Trogidae - Mating Habits and Life Cycle

Mating Habits and Life Cycle

During decomposition of a carcass, the beetles will leave their nest to feed on the carrion. As the last succession of insects to appear on the carcass, both larvae and adults can be found feeding on the dry remains. At the site of the carcass, an impregnated female will dig small, vertical columns underneath the carcass to lay her eggs allowing the larvae to locate food after hatching.

Upon maturation of the larvae (approximately 6–8 weeks), females and males will mate. The male will sense odor cues from the female about her fertility. The male will mount the female and begin copulation. Copulation will be ended by the male. Males will tend to mate 6-7 times in their life span. Competition between the males for the female occurs occasionally as well as intra-sexual copulation between males. Males and females are polygamous.

There is little known about the life cycle of the Trogidae specifically. Their life cycles are very similar to the other genera of Scarabaeoidea (i.e. Passalidae and Lucanidae). Trogidae are holometabolous and usually have 3-5 instars. After impregnation of the female by the male, the female will lay the eggs and the larvae will hatch after an unknown amount of time. The larvae will usually molt twice growing and maturing until pupation. After pupation, the exoskeleton is finally formed and further growth will cease.