Purple haze....

[trehopr1]

The following is a pair of Psalidognathus friendli from Ecuador.
I've posted them due to their unusual all purple color throughout.
I have seen this species sold in shades of green, greenish-blue, red,
gold-ish, black, and various other color combinations of these colors
but, have really never seen it in purple. Perhaps, it is unusual for 
the species. Not sure. Both were collected in 1971.
I recently opted to re-spread both as their legs and antennae had 
been closely pinned tightly against their bodies presumably to save
space.

[trehopr1]

The male is quite a bit larger overall and
has much more heavily built mandibles.
This species is quite variable in color as beetles
go and is nearly as primeval looking a beast
as Macrodontia.
Judging by their appearance they no doubt
move quickly on their long legs and probably
have a nasty disposition when threatened.

[ciervo]

Plenty of purple ones out there.
They are quick indeed, scurrying around in the tropical heat.

[Peik]

wow!

Truly splendid beetles! What is the most important for the price of these, the colour of the size?


regards
Peik

[trehopr1]

In my humble opinion, at least as regards the males (size) matters most; with color running a very close second. Large males of this species are not seemingly as prevalent in the hobby as years ago. There seems to be lots of smaller and medium sized ones. So of coarse, when large males come up they are heavily bid on. Color is still quite important and a small to medium sized male with a really bold (popping) color or one with a couple of colors present (bi-color); can fetch some hefty pricing as well.