Cryptocephalus spurcus hatched

Sudden rainstorm today, which raised the indoor humidity so high I was struggling to breathe, and it apparently kicked some of the eggs out of dormancy. They're already feeding on the rotten Baccharis salicifolia leaves I've made for them.

Apparently one trick to making rotten leaves without mold is to force them underwater and keep them there for about a week, molds in my area do not appear to survive on plant litter when too wet (but can grow in the very small air bubbles that form underwater on said leaves).


Also: my suspicion that there was some similarly late-summer-active cryptocephaline in the hard chaparral was confirmed, I found some Exema on brickellbushes on the road leading to Chantry Flat. I did not keep them though because I have something coming up next month and can't risk it.

Exema eats live foliage as larvae but I wonder if there are any detritivorous late summer equivalents within reach of me.