Rhinoceros and stag beetles: Making kinshi bottles from fungi bags

In Taiwan , beetle breeders use kinshi bottles , fungi bags and fungi bricks to feed stag beetles and even rhinoceros beetles .

The contents of the three products all consist of wood flakes and fungi mycelium , the major difference of them is the volumes , other differences such as fungi species , wood kinds , additives , humidity and grain sizes may be caused by different brands and manufacturers .

In general , kinshi bottles have higher decayed degrees than fermented wood flakes , but it is not always like this , if i want it to come true , i must check something first .

In my experiences , kinshi bottles will undergo three different stages in their lifespan .

The three stages all relate to a kinshi bottle's wood flakes and mycelium status .

At the 1st stage , the fungi mycelium have not spread to all the wood flakes inside the bottle , so the kinshi bottle is not full white in color .

At this moment , the wood flakes is dark brown and hard in texture .

At the 2nd stage , the fungi mycelium colonize all the wood flakes inside the bottle , as time goes on , the decayed degree of the wood flakes will be rise gradually .

Finally , the color of the wood flakes will be changed from dark brown to pale yellow , signifying that the kinshi bottle is suitable to be used to rear larvae .

At the 3rd stage , the fungi mycelium are rotten , i can't see filaments anymore .

At this moment , the texture of the wood flakes is soft and similar to dirt .

Using the 1st or 3rd stage kinshi bottles to rear larvae is always failed , eventually , the larvae will become minor adults or die in the bottle .

For me , the manufacture date of a kinshi bottle is the most important thing which i can use to estimate that the kinshi bottle is or not worth to buy .

If the boss does not know the manufacture date either , i will try to identify that the kinshi bottle stays in which stage . Or to buy the non full white kinshi bottles as the spare .

Once the mycelium spread to all the wood flakes inside the bottle , they still need time to decompose the lignins , so i will wait for a while before using the bottle .

I prefer to use fungi bags rather than kinshi bottles , because fungi bags allow me to adjust something about rearing , if i don't want to do that , i can use the fungi bags directly .

When using fungi bags or fungi bricks , i usually tend to remake them , thus , i can put something to aid the fungi growing well and portion out the fungi lump in the prepared jars .

Besides , the water distribution of the fungi lump also can be averaged by crushing the lump and stirring the wood flakes before topping up the jars .

If the fungi bags are fresh , the mycelium will be strong and not afraid molds to compete with them , finally , all the jars will be white in a few days .

In order to ensure the successful ratio , i will disinfect my hands and tools with alcohol before touching the fungi bags , then , placing the finished jars in somewhere at 20 ~ 25 degrees Celsius . (The most of molds like the environment which is warm and moist .)

Notice that fungi growth needs oxygen especially in the expanded period , so i prefer to poke some ventilation holes on the lids and cover the jars incompletely .

For fermented wood flakes , the dark brown color means that it has higher decayed degree , that completely different from kinshi bottles , so i must choose the right substrate with the right decayed degree to rear the right larvae .

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