Beetle Larva? ID

Hello! Found this guy under a log, nesting in some damp dirt in a forest. I think it is some sort of beetle larva, it reminds me of a mealworm but this thing is super bright. Any ideas?   Size is 25mm.

I personally believe it to be Tenebrio molitor. However this is a rough guess.

Found several of these larvae yesterday while looking for something else in rotten wood. Common name wire worm, family Elateridae.
This is a rather common beetle larva in this area with many types of species around. Not the best photo.
insect rod

Insect Rod wrote:Found several of these larvae yesterday while looking for something else in rotten wood. Common name wire worm, family Elateridae.
This is a rather common beetle larva in this area with many types of species around. Not the best photo.
insect rod

Cool! Thanks. I'm going to try and raise it.

Should raise good in slightly damp rotten wood.
insect rod

Let us know what species it turns into. May be a good idea to find 3 or 4 more to go with that one. They will live in old decayed forest wood, oak and even decayed pine trees that we have. Look for tunnels. You can take a hatchet and usually split the wood easy if it doesn`t already fall apart. Not unusual to find dozens in one general area.
insect rod

Insect Rod wrote:Let us know what species it turns into. May be a good idea to find 3 or 4 more to go with that one. They will live in old decayed forest wood, oak and even decayed pine trees that we have. Look for tunnels. You can take a hatchet and usually split the wood easy if it doesn`t already fall apart. Not unusual to find dozens in one general area.
insect rod

Sadly, it died a few hours ago. I'll try to find some more soon.

Nathant wrote:Hello! Found this guy under a log, nesting in some damp dirt in a forest. I think it is some sort of beetle larva, it reminds me of a mealworm but this thing is super bright. Any ideas?   Size is 25mm.

This is a Tenebrionid larvae, probably in the family Alleculinae. Most Tenebrionid larvae look very similar, however in my experience I've found that Alleculinae larva have sharply defined segments, very pale colored bodies and a tail segment that ends more sharply than other Tenebrionid larvae. Yours looks nearly mature, too bad it died. They are usually easy to rear on rotten wood and dog food.

Insect Rod wrote:

Could you get a dorsal shot of this larva? The head looks a bit too round for it to be an Elaterid, but that could just be the angle.

Hisserdude wrote:

Nathant wrote:Hello! Found this guy under a log, nesting in some damp dirt in a forest. I think it is some sort of beetle larva, it reminds me of a mealworm but this thing is super bright. Any ideas?   Size is 25mm.

This is a Tenebrionid larvae, probably in the family Alleculinae. Most Tenebrionid larvae look very similar, however in my experience I've found that Alleculinae larva have sharply defined segments, very pale colored bodies and a tail segment that ends more sharply than other Tenebrionid larvae. Yours looks nearly mature, too bad it died. They are usually easy to rear on rotten wood and dog food.

Hmmm well I have plenty of dog food! (guess why haha) I really want to keep a beetle species that isn't kept commonly like Tenebrio molitar (I keep them. I have 80 larva however it seems to be taking quite a while, none are pupating and it's been over a month and they are very big) so I think I'll try to catch some more of these guys, the larva stage looks really awesome!

Nathant wrote:
Hmmm well I have plenty of dog food! (guess why haha) I really want to keep a beetle species that isn't kept commonly like Tenebrio molitar (I keep them. I have 80 larva however it seems to be taking quite a while, none are pupating and it's been over a month and they are very big) so I think I'll try to catch some more of these guys, the larva stage looks really awesome!

Yeah, I love Tenebrionids, haven't gotten around to posting pictures yet, but I have some unique species. I once had a culture of Alleculines, probably a species of Hymenorus, however they fizzled out after a couple of generations. I think the adults like a very well ventilated cage like most other Tenebrionids, and they don't live too long.

The substrate should be moist rotten wood, and provided there is enough space, multiple larvae can be reared together and can even pupate in the same cage, (for most other Tenebrionids besides the feeder species larvae have to be kept separate to pupate). Make sure to keep the enclosure well ventilated for the adults, and offer dog food from time to time, (be sure to removes it after a couple of days once it molds).

Depending on the species I may want some eventually should you succeed at breeding them, especially if they end up being Androchirus erythropus.

If I get a chance I will post a dorsal photo. We have plenty around.
insect rod