Last August, my son’s pet beetles had a hot night or two while we were sleeping and left a few larvae behind for us before they left this world.
I buried those larvae in fresh dirt at the end of the summer and unearthed them for the first time today to refresh their nutrient bed (soil). Boy was I surprised to see how big they had gotten. This one in the picture is the runt of the family. The largest one was twice as big.
This is our first time actually raising beetles from conception. Until now, we’ve always either bought them or received them from friends. I’m excited to see how this process unfolds over the next two or three months. 
Seriously!! I feel so ignorant! I never knew people raised beetles. Are they pets, then?
I am very curious and would like to know more about it.
As an aside- heck no!! Not in my house! LOL
!tip
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Yeah, they’re summer pets. A lot of kids over here, especially boys, raise beetles in Japan. Sometimes they have them fight. Sometimes they trade them. In our house, we just look at them and sometimes pick them up. My wife doesn’t want them out of the cage though, so that’s where they stay.
We often keep a preying mantis or two in the summer as well. Catching crickets and grasshoppers for them to eat becomes part of the daily routine;-)
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Oh!! Wow. I could see my brothers doing that. It is funny now as I just came across a picture of one of my girls holding a giant beetle they found and she had wanted to keep it. (Oh, no!!!) I had forgotten that incident, but, found it in pictures last night.
We did keep preying mantis pets in the summer until they put out an ootheca, which we kept until the bazillion babies started hatching.
Yikes! They were tiny and started eating each other. Thanks for the explanation. Interesting an I didn't know it. Isn't nature so cool??
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Here’s a picture of our beetle from last year. It was pretty aggressive. I’ve never seen one act like this one before, but that made it a little more exciting to keep as a pet.
Fortunately, we haven’t had that preying mantis experience yet. Watching them eat crickets, etc. is pretty fascinating, though. It’s amazing to see what some insects can endure.
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Look at the size of that thing! Oh, my!!
Preying mantis are pretty cool and there are many sites that sell the eggs so you can watch them hatch. Another amazing experience. They can be quite friendly and handled in captivity. I hope you try one sometime. I think your son may enjoy it, although, as a kid, that beetle looks uber cool. :)
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I’ll look into that. Thanks!
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Just look for praying mantis kits. I saw some from China if you cannot find them locally.
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Its a Very Interesting creature. You and your son indeed have a passion of raising beetles. Its always good to have some pets to care about. Have you heard of the Utopian Indiegogo Campaign where Utopian is giving out a very great reward to steemians who support it's campaign by buying the "steemian Secret Bundle." I have created a video clip and posted it on my steemit blog. I hope you find it valuable.
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I haven’t heard of that campaign. Thanks for letting me know.
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I saw something like that in the movie Captive State. Be careful, the legislators might be monitoring you through this hobby ;-)
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I don’t know that movie. I’ll have to check the reference.
These things remind me of the movie Alien. If they were ten feet long, they’d be terrifying.
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It's a new movie. More political allegory/thriller than "alien" movie, though the aliens are pretty well done. My wife fell asleep during it, but I found it interesting with a cool twist at the end.
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I’ll see if I can find it over here.
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i have been hearing about these beetles being a thing in Japan, what do they cost over there?
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They have a few varieties, so the cost can vary depending on their size and rarity. The typical “Kabuto” and “Kuwagata” beetles can usually be bought for $2 or $3. Sometimes, they go for a lot more, though. Last year, I bought two Atlas beetles, which aren’t native to Japan, for $5 each. I’ve heard of people selling them and buying them for as much as $100, but I’ve never seen them at pet stores selling for that much. Honestly, I don’t really know much about it. Most of what I know and hear comes from my brother in law. He’s really into these things.
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good
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Wow.. nice work!
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Thanks. They’re getting bigger and bigger.
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I have never heard of raising beetles. Is it pretty popular over there??
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It’s really popular over here. For kids who live closer to nature, I think they go into the woods and fields and catch beetles to bring home and raise, but for people who live in cities, you have to either buy them at a pet store or mate them and raise them.
Pokémon was actually born out of the creator’s affection for collecting bugs and beetles.
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