New Inverts & Updates!

So last year I got some Stygnomma from Carlos at Tropical Isopods, under the impression they were a darker, possibly undescribed species from Flamingo, Everglades, FL. However, the range of that darker species and S.s.spiniferum overlap, and through some miscommunication he sent me a culture of what are evidently S. s. spiniferum from the same locality. 

So while I was little disappointed by this, as I already have spiniferum from Big Pine Key, FL, I have come to like this locality, as the mature males have noticeably larger palps on average than the BPK line. The color is a bit more muted in this locality, but other than these small differences that they're pretty much the same as the BPK locale. Care has been the same as well, and they are breeding well for me.

I've got them in a minimally ventilated enclosure with an inch of coco fiber substrate, topped in sphagnum moss, bark and styrofoam hides. Keeping them quite moist, at around 75-80F°, and am feeding them fish food, micro-roaches, springtails and fruits.

Here are some pictures of a few individuals:

Thankfully I'll also be getting those darker harvestmen from Carlos here soon, so stay tuned for a post about those. 😉 

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One of my Rhabdoblatta imperatrix males has matured, and OH BOY is he big! It's crazy to think these are in the same genus as R.rustica. 😆 

Here are some pictures of the stud:

Male R.imperatrix vs female R.rustica

One of my females attempted to mature as well, though sadly mismolted and died. 😩 However I have two other subadult females, so hopefully they'll both have better luck molting to adulthood, and hopefully produce lots of offspring. It's crazy how large this male is, yet the sub females are larger than him, so seeing adult females will be crazy. 😳 

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Recently I traded fellow hobbyist Gary Ge for a culture of an unidentified Salganea species from Hezhou, Guangxi, China.  These are new to culture and I believe I'm one of only two people in the US keeping them. Hopefully they will breed in my care so I can aid in establishing them in the hobby here. 🤞 

In typical Panesthiinae fashion I've got these set up in a minimally ventilated enclosure, with several inches of flake soil substrate, with some larger white rot wood chunks mixed in. Salganea only seem to do well for me when they have white rot wood present. I'm also offering dog food and fruits as supplemental food, and am keeping them quite moist, at around 75F°.

Here are some pictures of a young adult:

I've no idea what species this is, Panesthiinae are difficult for me to ID, Salganea especially, but whatever it is, it's definitely new to the US hobby, so I'm excited to be working with them! 😁

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My Gromphadorhina portentosa "1972 Cleveland Aquarium" colony has been doing well, though it's been a while since they last produced any offspring, which has me a bit worried. I recently redid their enclosure, so hopefully that'll get them breeding again.

Anyways, I've gotten some seriously large major males this generation, so here are some pics of the largest one in my culture ATM:

It's so hard to accurately capture their orange coloration with flash photography, these are truly one of the prettiest G.portentosa lines out there IMO. But at least these photos help to show how large and beefy major males of this strain can get.

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My colony of Porcellio succinctus from Alan Jeon have not only been doing well, but they threw out some solid white individuals. I isolated several of those specimens to breed for that morph, for which Alan has coined the name "MPROI", which stands for "My Printer Ran Out of Ink". 🤣 They've bred for me now, and it seems to be a simple recessive trait, as all their offspring are solid white as well.

Here are some pictures of a few mature specimens:

A neat morph to have in such a stunning and large species, hopefully they will become popular in the hobby! 😁

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Lastly, I recently obtained a large culture of Gyna caffrorum, AKA the "Chrome Roach" from Kyle at Roachcrossing. I'm happy to have this hardy and pretty species in my collection once again, and they've been proliferating well in my care already.

I was rather unimpressed with pictures I have taken of this species in years prior, so here are some better photos of an adult female that more accurately capture the coloration of this species:

If anyone's interested, I do have these available now. 😄

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

Some New Hissers

Well guys, in this Summer's Roachcrossing box, I caved and finally got one of the most popular hisser species, Elliptorhina javanica, AKA the "Halloween Hisser". Definitely one of the prettiest hissers in culture IMO, and they are one of the smallest as well.

I have mine set up in a well ventilated enclosure with an inch of coconut fiber substrate, a third of which I keep humid, the rest dry. Lots of bark and cardboard hides, and I'm keeping them at around 80-85F°. I'm offering dog food and fruits for their staple diet, as well as leaf litter.

Here are some pics of them:

Female

Male

Cute little species, unfortunately a couple of my females have aborted oothecae, and I'm not sure what about their setup isn't to their liking. 🤔  Hopefully I can figure them out and get them breeding.

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Now for a species I've always wanted to see in person, but never have until now, Elliptorhina laevigata, the "V-Horn Hisser"! 😄 This species has beautiful coloration, with two typical color variations, dark and high orange. This is one of the more finicky Elliptorhina spp., and I've had a few losses due to screw ups in their care already. However they seem to have stabilized, and have all matured, so fingers crossed for some breeding action soon!

I have mine set up in a well ventilated enclosure with an inch of coconut fiber substrate, a third of which I keep humid, the rest dry. They have plenty of bark and eggcrate hides, and I'm keeping them at around 80-85F°. I'm offering dog food and fruits for their staple diet, as well as leaf litter.

Here are some pictures of these stunners:

Male

Females

Such a pretty species, and so big for this genus too! Again though, these have been giving me some issues, I had some die offs when I accidentally overrated them, and a couple aborted ooths as well. 😕 The remaining adults seem to have stabilized, I hope they will pop out some babies soon.

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I also got some more Gromphadorhina portentosa "1972 Cleveland Aquarium" nymphs to bolster my starter culture and hopefully get this strain breeding better for me. Said nymphs have all matured now, so hopefully I'll have a nice colony soon. 😃 

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