Principoda planatigris Adults!

My first litter of Principoda planatigris "Paper Tiger" have all matured now, and the results are interesting. When Kyle made this cross years ago the adults had coloration more akin to P.vanwaerebeki "Tiger", with the yellow/ivory and black abdomens. However, mine have matured with very high orange/red coloration, quite different than what Kyle's looked like. It seems likely that the reason lies in the coloration of the females used to make this cross. 

My "Tiger" colony is rather variable in coloration and have been throwing out darker, more orange colored adults (see my last post for an example), some of which I used in this cross. So it's likely that this batch was birthed from a more orange colored "Tiger" female, and thus her specific coloration genetics were carried on and expressed in the offspring, combined with traits from the male Aeluropoda. Whereas Kyle's "Tigers" were a cleaner looking colony with less variability in their coloration and a cleaner look overall, which likely had an effect on the coloration of their hybrid offspring. So when making hybrids, it would appear that coloration of the parents used is very important in determining what the hybrid offspring will look like. 

I had assumed that coloration of the specific parents used in a cross didn't matter much when making hybrids, and that the hybrid offspring would revert to the "base" or "wild type" coloration of the parent species used. But evidently that's not the case. Which on the one hand, means we can have a LOT more variety in the hybrids we make in terms of breeding for specific coloration and patterning combinations, but on the other hand that means that you have to be careful with what parents you choose for creating hybrids if you have a specific look in mind.

Now, that being said, I did have a second litter of Principoda planatrigris born from another one of the "Tiger" females I used to make this cross, so I will be moving those nymphs to their own enclosure and see if they look any different, since they were birthed by a different female (same father Aeluropoda though).

Anyways, here are pictures of a pair from this first litter, my "Paper Tigers":

Male

Female

Pair

Pretty striking coloration on these beauties! Definitely gonna keep these going, even though they aren't quite what I was aiming for with this cross. I think the strain name "Paper Tiger" for this phenotype suits them quite well since they are flat, and very orange and black, like actual tigers (which, side note, why do we call Princisia vanwaerebeki "Tiger", "Tiger"? When the base coloration for that strain is ivory and black, not orange and black... 🤣).

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

Tiger Hisser Morph Projects & Other Roach Updates!

My Princisia vanwaerebeki "Tiger" colony has always been fairly variable in coloration, though lately this has peaked with some particularly high orange individuals popping up. Which ironically, look more like actual tigers than the standard ivory and black striped color form this strain is known for. 😆 

I've decided to isolate some of these high orange individuals for a selective breeding project to see if I can get a colony breeding true for this  coloration. 

I also have seen some striped individuals with black stripes on their abdomen so thick, there's barely any of the ivory present. I might try and isolate and breed for a true breeding colony of those too in the future, but for now I'm not interested in working on that.

I am however, interested in isolating a clean, true breeding "Tiger" line that only throws out cleanly striped, high contrast black/ivory adults, preferably with nice red thoracic pads. This is IMO, the most classic look for this strain, so I would like a colony that only produces these individuals. So that's what I've set out to do, I've isolated several freshly matured adults that I'm hoping will serve as good founding stock for this project.

The females could use some more work IMO, so I'll work on selectively breeding for females with cleaner striping each generation until I'm happy with the results.

---

My Parcoblatta zebra "Montgomery, AL" colony has exploded, they are doing very well in their well ventilated setup with a 50/50 humidity gradient. This really seems to be an optimal setup for most Parcoblatta, and I will need to update my caresheet to reflect that (a lot of my caresheets need some revisions, I've just not had the wherewithal to do so yet... 😅).

Would be neat to see more people getting into this genus, they remain one of our most underrated roach genera.

---

My Periplaneta lateralis colony, started from a single male and female, has exploded after moving them to a 5 gallon bin. This is great news, since they are a great feeder species for Platymeris and Pystalla, and I can now use them as such.

I recently acquired locality data stock from California that I'm debating putting in a 5 gallon as well... on the one hand it seems a waste of space, buuut more feeders, and locality data stock at that. 👀 🤣 

---

Last, but not least, my Rochaina bilunata have started reaching L3, as of the 16th! This was noticeably faster than the transition from L1 to L2, and they've finally entered their velvety phase! 😄

These are some of the most adorable roaches I've ever seen! 😍 I think I will continue to document every instar of this species up until adulthood, that is if I'm lucky enough to rear them to maturity!

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

New Earwigs, Isopods & Roaches!

I traded Josh Suds for some Labidura riparia from Imperial Dunes CA, which is a more variably colored line of this species than my "Lake Placid, FL" stock, with paler, more colorful adults. So far they've been just as easy to culture, and are breeding quite well for me. 😄

I've got them housed in a moderately ventilated 5 gallon gasket bin with a few inches of sand/coco fiber substrate (mostly sand), which I'm keeping humid. I'm keeping them at around 75-85F°, and am feeding them dog food, fish food pellets, micro-roaches and dwarf white isopods.

Such a large and impressive earwig species, I hope to acquire a more consistently pallid, sand colored strain here eventually!

---

Thanks to Kyle at Roachcrossing, I now have true Euborellia annulipes, from Tuscaloosa, AL. My previous "annulipes" were actually E.cincticollis, and it's nice to actually have both now. 😄 Real annulipes have shorter antennae than cincticollis, and annulipes are a much more stout and chubby looking earwig IMO.

I've got them housed in a moderately ventilated container with a few inches of coco fiber mixed with a little sand, topped with a few small bark pieces. I'm keeping them humid, at around 75F°, and am feeding them dog food as the staple diet.

They are breeding quite well for me already, definitely seems like a good beginner's earwig. 😄

---

Another gift from Edwin at Ezeddies, I now have the "Tapir" morph of Cubaris sp. "Panda King". These have reduced grey coloration on the front half of their bodies, and though the patterning seems a bit variable still, most come out with barely any grey coloration on their front segments. Others just look like a slightly less patterned, normal "Panda King".

They are housed in a well ventilated enclosure with a substrate of coco fiber topped with sphagnum moss and leaf litter, as well as some bark hides. I'm keeping them moist, at around 75F°, and am feeding them dog food as their supplemental diet. 

Needless to say, they are breeding quite well for me, it's hard to mess up with sp. "Panda King". 😆

---

Last but not least, I recently traded Tiller Dale for a new strain of Arenivaga floridensis from "Poinciana, FL". This strain is most similar to the "Ocala" locality IMO, though males seem to come out a bit paler, and the females are differently patterned as well. 

I've got them housed in a moderately ventilated container with a couple inches of sand substrate, topped with leaf litter. I'm keeping a third of the sand moist, the rest dry, and have them at around 80-85F°. I'm feeding them dog food and fish food pellets as their staple diet.

A very pretty strain, the female has been laying ooths pretty regularly, and I have a subadult female about to mature (and will hopefully still have males alive to mate her when she does). So it's looking good as far as establishing a colony of them goes. 🤞😄

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