Research laboratories and a UK zoo study kept them at around 25°C, and most care sheets fall somewhere between 20 and 28°C. An English home averages about 19°C over the heating season. Sun beetles tolerate a cooler room but breed better at their ideal temperature, which a heat mat or heat cable on a thermostat can provide from autumn to spring, fixed to the side of the enclosure and never underneath. Keep the humidity moderate, roughly 50 to 70 per cent as for my African fruit beetles, and mist lightly whenever the surface starts to dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFeeding\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdults are fruit eaters. Wild beetles feed on fruit and flowers, and in West Africa they have been recorded on ripe cashew apples and on mango trees in flower and fruit. In captivity, banana is what several research laboratories feed, and apple, pear, orange and mango are all eaten. Swap the fruit every couple of days before it sours, as rotting leftovers invite mould and mites. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/invert-reptile-jelly-pots\"\u003eFruit jelly pots\u003c\/a\u003e make an easy standby: pressed into the substrate, each one holds its moisture for days, and adults can feed straight from the cup. The grubs eat the bed itself, so top it up with fresh leaf litter and rotten wood as they work through it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eBreeding and the grubs\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeep a group of well-fed adults over a deep, damp bed and the females lay their eggs down in the substrate. Keepers put the whole cycle at roughly three to six months from egg to adult, most of it spent as a grub and quicker at the warm end of the range. The grubs are plump and creamy white and can be raised together in one bed. Like other flower chafer larvae, a grub tipped out onto the surface rolls over and shuffles along on its back. A fully grown grub builds a hard cocoon of substrate bound with its own secretions and pupates inside. Leave cocoons where they are: opening one can cost you the beetle inside, and a new adult stays down in its cell for a while as its shell hardens before it digs its way up. Adults are often quoted as living around five months, but in a study at a UK college zoo some lived for over ten months. If you are buying grubs to grow on, my guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/isopods-useful-articles\/keeping-beetle-larvae\"\u003ekeeping beetle larvae\u003c\/a\u003e explains the L1 to L3 stages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWho they suit\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSun beetles are easy to keep, and because they are out and about in daylight they make a good first beetle for a family, a classroom or anyone new to beetles. If you keep reptiles or amphibians, a breeding group is also a way to raise fruit beetle grubs of your own instead of buying them in. You will find the other beetles I sell in the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/beetles-for-sale\"\u003ebeetles for sale\u003c\/a\u003e collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach order is bedded on damp substrate or moss in a ventilated tub, with a double-walled box around it, and goes out Monday to Thursday; in cold weather some orders also get a heat pack. My live arrival guarantee applies to every livestock order, Royal Mail Next Day and Tracked 24 alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"PostPods","offers":[{"title":"1 \/ Larvae L1-L3","offer_id":58119789379966,"sku":null,"price":3.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"5 \/ Larvae L1-L3","offer_id":58119789412734,"sku":null,"price":12.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"10 \/ Larvae L1-L3","offer_id":58119789445502,"sku":null,"price":22.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"1 \/ Beetle","offer_id":58119789478270,"sku":null,"price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 \/ Beetle","offer_id":58119789511038,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"10 \/ Beetle","offer_id":58119789543806,"sku":null,"price":47.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0759\/0707\/2294\/files\/sunbeetleforsale.jpg?v=1790621842","url":"https:\/\/postpods.co.uk\/products\/sun-beetles-pachnoda-marginata","provider":"PostPods","version":"1.0","type":"link"}