We started with several cocoons of this species from another breeder. There has been very little research conducted into how to care for them in captivity and even less regarding how to breed them. The adults of these beetles feed on the Kudzu vine where they also lay their eggs. The larvae then live inside the vines, eating the stems from the inside and eventually making their cocoons inside the thickest woody parts of the vine.

 

We had heard of a trial where adults had been fed on sweet potato vines instead so we tried the same and have kept our adults alive for six months so far.

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One of the challenges is that the beetles require a high humidity in order to mate and reproduce. Initially we set up the terrarium with a high humidity and witnessed lots of mating, however the sweet potato plants couldn't survive in such a humid environment so we had to reduce the humidity in order to keep the food plant alive.

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To date we have not found any eggs or larvae, but the adults are still going strong and enjoy additional soft fruits and beetle jelly.