From what we've learned about incubating Nyctibora since then, it seems that their ooths prefer consistently high moisture and humidity, and don't even necessarily need much ventilation. This is pretty different from incubating oothecae of the more arboreal Nyctiboridae like Rochaina for example, but seems normal for Nyctiborids that lay their oothecae closer to the ground (or under it) like Nyctibora and Megaloblatta spp..
So, I have this ooth in a poorly ventilated deli cup with a thin layer of coco fiber substrate. The ooth is partially buried in the substrate, which I'm keeping moist. It's being kept at around 80-85F°, and based on what we know about incubating other Nyctibora spp., the incubation time should be around 6 months from when it was laid. Since this is a WC ooth, I have no idea when it was laid, so I could be waiting anywhere from 1-6 months. 😅
Here's hoping for a successful incubation, so that I can not only establish this species in the hobby, but so that I might actually identify them (I have suspicions it is one of two brachyapterous Nyctibora native to Central America, however I need to see an adult male to tell which it is).
My Triorophus sp. "Ector County, TX" have established themselves nicely, to the point where I can finally start offering them up for sale alongside the sp. "Ft. Stockton, TX". 😄 I'm pretty sure the two lines are the same species TBH, as the localities are quite close, however I can't know for sure without having an expert examine them.
I really love this genus, they are by far the easiest of the psammophile Tenebs I've ever worked with.
I don't believe I've ever posted about these before, but Summer 2024 I got some Byrsotria cabrerai from my buddy Brandon Maines, which have bred for me, but quite sparingly this whole time. Only now after a recent rehouse am I starting to get more regular reproduction from them, it seems this species wants consistently high air humidity, which for me is easiest to provide them by giving them only minimal ventilation.
I have them set up in a 2 gallon or so, minimally ventilated tub with a couple inches of coco fiber substrate, with some coco coir chunks and leaf litter mixed in. I'm keeping them humid, at around 80-85F°, and am feeding them dog food and apple slices.
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| Female |
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| Male |
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| Pair |
These are a pretty colorful Byrsotria species, and I am glad to see some more consistent reproduction from them! Here's hoping I'll have a big colony established soon! 🤞
Late last year I rehoused my Asiopus minimus "Gulf Shores, AL" to a fresh setup after they suffered a crash, seemingly due to a severe infestation of both Pyralis farinalis and Alphitobius diaperinus. Unfortunately despite my best efforts I was unable to save the Asiopus, and even after moved to a fresh setup they failed to breed and died off...
However, while digging around in their bin, I noticed that they were not the only species that established itself in there from Gulf Shores... evidently some Blapstinus fortis were also mixed in with the Asiopus, that I must have either missed or failed to recognize as a different species. There were far fewer of them in there than the Asiopus, maybe 6-8 individuals compared to the 30 or so Asiopus. So I chucked the B.fortis into my Gromphadorhina portentosa "1972 Cleveland Aquarium" bin, since I find micro darklings do well with hissers, as sort of a "Hail Mary".
Lo and behold, they bred and established themselves very nicely in that bin, and I now have another Blapstinus to add to my collection! 😄 These are pretty large for Blapstinus and a bit more rectangular in shape than most of the other members of the genus I've worked with.
I'm glad I was able to salvage these from the Asiopus minimus colony and establish a culture of them, quite unfortunate that the A.minimus failed but alas, that's just the way things go sometimes.
Last but not least, after my old culture of Porcellio expanus "White - Skirt" crashed due to a number of factors, Tennyson Kingsley was kind enough to trade me some back. 😄 These are also originally from Alan's stock, so same exact line thankfully.
This time I have them set up in a well ventilated 2-3 gallon bin with a thin layer of coco fiber and sand substrate (leftover substrate from a darkling beetle setup IIRC), topped with coco coir chunks, leaf litter and lots of bark. I'm keeping a third of the enclosure humid, the rest dry, and I'm keeping them at around 73-75F°. Whether it's the larger setup or cooler temps (both of which I'm finding are important for this species), they are thriving and breeding in a way my older colony never did, so seems I got their conditions figured out well now!
So glad these are thriving for me now in the way that the "Orange Skirt" line has, now I just need my "Witch's Potion" and "Autumnal Equinox" colonies to catch up to this level of productivity... 👀 😄
Anyways, that's gonna do it for this post, thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time! 😉
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