Misc Updates & Pictures

My Euthlastoblatta abortiva colony is absolutely thriving, it seems to be a very sturdy and hardy species, which are amazing qualities for any Pseudophyllodromid, let alone one as pretty as this! 😄 

Took a couple pictures of the colony swarming a piece of apple:

Really love this species, I just wish they were more appreciated in the hobby... 

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My Yuukianura aphoruroides have also been thriving, I actually have two separate cultures going now. Interestingly, they do not seem to mind Stratiolaelaps scimitus in their colonies at all, and if said mites actually eat any of them, the springtails seem to breed fast enough to not be hampered by this at all. Really though it seems like once they wiped the fungus gnats out of the deli cups, the S.scimitus have been dwindling in numbers, so it seems to me like for whatever reason, they Yuukianura just aren't very palatable to them. 🤔 Just something interesting I figured I'd mention.

Here are some pictures of a group swarming some oatmeal:

Such vibrantly colored springtails, now I really wanna try the Lobella sp. "Thailand Red"...

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My Tagaloblatta sp. "Okinawa" colony has exploded, which is great, but upon closer examination I've happened upon something interesting... Some adults in the culture are microapterous, and some are macroapterous. I thought at first this was sex linked, with the females being microapterous, and males macroapterous... And then I found these:

Bow-chicka-bow-wow

Yes, that is a mating pair of microapterous adults. These are definitely Tagaloblatta, the only currently described species in the genus (from the Philippines) is also microapterous in both sexes.

Now, some genera, like Compsodes and Byrsotria, have variable wing length in males, with both macroapterous and brachyapterous males popping up in the same populations. I thought maybe something like that was happening with the males of this culture. And then I found female macroapterous individuals. 🙃 Here's one actually laying an ooth:

So, what does this mean? Well, it could be that both sexes of this Tagaloblatta species have wildly variable wing length. OR, somehow, two completely different species were collected together, have been persisting in the same colonies for a few years now in the EU (and now US) hobby. The nymphs and ooths mostly look the same to me, so it's hard to tell...

But, I've isolated some of the fully winged adults, and will also isolate some of the microapterous ones too. If both colonies produce mixed wing length adults in the next generation, we'll know it's the same species. But if both cultures only produce same looking adults in each colony, we'll know it's two different species. Personally, I'm leaning towards the latter considering the entire morphology of the macroapterous adults is quite different from that of the microapterous ones, ignoring the wing length.

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

New Roaches!

Boy oh boy have I been slacking on posting... 😆 Lots of things have happened since my last post, I've moved houses and now have my own room, which with the aid of shelves, a space heater (and soon a humidifier) I've turned into a hot house for my bugs (not THAT hot, only 85F° or so, with the floor being more like 75F° or so).

That means no more heat cables, which means enclosures will dry out slower (especially when the humidifier is set up), which means I can go longer between misting enclosures. Plus having everything on proper shelves now and not stacked so precariously in a closet or corner of a room or something makes doing maintenance and getting to certain setups SO much faster and easier. Plus I just have more room in general for more bugs, which is great, because I've been getting lots of new bugs... 🤣 

Speaking of which, let's get to the meat of this post. I got a package of roaches a couple months ago, almost all of which are brand new to the US hobby.

First off, I got a group of Hemiblabera granulata "Guadeloupe", which is now the third species of Hemiblabera in the US hobby. 😃 This species is smaller than the common H.roseni, but is otherwise quite similar in appearance, but darker overall and more matte and granulated in texture. This species is new to culture period, only imported from Guadeloupe into France a couple years ago IIRC, so I'm glad they're already in the US hobby. Care seems to be standard for Hemiblabera, and they are quite hardy and prolific, so I'm sure they'll be a hobby staple in no time.

I've got my group set up in a moderately ventilated container with a couple inches of coco fiber as the substrate, topped with a bit of leaf litter. I'm keeping them humid, warm (80F° or so), and feeding dog food and fruits. Doesn't get much simpler than keeping Hemiblabera lol.

Here are some pictures of an adult pair:

Male

Male (L) & Female (R)

Female

Hoping my group breeds for me, already loving this simplistic but cute new addition to culture.

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Next up, Periplaneta brunnea "EU Hobby Stock". So these aren't new to the US hobby per say lol, but cultures of this species here have nearly gone extinct due to random crashes, and while they're now on the up and up again, I figured I'd get some of the EU hobby line to see if they're more robust.

I've never seen this species in person before, and while they may seem unassuming from photos (especially adults), I gotta say the nymphs of this species are absolutely beautiful. 😍 A very nice array of patterning and different shades of browns makes these the prettiest Periplaneta nymphs I've ever seen in person, and they're one of the least "pesty" Periplaneta (no way these can set up shop inside your house), so definitely a great addition to any Blattodea enthusiast's collection IMO, especially those that like the more roachy looking spp..

I've got my culture set up in a moderately ventilated container with a thin layer of coconut fiber substrate, topped with eggcrate and cardboard rolls for hides. I'm keeping them humid, warm, and feeding dog food and fruits.

Here are some pictures of the nymphs:

Pretty right? Hopefully they'll breed well for me, and we can keep this line, as well as the US hobby lines in culture for years to come. 🙂 

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Now onto an exciting reintroduction to US culture, Decoralampra fulgencioi. These were fairly well established in the US hobby for a short while a few years back, but then a series of colony crashes combined with a general lack of interest in Epilamprinae in culture lead to them dying out in the US hobby. Thankfully they've persisted in culture across the pond, and so now we've got another chance at getting them more firmly established here.

As far as Epilamprinae go, these are some of the prettiest in culture. Adults are strikingly patterned and beetle-like, with a slight purplish sheen to them in person. Breeding is rather straightforward, however in addition to the normal sensitivity Epilamprids have towards filth buildups and overcrowding, they are also very sensitive to any sort of fungus outbreaks, especially flowerpot mushroom (Leucocoprinus) mycelium infestations. Once they start crashing, colonies are very slow to recover, or simply die out.

I've got my culture in a moderately ventilated container, with a thin layer of coconut fiber as the substrate, topped with leaf litter and bark hides. I'm keeping them humid, warm, and feeding dog food and fruits (in addition to the leaf litter).

Here are some pictures of an adult pair:

Female

Male

Such a pretty species, hopefully they'll become better established in US culture this time. 🤞 

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Lastly, but not leastly, I got a nice group of Tagaloblatta sp. "Okinawa". Honestly, I'm the most excited about these, because they have such great micro-feeder potential. They are a simply colored but cute little cockroach, adults maxing out at around 15mms in length, but they hatch out at just a couple mms long.

Firstly, nymphs can't climb, only adults can. Adults could probably fly, but definitely aren't inclined to. Secondly, they don't burrow.

Thirdly, they seem pretty easy to care for and prolific based on what information I can find, so if that proves to be the case, these may be a fantastic new small feeder roach, a bit above Compsodes schwarzi in maximum size, but still smaller than Paraplecta.

I've got mine set up in a minimally ventilated container with a thin layer of coconut fiber substrate, topped with leaf litter and bark. I'm keeping them humid, warm, and offering dog food and fruits as the staple diet. 

Here are some pictures of the lil guys:

Adults

Adult and nymph

Nymphs

If these end up being very prolific, these are gonna be a fantastic feeder IMO, so here's hoping they'll prove me right! 😄

Well, that does it for this post and round of new acquisitions, but rest assured, there's lots more where this came from. 😉 Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time!