A very active Darkling beetle species found in large numbers across Northern Africa. There are many species in the Pimelia genus and most of them are rather difficult to tell apart. Our stock was sold to us as Pimelia arabica but we suspect that some of the smaller adults may be Pimelia angulata instead which has a slightly different body shape and quite different underside.

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We keep all our Darkling beetles together in a large desert themed fish tank with bright LED strip light, various cacti, larva rocks and a mix of four different sands and soils.

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In June 2026 we noticed our first egg on the surface of the substrate. After a quick look I found a further 11 eggs. These were all removed from the tank as this desert dwelling species are opportunity feeders and will eat almost anything they find. I suspect the larvae may also be cannibalistic in their search for food so all the eggs were housed individually. 

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All the eggs were placed in a heated cabinet at around 30 degrees. The eggs of other species of Darkling beetle require an environment with higher humidity which may simulate the seasonal changes in the wild. We tried both humid and dry housing which resulted in 80% mortality in the humid environment and 0% mortality in the dry environment, so that question was answered. Within a week in the dry environment they began hatching into tiny larvae and from here we had to establish an appropriate diet for them. Based on their natural environment I decided to opt for a mix of decaying and live organic material which seems to be working well so far.

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I was even lucky enough to witness one larvae emerging from it's egg! After two months of this experiment we have collected 85 eggs and hatched 10 of them into larvae. All the larvae have survived thus far and are growing well.