Captive management of the Frégate Island giant tenebrionid beetle Polposipus herculeanus.

Phelsuma 13: 25-43.

Abstract:

The Frégate Island giant tenebriond beetle Polposipus herculeanus is a Critically Endangered species restricted to Frégate Island, Seychelles. The ex-situ conservation programme at the Zoological Society of London and the European Endangered Species Programme are described. Captive propagation started in 1996 and has been highly successful with the programme holding 980 adult beetles by the end of 2003. Reproductive data is described and the finding of pathological infections of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae is discussed.