Some Darkling, Roach & 'Pod Updates!

This year I was able to successfully rear and pupate two Cryptoglossa variolosa larvae... not a fantastic batch, but hey, better than nothing. The main hurdle has been getting my WC adults to produce offspring regularly, I've tried a variety of sand and clay mixes to trigger oviposition, and am now going with a more organic mix. 🤷

I've been having great luck in general with pupating mature Cryptoglossa and Asbolus larvae by placing them into empty, minimally ventilated deli cups kept within an unventilated shoebox, filled with standing water. This keeps ambient humidity very high, while the surface moisture stays dry, so they won't rot. They'll pupate without substrate so long as the ambient humidity is high enough, and the temps are high enough as well (85F° or higher for best results). After they've eclosed into adults and darkened to a reddish color, I'll usually take them out and throw them into a larger, well ventilated cup with bone dry substrate for a couple weeks, with a moist corner or fruit slices for hydration. 

Using this method I've reared more A.mexicanus to adulthood this year, possibly than in all the years I've kept this species going, so that's great!

Anywho, here are some pics of one of the C.variolosa I reared, teneral and fully darkened. Unfortunately this one came out with a very slight elytral deformity, and there's a small gap down the middle where the elytra would normally be fused. Shouldn't really effect the longevity of the adult with such a small gap IMO.

Teneral

Fully hardened/darkened

Here's hoping I can figure out a more consistent oviposition trigger for this particular species, so I can rear more up consistently. 😄

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My Ellipsidion amplum have been laying lots of ooths, which should probably start hatching here soon. 😁 The larger ooths seem to contain around 40 eggs each, which is crazy, and they don't lay them too infrequently either. Something tells me I will have tons of these guys here soon. 😅

Here's hoping for hatchlings soon! 🤞

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So far so good with my high orange Princisa vanwaerebeki "Tiger" line breeding project, I think I've settled on a final morph name for these; "Bengal". The males and females from this generation are coming out similarly orange as their parents, and I think after one more generation of line breeding they might be ready for release. 😄

Really looking forward to seeing how this project comes along, and am pleased with the results thus far. 😊

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Kyle from Roachcrossing recently sent me a mated, adult female Homalosilpha alba, and she's been doing pretty well in my care. This has been a holy grail genus for me personally, as most members of this genus have strikingly patterned nymphs, and this species is no exception. 😁 All members of this genus are highly flattened, and spend most of their time underneath bark in the wild.

I initially had her in a vertical jar setup, but she seemed to be having trouble traversing that setup, at least with the bark pieces I chose for her. So she's now in a moderately ventilated bin with an inch or so of coco fiber substrate, topped with coco coir chunks and horizontally stacked, flat bark hides. I'm keeping half or so of the substrate damp, the rest dry, and am aiming for high air humidity but low surface moisture on the bark hides. I'm feeding her dog food and fruits, and have her at around 80-85F°.

The first ooth she laid for me was fairly small and deformed looking, but after increasing the ambient humidity she produced a much healthier, normal looking ooth. Hopefully there will be many more where that came from! 😄

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My first batch of 5 Prionotheca coronata larvae have grown quite large, and must be nearing pupation size now. And the other 25 or so younger larvae produced from a different female have been doing great and are growing quickly as well!

I plan to try and pupate them the same as I've outlined above in this post for Asbolus and Cryptoglossa, as they appear to have very similar rearing habits to say, Asbolus mexicanus larvae so far. I'll probably wait until I see them try to make pupal cells in their current deli cups to properly gauge mature size in this species, before I start throwing them into pupation cups. 

We've surpassed length of some of my more medium adults, as you can see here. So they are probably only a couple molts away from pupation age IMO, at most. But, we shall wait and see! 

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Alan Jeon sent me probably the last Arenivaga investigata "Imperial Dunes" female in culture a couple months back, thankfully she has already been mated, and been busy with laying ooths in my care. Said ooths have started hatching, and I'm confident I'll be able to restart a colony of this locality stock, and hopefully spread them back around in culture once more. 😊

This locality gets larger and more rotund than other investigata lines I keep, and IMO this species probably represents a complex of cryptic species... but that's for people far more learned than me to judge, for now I'm just happy to get these cuties breeding for me again. 😄

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Lastly, but not least, thanks to a trade with Jo Lyn, I have finally acquired a culture of the coveted Cubaris sp. "Crabby"! 😁 You can watch me unbox them here BTW, I've been trying to be a lot more active on YouTube lately, and have been filming and uploading most of my unboxings this past year. 

