Harvestmen, Earwigs, & Other Oddballs!

Man I am so behind on posting... 😂 Alan Jeon has sent me lots of bugs over the past several months, today I'll cover just one of the boxes he's sent.

Firstly, he sent me a trio of Metasiro sp. "Tuscaloosa Boat Ramp, AL". These are so-called "Mite Harvestmen", for obvious reasons; they are harvestmen, that look like mites. AFAIK no one has seriously attempted culturing these, I'm hoping I can have success in doing so. 

I have mine set up in a moderately ventilated enclosure with an inch or so of a coco fiber, coco chunk, sand and sphagnum moss mix. I'm keeping them humid and at around 75-80F°. I'm feeding them springtails, fish food and fruits (no idea what they're eating, but if I had to guess, the springtails).

So far there has been no reproduction, so either I have a unisex group, or they require some specific stimulus for reproduction (perhaps seasonal cues). I will try cooling them in the Fall, to see if a diapause helps get them breeding.

Here are some pics:

Such a unique type of harvestman, I hope I can get them breeding!

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Next up, yet another earwig species (this time a US native), Marava pulchella "AUM, AL". These are another colorful dwarf earwig, they seem less prolific than M.arachidis, but still rather easy to culture!

I have mine in a moderately ventilated setup with several inches of a sand and coco fiber mix, topped with bark pieces. I'm keeping them humid and at around 80F°. I'm offering dog food as the staple diet.

Here are some pictures of them:

Really loving keeping earwigs, they're so easy to set up and pretty low maintenance, I hope more people will get into them soon!

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Alan also sent me a group of Cubaris benitensis "Yuma, AZ". A neat US native, desert dwelling species, that's pretty similar to Venezillo arizonicus in terms of care. 

I've got them housed in a well ventilated enclosure with an inch of a sand and coco fiber mix, topped with bark hides and leaf litter. I'm keeping a third of the enclosure humid, the rest dry, and have them at around 75-80F°. I'm offering dog food as the supplemental food.

Here are some pictures of them:

They've already started breeding for me, very slowly. Looking forward to getting a large colony established!

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Lastly Alan also sent a group of large nymph Parcoblatta caudelli. I am curious as to whether or not this locality needs a diapause, because they see to have halted growth completely at the subadult stage... I guess we shall see. In any case, glad to have this species back in my collection!

Well, that does it for this post, big thanks to Alan for this and all other boxes he's sent me! Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time! 😉 

Offspring & Adults!

So, it seems Parcoblatta caudelli oothecae hatch pretty quickly, I've already got little nymphs of this species now! 😁 Very happy to have offspring of this unique Parcoblatta species, here are some pictures of them:

The adults are really freaking prolific too, I'm gonna have tons of these soon! Which is good, because the large nymphs/adults are actually the perfect sized prey to feed my picky rose hair tarantula, and the nymphs of this species don't climb or burrow, and it's not like she eats a lot, so these may be the ideal cricket-replacement for her...

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Also, I mentioned a few posts ago that my female Gyna centurio gave birth, well I finally got around to getting some pictures of the babies, most of which are now in the second instar!

Here they are:

Hopefully I can rear them to adulthood with no problems! 😊

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Now, I am very happy to announce that one of my Eurycotis improcera nymphs has molted into an adult female!! 😍 Man are the adults of this species beautiful! Pictures really don't do them justice, these are by far the nicest looking Eurycotis I have ever seen, I love the patterning on them!

Here are some pictures of the gal:

I really can't wait until more of them mature, hopefully they'll start breeding soon!

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Turns out, one of my Deropeltis sp. "Jinka" nymphs has reached maturity as well, and it's also a female! 😃 When I went to grab her, she sprayed a defensive fluid at me, which is something the nymphs have never done to me! (yet...).

The defensive fluid of this species is actually rather volatile compared to those of say, Eleodes, or Mastigoproctus, and actually stains skin that comes into contact with it, as it actually burns through the outer layer of skin I believe. It doesn't hurt to get sprayed, but the discoloration of the skin lasts a few days, washing your hands with soap and water does nothing.

When she calmed down and I went to get pictures of her on my hand, she began trying to eat my fingers, just like the nymph in this post did, and I didn't even have chick feed dust on my hands! 😆 Deropeltis really find me delicious! 😋

Here are some pictures of her:

Note how in the first two pictures, you can see the defensive fluid on my middle finger in it's liquid form, then in the last two pictures, the liquid has evaporated/been wiped off, and the discoloration of the affected skin is clearly visible.

Can't wait until some of the males start maturing, will be sure to snap some picture of them once they do!

Well, that's gonna do it for today, I hope everyone enjoyed, will see you all next post! 😉