Starting a culture off in a decent sized enclosure, such as a 5 gallon bin/tank or larger, is recommended, as members of this subfamily seem to do best when they have ample space and surface area, and a proper humidity gradient is easier to maintain in a larger enclosure as well. All life stages can climb well, so an airtight lid and/or a climbing barrier is recommended.
A thin layer of substrate, preferably coconut fiber, potting soil, or some similar alternative is recommended, mostly to retain moisture. Healthy individuals will rarely, if ever, touch the substrate willingly, let alone burrow through it.
As for their primary surface area/hides, several layers of bark hides, either hardwood or cork bark, pressed fairly tightly against each other is recommended. Bark can be vertically or horizontally stacked, most species don't seem to mind either way.
These roaches will often chew little dimples into their bark, which they'll rest in, and this chewing activity can wear down and degrade their bark over time. So keep in mind that their bark will need to be replaced over time as they chew it down to unusable levels. This happens faster for some species than others, and the type of bark used also plays a role in the rate of degradation.
The bark hides should be kept fairly dry, while enough of the substrate should be kept moist as needed to keep air humidity pretty high (usually half to a third of the substrate, depending on your ambient humidity levels).
Minimal to moderate ventilation levels are preferred, if ambient humidity levels in your area are low, too much ventilation can lower the air humidity inside the enclosure to dangerous levels for this subfamily. Whereas a complete lack of ventilation (especially in more humid climates) may lead to bark hides soaking up too much moisture from the substrate after waterings, so it's important to take your ambient conditions into account, to maintain a good balance for these roaches.
Diet:
Dog/cat/fish food and fresh fruits work well for the staple diet, some veggies may be nibbled on as well.
Food should be placed on their bark, whether it's in a feeding dish or not, as they seldom like to leave their bark (even to search for food). So placing food on the substrate in a corner of their enclosure for example, may result in a poor feeding response and the starvation of smaller nymphs.
Temperature:
Temps in the 74-80F° range seem to be the sweet spot for keeping and breeding most species in this subfamily.
Breeding/Life Cycle:
The adults of most species can live up to a year, sometimes longer, and females take around 2-4 months to gestate their broods, which tend to contain 1-2 dozen offspring. The resulting nymphs take anywhere from 6-8 months (under optimal conditions) to reach maturity, depending on the species.
Males of some species are quite territorial, and may nip each other's wings in aggression, or bully excess males to death. Some will even spar and fight much like hisser males do, butting their pronotums against each other in territorial disputes.
Excessive moisture can lead to high mortality amongst all life stages, mycosis, and bark hide degradation that will eliminate suitable surface area for these roaches, causing them to wander aimlessly and die. Whereas low air humidity can result in high mortality among smaller nymphs, and consistent oothecae abortion by females.
These species can be sensitive to pests, springtail overpopulation, and certain pathogens like Serratia, or entomophagous fungi. They are also not fond of filthy conditions, and overcrowding can become a problem as well (though some species will just self-cull as needed).
When a colony starts to decline and enters a death spiral, it can be very hard to pull members of this subfamily out of it, even whem moving them to a fresh enclosure with optimal conditions. So it's best to treat these species with a high degree of care and attention, and to make sure conditions don't get to dangerously substandard levels in the first place.
Species notes:
Capucina patula:
Among the more picky, and highly flattened members of this subfamily, these prefer pretty dry, flat bark hides, but very high air humidity. Adults of both sexes are quite prone to nipping each other's wings, and males especially are very territorial. The wings of adults are fairly velvety and matte in texture, an unusual look for this subfamily. Wing color also varies from light orange to a darker reddish brown, regardless of sex or age of the adults.
Lanxoblatta cf. rudis "Ecuador":
This species is one of the more humidity loving members of the subfamily, and seems more tolerant of higher hide moisture (though doesn't necessarily seem to prefer it). They also seem to prefer flatter, smoother bark types, stacked tightly against each other (they may prefer vertically slanted hides as well). Care is pretty typical, and they can be pretty prolific when set up properly (though when they crash, they crash hard).
cf. Lanxoblatta sp. "Peru":
A new addition to the hobby, with fully winged males and brachyapterous females, care for these seems in line with most of the subfamily.
Phortioeca peruana "Tena, Ecuador":
The largest of the cultured Zetoborinae, and probably the easiest to culture. Not very picky about bark type/thickness, so long as said bark is kept dry. Adult males are quite territorial and prone to wing biting, females notably less so.
Phortioeca phoraspoides:
One of the smaller Phortioeca, but also one of the prettiest. These seem to prefer higher humidity than P.peruana, and their males are even more territorial. They also seem to have smaller broods than most other members of the subfamily that I've kept.
Schizopilia fissicollis:
This species has perhaps the most impressive morphology of the cultured Zetoborinae, with weirdly fissured pronotums and a very broad, flattened appearance. They are not very picky about bark type, I've used cork and hardwood barks successfully, as long as there are some tight squeezes for them to take refuge. These are fairly prolific and steady producers when conditions are right, but they crash easily and hard if air humidity drops too low.
