New Job Inverts & A Trade!

Well, as I've mentioned before, I got a new job at Walmart, which is why I've been more infrequent with my posts lately. However, rest assured that I've been staying on top of my invertebrate maintenance, and what's more, I caught a group of Clogmia albipunctata in the bathroom at work! 😆 

I set them up in the typical Psychodidae enclosure, a 32 oz deli cup with a fabric mesh lid, with an inch of flooded leaf litter at the bottom, with a piece of dog food thrown in for extra nutrition. In 10 days, I had larvae already, and maybe a weel later, I started getting adults. 😁 

Here are some pictures of some large larvae, and some adults (some of which are denuded):

Larvae

Adults

Been wanting to breed this species for a year or so now, they're surprisingly hard to source... Glad I finally got some and got them breeding! This species breeds and grows so much faster than Setomima, and is probably a much better feeder option as a result. They are significantly larger than Setomima though.

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I also got some Tenebrio molitor from Walmart as well, most of which have matured now. It's been a few years since I kept this species, nice fo finally have them again. Sadly it seems I won't be breeding them, as all the females came out sickly as hell and seemingly died before laying any eggs.

Anyways, for the first time ever on my blog, here are some pictures of this species:

Can't believe I never took pictures of these before, even though they were one of the first Tenebs I bred (the first being Eleodes hispilabris). I'll have to get some healthy stock from a more reputable source later on.

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Thanks to a trade with Maxwell Wolfgang, I once again have Pystalla horrida, the Horrid King Assassin Bug! I was hoping to breed these in large numbers again like I did back in 2017. That being said, I had QUITE the trouble getting these ones to eat, despite offering the same food items I used to last time I bred them. IDK if it was shipping stress, the shock of being introduced to a new setup, or what, but as a result, all but three died, and the three that survived seem to be a unisex group... 😑  I had to throw them into my Princisia vanwaerebeki "Big/Black" colony to get them to eat, they seem to like the smaller hisser nymphs that are abundant in there. Hopefully I can get some large nymphs/adults of the opposite sex to breed these, or just start all over with eggs or L1s this time.

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Anyways, inlcuded with the Psytalla were some Blaptica dubia nymphs, which were meant to serve as food. However, the Psytalla didn't eat them during shipping, so I decided to save them, because I don't yet have normal dubias. 😆 

I have the 7 or so nymphs set up in a well ventilated enclosure with eggcrates for hides, and no substrate. I'm feeding them dog food and fruits, and am keeping them dry and warm (75-80F°). 

I didn't bother getting pictures of them, but I probably will when I start getting adults! 

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