Unfortunately, my velvet ants did not do well for me at all... I caught around 8 individuals, a mix of two species, the larger of the two I suspect were Dasymutilla californica (the ones I photographed in my recent post about velvet ants, which I misidentified as D.coccineohirta), and the much smaller species I found which I never photographed I suspect was actually Dasymutilla coccineohirta... I also found a cute Pseudomethoca species, which I did not bother catching or photographing.
Anyways, after a week in my care, at least 6 of them had died. 😢 A couple died due to dehydration, due to me not giving them a water bowl, but the rest seem to have starved, probably because I was only giving them fresh fruits for food. I had thought that would be enough, but apparently they must actually need nectar or artificial nectar to do well... So that sucks. 😣
I am very disheartened by this massive failure to keep these wasps alive for even a week, I released the two survivors I had left, and will not be keeping velvet ants again anytime soon...
My last jumping bristletail has died as well, so that's the complete end of that breeding project, still have no real idea how to culture that group of insects...
And sadly, my female Ceuthophilus gracilipes gracilipes female, Athena, has passed away... 😟 She lost function in her two front legs and simply couldn't move around anymore, so I had to euthanize her... Her remains were thrown into my small Trichorhina tomentosa colony, (started from stowaways in the substrate my Hormetica strumosa nymphs were sent in), where they were consumed rapidly.
Apparently the stress of the overheating during shipping was just too much for her to handle, and even molting to adulthood didn't save her... However, a friend of mine has had great success with breeding the adults he was sent, and will be sending me small nymphs soon, (which should handle shipping far better than subadults/adults do). So at least this update has a silver lining. 🙂
Well, that's gonna do it for this bummer of a post, had to be done though, as I like to be transparent with both my successes and failures on this blog, even when I fail with species considered "easy" to keep alive, like those velvet ants... Thanks for reading everyone, stay safe, and I'll see you all in the next post.
Showing posts with label Meinertellidae sp. "ID". Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meinertellidae sp. "ID". Show all posts
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Saturday, August 22, 2020
More Misc Updates!
Alrighty, got some more small updates for y'all, so let's jump in, starting with my Jumping Bristletails! (Meinertellidae sp. "ID"). 😄 Unfortunately that pun is the most lighthearted part of this update, which is rather gloomy...
So I ended up catching five of these things back in July, and unfortunately I only have one left... 😣 They just kept dying one after the other, and I'm honestly not sure why, they've been eating the food I've offered them, they have a moisture gradient, but seem to have no specific preference for their humidity levels, and I've been keeping them well ventilated and warm. Several of them molted, and none lost many scales at all, which was the main problem my group had back in 2014.
The only thing I can think of is that perhaps I kept this group in too small a container, and they actually killed each other due to territorial disputes... Other than that, I've got no clue why they died.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem like they bred or laid any eggs either, as I've not seen courting behaviors or any offspring, perhaps I only had males? That would lend more credibility to my territorial dispute theory... 🤔
Anyways, looks like this project was a big bust, maybe I'll try again one day, for now it looks like Bristletails will not be coming to the hobby anytime soon though... 😞
On a lighter note, my Myrmecophilus cf. manni hatchlings are all doing well, don't have a headcount yet, but everytime I open their jar it feels like there's one or two more in there! 😄 They're also feeding well too, as most look quite plump now, whereas they hatch out very skinny.
I recently added some squares of corrugated cardboard to the enclosure for the nymphs to hide in, to give them more surface area, so far they seem to love them. 😁
Unfortunately I believe all the adults are dead, as I've not seen them in a while, however I've also not seen any adults outside, so they probably just died of old age TBH. So not the most long lived little things, or the most prolific, or the fastest growing, as these hatchlings seem to be taking their sweet time to molt... But cute has to count for something I guess! 😂
I am happy to report that after refreshing their enclosure and replacing the substrate, my Bantua sp. "Namibia" have started giving birth again, found a new litter born last week! 😁
Here are a couple pics of the newborns, and a subadult female for the heck of it:
Hopefully there's more where those came from! 🤞
My Conibius cf. seriatus pupae have been eclosing, and I finally snapped some pictures of some teneral adults!
So it only takes around a week or so for the pupae to eclose, pretty quick! Not surprising considering the larvae only took a few weeks to develop completely. 😄 If they were a little more prolific, they'd make for some great micro-feeders!