These are a large, flat, and colorful species with unique morphology, and supposedly aren't too difficult to culture, just rather slow growing/breeding.

I've got mine in a moderately ventilated gallon shoebox, with an inch or so of coco fiber substrate, topped with coco coir chunks, lots of bark and leaf litter. I'm keeping them pretty humid, and at around 75-80F°. For supplemental food, I'm offering them dog food and fish food pellets.

I really love the morphology of this species, and they get quite large for a "Cubaris". I really hope these do well for me, as it's a species I've been eyeing for quite a while. 

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

Even MORE Darklings from Kyle!

Kyle's Crazy September Package Series Pt. 3/4

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Back to the darklings! 😂 Kyle sent me single individuals of three different Stenomorpha spp., this is not a genus I have much interest in breeding, due to adults only laying in clay based substrates, larvae being quite cannibalistic, and the adults themselves naturally only living for a couple months on average... Essentially, a lot of work and effort, for not much reward IMO. However, considering they've been thrust into my collection by chance, I suppose I'll give them an honest go... 😅

I've got each of them housed in their own well ventilated deli cups, with a fine clay substrate. I'm keeping a corner of each setup humid, the rest bone dry. I'm keeping them at around 75F°, and feeding them dog food.

Here are some pictures of each species:

Stenomorpha marginata "Portal, AZ"

Stenomorpha cf. convexa "Animas, NM"

Stenomorpha cf. convexicollis "Rodeo, NM"

It would be cool to breed this genus, just to say I did it... But I should note, I have NO IDEA if any of these three are even females... 🤣 So, we'll see if anything comes of this project, I remain skeptical.

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Next up, Kyle also sent me a single Bothrotes male from Colorado City, AZ... This is a genus I've been wanting to breed for a long time, their care and rearing is apparently very similar to that of other easy Pimeliinae like Coniontis and Nyctoporis. However, with one male, I'll just have to be content with a little eye candy in one of my mixed species darkling setups. 😅

Here are some pictures of the male in question:

Pretty right? Hopefully one day I'll get to work with a breeding group of this beautiful genus.

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Moving on, this is perhaps one of the most exciting finds IMO, Embaphion glabrum, from Colorado City, AZ. FINALLY, a third Embaphion species for my collection, Kyle sent lots of adults, and they've already been busy laying eggs in their new setup! 😁 They're very smooth and shiny looking, with a build similar to E.contusum, but with more exaggerated pronotum structure.

I've got them set up in a well ventilated container with an inch or so of coconut fiber as the substrate, one third kept humid, the rest dry. They've got a couple curved bark pieces for hides, and are being kept at around 75F°. I'm feeding them dog food as the staple diet.

Here are some pictures of a couple adults:

SO looking forward to making these available in the hobby, gimme a few weeks... 😉

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Lastly, Kyle also sent a pair (I think 1.1 based purely on size disparity) of Cryptoglossa variolosa, from Green Valley, AZ. A pretty neat species of black death feigning beetle, commonly collected and kept in the hobby, they ALWAYS seem to have a bunch of clay caked onto their exoskeletons, which I think gives them great camouflage in their native environment.

I've got mine in a well ventilated container with a layer of fine clay substrate. I'm keeping one corner humid, the rest dry. They've got a toilet paper roll for a hide, and are being kept at around 75F°. I'll be feeding them primarily dog food.

Here are some pictures of the larger of the two adults presumably the female:

Moment of truth here... This female actually escaped like, the day after I got her. 😂 Did not secure the lid to their setup, and she just crawled right on out. However I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that she'd show up in my room sooner or later, these beetles are exceptionally tough and handle handle the dryness of a humid home for quite a while, and can also go a while without food. Sure enough, a few days later my mom spotted her crawling around on the floor, and I quickly put her back in her (now secure) setup. 😆 She's doing perfectly fine, and will hopefully lay some eggs for me soon. 🤞😅

Anyways, that's gonna do it for this post, thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, stay safe, and I'll see you all next time! 😉