Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Awesome New Orthopterans & Roaches!

Kyle's Crazy September Package Series Pt. 2/4
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Onto the non-beetle inverts I got from Kyle in this box, starting with some new camel crickets, Ceuthophilus chiricahuae! 😁 It's been a while since I got the chance to work with a new camel cricket species, this particular one hails from AZ and is apparently limited to the Chiricahua Mountains. 
They're a very leggy species, clearly mainly cave/rocky outcropping dwellers, not quite as robust and ground dwelling as C.agassizii for example. They've proven easy to breed for Kyle thus far thankfully, and should make for a nice new addition to the hobby!

I've got my group of nymphs housed in a moderately ventilated 1 gallon jar with lots of curved, vertically slanted bark, and and some toilet paper rolls as hides. I'm keeping them humid and at around 74F°. I'll be feeding them primarily dog food, along with the occasional fruits and veggies.

Here are a few pictures of the nymphs:





Looking forward to seeing adults of this species, and seeing just how large they are compared to my other two Ceuthophilus.

Next up, Kyle sent me two ooths and an adult female of Euthlastoblatta sp. "Everglades"! Now, these may just be a previously unrecorded population of E.diaphana, but we'll see how the nymphs look compared to that species, when I eventually get nymphs hatching out that is. 😄

I've got her housed in a well ventilated deli cup with a thin layer of coconut fiber as the substrate, kept humid. There's leaf litter, bits of eggcrate and bark for hides, and I'm feeding her dog food and fruits. Keeping the enclosure at around 75-80F°.

Here are some pictures of the adult female:





If these end up NOT being E.diaphana, that'd be exciting, not only would it be a new species for culture, but they could potentially prove to be a new species, period. 😁 Or at the very least, a Euthlastoblatta adventive to FL that's not yet been formally recorded there. Hopefully this female will produce lots of offspring for me, fingers crossed! 🤞

And last but not least, Kyle sent me a couple nymph pairs of Tafalisca eleuthera, AKA "Silent Bush Crickets" (or as Kyle likes to call them, "Florida False Wetas"). These things are SO cool, perhaps some of my favorite Orthopterans in US culture to date. It's a large, arboreal species that can climb smooth surfaces, they're easy to breed, females will oviposit in damp coco fiber substrate with no issues. All life stages feed well on a staple diet of dog/cat/fish food, which you can supplement with the occasional bit of fruit/veggie matter (they'll also take down weak/soft bodied invertebrates). They're communal, don't make noise, and are also relatively calm when handled. Overall, an amazing US native Orthopteran, one I'm really glad has made it into culture! 😁

I've got mine housed in a moderately ventilated container with an inch or so of coconut fiber substrate, which I'm keeping humid. They've got vertical bark hides slanted against each other, and I'm feeding them dog food, fruits, and the occasional prekilled invertebrate.

Here are some pics of a large female nymph, while she's eating an incapacitated, but alive adult male Balta:














Such a neat species in terms of morphology, I can't wait to see adults in person! 😁 Hopefully they'll grow well for me, they're certainly eating a lot!

Well, that does it for this post, thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, stay safe, and I'll see you all next time! 😉

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