Lastly, I wanted to give an update on my silverfish, Lepisma saccharina. I decided to move their jar downstairs where it's cooler, since I had another batch of babies hatch out, and it looks like most of them died during the recent heat wave we had... 😑The adults were all fine thankfully. The few nymphs that survived are doing great now that I've moved them to a cooler location though, and are actually molting and growing, finally! 😂 Now hopefully with the next batch of offspring my adults produce I can get the ball rolling on getting a proper colony established! 😅
Anyways, that's gonna do it for this jam packed update post, hope y'all enjoyed, thanks for reading, stay safe, and I'll see you next time! 😉
So I ended up catching five of these things back in July, and unfortunately I only have one left... 😣 They just kept dying one after the other, and I'm honestly not sure why, they've been eating the food I've offered them, they have a moisture gradient, but seem to have no specific preference for their humidity levels, and I've been keeping them well ventilated and warm. Several of them molted, and none lost many scales at all, which was the main problem my group had back in 2014.
The only thing I can think of is that perhaps I kept this group in too small a container, and they actually killed each other due to territorial disputes... Other than that, I've got no clue why they died.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem like they bred or laid any eggs either, as I've not seen courting behaviors or any offspring, perhaps I only had males? That would lend more credibility to my territorial dispute theory... 🤔
Anyways, looks like this project was a big bust, maybe I'll try again one day, for now it looks like Bristletails will not be coming to the hobby anytime soon though... 😞
On a lighter note, my Myrmecophilus cf. manni hatchlings are all doing well, don't have a headcount yet, but everytime I open their jar it feels like there's one or two more in there! 😄 They're also feeding well too, as most look quite plump now, whereas they hatch out very skinny.
I recently added some squares of corrugated cardboard to the enclosure for the nymphs to hide in, to give them more surface area, so far they seem to love them. 😁
Unfortunately I believe all the adults are dead, as I've not seen them in a while, however I've also not seen any adults outside, so they probably just died of old age TBH. So not the most long lived little things, or the most prolific, or the fastest growing, as these hatchlings seem to be taking their sweet time to molt... But cute has to count for something I guess! 😂
I am happy to report that after refreshing their enclosure and replacing the substrate, my Bantua sp. "Namibia" have started giving birth again, found a new litter born last week! 😁
Here are a couple pics of the newborns, and a subadult female for the heck of it:
My Conibius cf. seriatus pupae have been eclosing, and I finally snapped some pictures of some teneral adults!
 |
| Here's one an hour or two after eclosing |
 |
| And here's one a few days after eclosing |
Lastly, I wanted to give an update on my silverfish, Lepisma saccharina. I decided to move their jar downstairs where it's cooler, since I had another batch of babies hatch out, and it looks like most of them died during the recent heat wave we had... 😑The adults were all fine thankfully. The few nymphs that survived are doing great now that I've moved them to a cooler location though, and are actually molting and growing, finally! 😂 Now hopefully with the next batch of offspring my adults produce I can get the ball rolling on getting a proper colony established! 😅
Anyways, that's gonna do it for this jam packed update post, hope y'all enjoyed, thanks for reading, stay safe, and I'll see you next time! 😉
Thursday, July 2, 2020
New Bristletails & a Silverfish Update!
These past couple days I've been out looking for bugs out in the old field behind my housing development, and I found two individuals of an archaic insect order which I hope to breed, the somewhat obscure bristletails! 😁
Bristletails are a primitive type of insect in the order Archaeognatha, (alternatively known as Microcoryphia), they are relatively poorly known and poorly studied, and honestly a lot of people who see them may just mistake them for silverfish at a glance. However, unlike silverfish, bristletails can actually jump using their elongate tails in a fashion similar to springtails, which is why some people call them "jumping bristletails". 😄
Also, very interestingly, and I literally just learned this, but apparently bristletails are unique among insects in that they continue to molt past adulthood, and tend to mate and breed once every instar afterwards. 😮 Some species may have a lifespan up to four years, though apparently two of those may be spent as nymphs, (all depending on the species, temps, food availability, etc.). Overall they are quite interesting little creatures, and I hope to be able to keep and breed them successfully, if only to help further their presence in the hobby, which has been essentially nonexistent thus far. 😅
Now, since they are poorly studied, going about and finding an ID can be very tricky... I've determined the species I am currently working with is something in the family Meinertellidae, but that's about it. So far I have found two out in the field next to a dead locust tree, under bark pieces that had fallen onto the dead grass besides it. Would be nice if they were a pair, but I'll keep looking for more nonetheless.
