Jewel Stag Beetle (Lamprima adolphinae)

IMPORTANT: Live beetles cannot be released into non-native habitats under any circumstances.  Please contact me to re-home any unwanted non-native beetles.

Jewel Stag Beetles, otherwise known as Lamprima adolphinae, originate from Papua New Guinea.  However, our adult beetles and larvae are all captive bred in the United States.  One of the great things about these beetles are the varied colors that they can exhibit.  Green, blue, purple, pink, orange, yellow, and more are all found within the same species although male offspring tends to follow that of it's male parent color.

Jewel Stag Beetles are a great beginner species.  They are small beetles with males rarely exceeding 50mm and females generally in the 20mm +/- range.  What they lack in size they make up for in color and temperament.  Jewel stags are extremely colorful beetles that tend to be diurnal my my observations.  They can be keep communally though males can squabble occasionally.  These skirmishes are fairly benign though.

Breeding is also quite easy for Lamprima adolphinae.  They don't require large breeding enclosures or large larva containers.  I use 48 oz or larger containers for breeding.  Individual major Jewel stags can easily be raised in 16oz containers.  

Our beetles can be purchased as L1/2 larvae, L2/3 larvae, or as adults.  Please make sure you select the proper life stage in the checkout options.  Larvae will be shipped in a small amount of substrate that is suitable to sustain them for up to a week unless otherwise stated.  Please make sure you have the proper amount of substrate to transfer the larvae to upon arrival.  Jewel Stag Beetle larvae should be kept in stag flake soil.

Suggested substrate container sizes for Jewel Stag Beetles are:

• L1: 4 oz. container
• L2: 8 oz. container
• L3 females: 12 oz. container
• L3 males: 16 oz container

Adult Jewel Stag beetles can eat soft fruits such as banana, melons, peaches, etc.  Buying organic produce is a better option to avoid pesticides that can be found in fruit.  Also stay away from citrus fruits (too acidic) and watermelon as it's water content is too high to use as a regular food source.  The best choice though is probably beetle jelly since it is designed to provide beetles with the proper nutrients and with additional protein (helpful for breeding).