First off, I got a good number of Pseudoglomeris magnifica "Kunming, Yunnan - Copper". Now some of you might remember, I worked with similar strain from an unknown locality in China, of the same "Chinese Copper/Gold" phenotype. However, that colony ended up being infected with an entomophagous fungus, and never really went anywhere as a result. Now I've got another chance, with CB nymphs from a strain with locality info no less! 😁
I've got them set up in a very well ventilated enclosure, with lots of vertically slanted cottonwood bark hides. Keeping one third of the substrate humid the rest dry, and will feed them dog food, pollen, and fresh fruits. I'm keeping them at around 75-80F° for now, but at the end of the month I'll drop the temperatures for these and my aerea (along with whatever other temperate Chinese species I have by then) to around 65-70F° for their needed winter diapause.
Here are some pictures of the nymphs:
Such a pretty phenotype, hopefully these will stick around in culture unlike the last couple "Copper/Gold" strains that entered the US and died out after a generation (which we now know was likely due to no one offering them a winter diapause). They're rather hardy and prolific if kept properly. 😄
Next up, one of the most exciting additions to the hobby in a while IMO, Eucorydia westwoodi from Yunnan! These beauties are not only large for a Eucorydia, but also relatively long lived, and super colorful to boot! 😍 One of the rarest and most coveted Eucorydia in culture, which will hopefully be well established in the hobby here within a few years. 😁
While the nymphs of this species are brown and fuzzy like the rest of the genus, the adults sport bright orange wings with ornate, metallic blue markings, with adults often having a little "heart" shaped pattern in the middle of their wings. 😊 Their pronotums are also metallic blue, overall a very attractive cockroach.
I have mine set up like the rest of my Eucorydia, in a well ventilated setup with an inch or so of coconut fiber as the substrate, topped with leaf litter. Some half buried toilet paper rolls serve as hiding places (in addition to the substrate itself), and I'm keeping a third of the substrate moist, the rest dry. I'm keeping them at around 75-80F° for now, but since this strain hails from Yunnan, China, they will be given a mild winter diapause (65F° or so) relatively soon. For food I'm offering dog food, pollen, and fresh fruits.
Here is a photo that my buddy Martinho gave me permission to use of his adults, so y'all can get an idea of what this species looks like when mature. Followed by my own photos of the nymphs I got:
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| ©TheWildMartin |
I'm SO looking forward to seeing adults in person, hopeful these will become established in the US hobby! 😁
I also got 8 more Eucorydia linglong to bolster my existing colony (which until now consisted of approximately 10-12 nymphs), so I should have a great next generation. 😁
And he also sent me some more Polyphaga plancyi ooths, which should help bolster my numbers for sure whenever they hatch. 😄
Well, that does for this post, HUGE thanks to my friend for helping me grow my collection, and grow the US hobby as a whole. 😁 As a side note, if you haven't already, you should consider join the "Roach Guild" sever over on discord, it's a fun place for roach enthusiasts to chat.
Hope everyone enjoyed, thanks for reading, stay safe, and I'll see you all next time! 😉
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