Beetle internetography: other blogs and websites worth watching

Due to me being always busy as fuck, I can't seem to find enough time to write all the content that I wish to write. Also because I want posts to be good it takes me a while to put them up. I notice that other bloggers deal with the same problems. Therefore I wish to sum up some nice European sources involving beetlebreeding. One can never read enough when it comes to this hobby :). Of course the owners of the following pages can always be contacted upon to inquire about available species.


Max' beetles as pets:

An experienced breeder based in the United Kingdom. Max has a nice record of breedings and keeps a wide array dynastidae, lucanidae and cetonidae. He even has some species which in Europe are considered rare, for example he recently offered Goliathus regius.
Max's page contains some good breeding instructions for different species. Also he discusses some topics which will be encountered by every beetlebreeder sometimes, but are not species specific. Think for example about how to deal with click-beetle larvae, wing deformations, collecting eggs,...
Last but not least he is very transparant when it comes to the cost of his beetles and shipping. No need to say he is a big inspiration for me.
Max also has a Flickr-account and a YouTube-account, on which you can find some good documentation and breeding tips. Bravo!

Find him on:
http://beetlesaspets.blogspot.com/

Beetlespace:

A page hosted by Frantisek Bacovsky, a Czech breeder. The pages show some real nostalgia, as it is already up since 1999. He started breeding beetles in 1991. Needless to say that Frantisek has some serious experience when it comes to beetlebreeding. The section "species" on his website shows all the species he has bred since he started breeding. Also some splendid wallpapers and a big gallery section can be found on his website. Great stuff!

Find him on:

Criando Escarabajos:

Anyone that speaks Spanish in here?! Let's be thankful for the existence of google translate :)
This Spanish breeder also uses blogspot as a medium. He breeds all kinds of beetles, but has been most passionate when it comes to reporting stag beetles, especially Dorcus species. The blog writes extensively about the conditions used for certain species. He reports both on succes and losses and documents his breeding processes in detail. This is something that , in my humble opinion, is not done enough today. I myself am guilty of it too. This blog forms an excellent example on how breedings should be documented. Very clear reporting, very advanced breedings. 

Find him on:

Flower-beetles

Another page comming from Czech Republic. The page is hosted by Petr Malec, a good friend of mine and highly experienced beetle breeder. Petr specializes in African cetonidae and has made several collecting trips to Africa. Sweet documentation on these travels can be found on his website. The website also has (in my opinion) the most comprehensive list of African species including habitat description, how to breed them, sexual dismorphisms etc. 


Find him on:
http://www.flower-beetles.com/

Coleopteracrypt: 

We should have more women in beetle breeding. Livia is a Belgium-based beetle breeder who has worked out a very original concept. Providing an alternative to wild caught beetle specimens, Livia integrates her captive-bred beetles in various artforms, going from frames to jewelry. All beetles have had a good life and have died naturally. No killing jars applied, this is guilt-free!
Livia has beetle larvae available once in a while.

Find her work on:

Beetle breeding Daniel Ambuehl

Probably one of the most well known beetlebreeders in Europe. Daniel, who lives in Switserland, has been breeding beetles for a long time. Since 2010 he started his YouTube-channel, which since then is one of the most accesible sources for beetlebreeding information. Daniel has worked on a great amount of species and has quite some equipment and space designated for it. Also he did some great work doing travelling across the world and documenting the beetle trade on different continents. For example some African collectors doing their job, beetle fighting in Thailand and contact with local Thai breeders. 
Some of the methods used by Daniel are a bit old-fashioned, but it can't be denied that this is one of the key persons in supporting the European beetlebreeding scene.

His Youtube-Channel can be accessed here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/danielambuehl1

This should keep many of you busy for a while. New and exciting content on European beetlebreeding comming soon!

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