Goliathus goliatus

Appearance

Pronotum(thoracic shield) is mainly black, with whitish longitudinal stripes, while elytra are usually dark russet brownLifecycle
From egg to beetle takes about 9 to 12 months depending on temperature and the adult beetles beetle will live for about three to four months

Housing

One pair of adult beetles can be housed in a plastic tank of about 30cm(L) x 20(W) x 60(H) .

Substrate

Substrate is made by mixing 80% peat or coir with 20% deciduous humous/leaf litter from your local woods (avoiding areas where fertilisers and weed killers etc are used ). The resultant mix should be moist not wet and should stay as a ball when cupped tightly in two hands but should not exude water when squeezed tightly
Place substrate mix in the tank to 50cm and push down very very firmly to pack it really tightly in the bottom, place 10cm more in and push down ,though not quite so firmly, then fill to a final substrate level of approx 30cm after the final mix is gently tamped down to get rid of air pockets.Place your branches etc for climbing on the top of the substrate and your set up is ready. they are very strong climbers and need a lot of space above the substrate, ideally in a netted cage

Temperature and humidity

The Beetles need a temperature of 24 to 28°C to mimic their normal life in the wild and benefit from a strong overhead light.

Food

Adult beetles eat tree sap which can be emulated using molasses or demerara sugar boiled in water and cooled, the resultant viscous liquid can be spooned ontp branches as food, they will also eat any kind of soft fruit, banana being a particularly favourite fruit.

Breeding

If you have a pair or more of beetles, they will often breed as soon as they are put together, males mating with different females. The females will burrow down into the substrate and will lay single eggs within the bottom 5 to 6cm of the substrate by compacting soil around the egg. The eggs will hatch and the small white grubs will start to feed on the humous within the substrate and move about. Unlike other fruit beetles, the grubs cannot live their life on humous in the substrate, they need to be removed and housded separately. you can sift through the substrate and collect the eggs / grubs which are likely to be at different stages, and the set up then can be remade for the adult beetles to continue laying

Keeping grubs

grubs should be housed separately as they are cannibalistic. Keep in a pot with a surface area approximately 3 times longer than the grub and the same in height....fill the tub with moist peat put in the grub and on a weekly basis feed it with as many Bakers moist dog food meat pellets as it will eat in a week. The pellet must be put at the bottom of the pot with the grub, and, at any sign of white mites, discard the whole substrate, brush off the grub and set up in new substrate
The grub will grow quickly to the size of your hand and when it starts to move around the top of its pot rather than the bottom, you need to put it into a much larger container with a substrate made up of a mix of 70% of moist peat with 30% playpit sand, with a netted top so that when the grub pupates, the mix will slowly dry out. After 3 months or so, when the substrate has completely dried out, drizzle water over the surface every day for several days until the new beetle emerges.......and start again