In the past, I have found what I believe was this exact same species, back when I went camping in 2014, in a similar scrubland habitat. I remember catching a bunch and then throwing them in with some Eleodes I kept back then, however they did not last long at all, whether it was because of being kept with the Eleodes, or because my setup for them was incorrect overall, I do not know.
I am keeping mine in a small deli cup with a cm of sandy, clay based substrate from where I collected them, (sterilized of course), with some old cork board pieces and a piece of bark for hides. I'll be keeping half the enclosure humid, the other half dry, and will offer chick feed, artificial pollen, oats and fruits for food. They are supposedly detritivores, so I hope they won't be too picky.
Here are some pictures of one, much like silverfish they are covered in fine scales, which make it hard for my camera to focus on them, this is the best I could do:
Definitely an interesting order of insects, I hope I can breed these successfully and maybe get more people interested in these odd critters! 😊
As for my silverfish, Lepisma saccharina, I actually found babies in their enclosure last week! 😃 Unfortunately though it seems several of said babies have died due to mold outbreaks in the enclosure, which have been running rampant for the entirety of my time keeping these things... 😐 I recently added some springtails and oribatid mites to their enclosure, which will hopefully start breeding soon and keep the dang mold in check... But at least the adults are doing well, and I have no doubt they'll keep on breeding for me, with the rest of their offspring hopefully being easy to rear when the enclosure isn't consumed by mold... 🙃
Anyways, that's it for this post, I hope you all enjoyed, thanks for reading, stay safe, and I'll see everyone next time! 😉
Bristletails are a primitive type of insect in the order Archaeognatha, (alternatively known as Microcoryphia), they are relatively poorly known and poorly studied, and honestly a lot of people who see them may just mistake them for silverfish at a glance. However, unlike silverfish, bristletails can actually jump using their elongate tails in a fashion similar to springtails, which is why some people call them "jumping bristletails". 😄
Also, very interestingly, and I literally just learned this, but apparently bristletails are unique among insects in that they continue to molt past adulthood, and tend to mate and breed once every instar afterwards. 😮 Some species may have a lifespan up to four years, though apparently two of those may be spent as nymphs, (all depending on the species, temps, food availability, etc.). Overall they are quite interesting little creatures, and I hope to be able to keep and breed them successfully, if only to help further their presence in the hobby, which has been essentially nonexistent thus far. 😅
Now, since they are poorly studied, going about and finding an ID can be very tricky... I've determined the species I am currently working with is something in the family Meinertellidae, but that's about it. So far I have found two out in the field next to a dead locust tree, under bark pieces that had fallen onto the dead grass besides it. Would be nice if they were a pair, but I'll keep looking for more nonetheless.
In the past, I have found what I believe was this exact same species, back when I went camping in 2014, in a similar scrubland habitat. I remember catching a bunch and then throwing them in with some Eleodes I kept back then, however they did not last long at all, whether it was because of being kept with the Eleodes, or because my setup for them was incorrect overall, I do not know.
I am keeping mine in a small deli cup with a cm of sandy, clay based substrate from where I collected them, (sterilized of course), with some old cork board pieces and a piece of bark for hides. I'll be keeping half the enclosure humid, the other half dry, and will offer chick feed, artificial pollen, oats and fruits for food. They are supposedly detritivores, so I hope they won't be too picky.
Here are some pictures of one, much like silverfish they are covered in fine scales, which make it hard for my camera to focus on them, this is the best I could do:
Definitely an interesting order of insects, I hope I can breed these successfully and maybe get more people interested in these odd critters! 😊
As for my silverfish, Lepisma saccharina, I actually found babies in their enclosure last week! 😃 Unfortunately though it seems several of said babies have died due to mold outbreaks in the enclosure, which have been running rampant for the entirety of my time keeping these things... 😐 I recently added some springtails and oribatid mites to their enclosure, which will hopefully start breeding soon and keep the dang mold in check... But at least the adults are doing well, and I have no doubt they'll keep on breeding for me, with the rest of their offspring hopefully being easy to rear when the enclosure isn't consumed by mold... 🙃
Anyways, that's it for this post, I hope you all enjoyed, thanks for reading, stay safe, and I'll see everyone next time! 😉
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