BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

My grandma has a fig tree in her back yard that is just crawling with these huge beetles that are destroying the figs. I caught a couple and brought them home to identify them for her as well as for my own curiosity. They are no doubt Cotinis mutabilis and for some reason I can't find any information about dangers with feeding and this is the first year we've seen any this far north in California so I've had no experience with them.

I've fed both my skink and my Tokays several of the common ten-lined junebugs (Polyphylla decemlineata) with an enthusiastic response, but I'm not entirely sure if these green beetles are just as safe. They have a somewhat bitter smell unlike the ten-lined which have no smell and both our dogs and cat refuse to eat it (but are content to chase it around for hours).

I understand that there's no real reason to feed unknown insects to my lizards over their usual diet, but if they pose no threat if eaten, then I could prevent my grandma from having to use pesticides on her figs while having my lizard's protein source covered for months! I'm also considering keeping a colony inside of a spare cage and harvesting the grubs next year (the grubs I have read about and they are one of the best feeder worms apparently) but that could be too much work to get results.

Advice/guidance/information would be wonderful.

If the grubs are safe to feed I can't think of why the beetles wouldn't be. That's not to say they'd be eaten (superworm beetles are safe, but often hated because of the taste/smell for example). So I can't think of why you couldn't try one, but I'm not an authority, so definitely wait until you get more informative replies.

Also, could you send an e-mail to maybe a vet and/or an entomology department of a university asking if there's any known dangers of ingesting these beetles?

if i were you I'd set them up to lay eggs. hey are likely safe bu very crunchy.

I bet people(myself included) would be interested in grubs. I've been meaning to catch a few to culture myself.

Thanks for the info and advice guys, I ended up going back and catching a few more, but unfortunately they seemed to have thinned out and I only came home with 6. Adalon ate 3 yesterday and seemed to enjoy chasing them around when they fly lol.

Haha great! I say the next few you get you set them up in a container over compost and feed overripe fruit/crested gecko diet.

Their are lots flying around here, but seldom do they come low enough to be caught.