Mo Trades Mo Problems

Well, if by problems, you mean more mouths to feed, then I guess you could say so. Otherwise I'm actually pretty happy with all of these transactions, just wantedto make an Office reference. 😆 

Anyways, I did a trade with Satchell some months ago for a couple species of Tenebrionids from Alabama, which went quite smoothly.

First off, we got Asiopus minimus. A relatively small species (adults can grow a litttle over a cm long) that I'd not asked for, and came as a freebie surprise. These have proven rather fast and easy breeders, though they arrive not terribly prolific.

I have mine housed in a well ventilated enclosure with a layer of coco fiber at the bottom, topped with eggcrate pieces and leaf litter. I'm keeping a third of the enclosure humid, the rest dry, and they're at around 75F°. I'm using dog food as the staple diet.

Here are some pictures of a few adults:

Teneral adult

Definitely a cute little species, and a pleasant surprise addition to this trade.

The main creature I'd requested however, was Gondwanocrypticus. I have fond memories of catching and attempting to keep these beetles as a kid when I lived in Florida, and have been wanting to culture them seriously again now that I'm more experienced. Thankfully Satchell delivered, and found me a group of Gondwanocrypticus cf. platensis. These are diminutive, fast moving and rather short lived darklings, but they are thankfully rather easy to breed.

I have mine in a well ventilated enclosure with a layer of coco fiber and sand substrate (about a 50/50 mix), keeping a third of the enclosure humid, the rest dry. I'm offering dog food as the staple diet, and have them at around 75-80F°. 

Here are some pictures of the adults:

These are not especially prolific, but are pretty fast growing. Larvae are pale and wirey, and very inconspicuous. I'm happy to have this genus in my collection, a small piece of my childhood in a shoebox. 😊

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Next up, my local friend Sarah was kind enough to gift me a culture of an Armadillidium vulgare project she's been working on and has finished refining. The locality is Kuna, Idaho, and the morph/line name she has chosen is "Basalt & Sunflower". This line throws a pretty even mix of dark grey individuals (the "Basalt"), and then very high yellow individuals ("Sunflower"). There some pale intergrades as well, but overall the color ratios are pretty dang consistent (and very far removed from any of the wild type vulgare from this area I've ever seen).

Here are a few pics of them:

A very nice strain, to me they seem like the perfect A.vulgare equivalent of Porcellionides cf. virgatus "BPK".

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I recently traded Carlos Michaelsen of Tropical Isopods for some Dendrochernes sp. "Union Trails, FL", a very small and nicely patterned species of Pseudoscorpion. Unfortunately some of them escaped from their deli cup through the ventilation holes, and at least a couple perished as a result. I would like to stress that this was not Carlos' fault, he truly did not think they would be able to squeeze out of the ventilation holes he had poked (it can be hard to gauge their size, since their pedipalps make them look larger than they actually are).

In any case, what I was left with should be enough to establish a culture, I believe I have at least 1 or two pairs in there. 

I have them in my typical Pseudoscorpion setup, a moderately ventilated enclosure with a thin layer of coconut fiber at the bottom, topped with several inches of coco coir chunks and bark pieces. I'm keeping a third of the setup humid, the rest dry. They're being fed oribatid mites and springtails, and I'm keeping them at around 75-80F°.

Here are some photos of a couple adults:

A very cute and unique addition to the hobby, hopefully they'll breed well for me!

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Lastly, I traded for a group of Coelus ciliatus from KiwiAustros on Discord. I've been itching to get this species back in my collection, and hopefully I can spread them around in culture this time around! 

I have them in a well ventilated enclosure with a couple inches of play sand substrate, topped with a bit of leaf litter. I'm keeping a third of the enclosure humid, the rest dry, and have them at around 75F°. I'm feeding them dog food, in addition to the leaf litter.

Here are some pictures of the adults:

This Montara locality looks a little different than the old Santa Barbara locality I used to keep, but I'm fairly confident in the ID, and this species is known to be rather variable in morphology across it's wide range.

They've already started producing larvae, so looks like I'm well on my way to establishing a colony!

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

Book Review: Death Feigning Beetles of the United States and Mexico

I'm sure a lot of Death Feigning Beetle enthusiasts are familiar with Dean Rider, who was the first person that I know of to make the connection between high temperatures and successful pupation of Asbolus verrucosus (and other Cryptoglossini). Well Dean has finally compiled all his findings on Cryptoglossini rearing over the years, as well as descriptions of all currently described Cryptoglossini into a husbandry manual/field guide, "Death Feigning Beetles of the United States and Mexico"! 😁

Now this may be a bit of a biased review, as Dean asked to use a photo of mine in the book, and I am credited for the photo, specimens of A.mexicanus I sent him, as well as having this blog credited as well. Additionally Dean sent me a copy of the book for free for my small contribution, which was very generous of him! But rest assured, biases aside this book is fantastic! 😄

Personally I found the contents quite informative, not only describing and picturing Cryptoglossini species I didn't know existed, but also serving as a great repository for husbandry info regarding this tribe of darklings (info that can be hard to come by). I will definitely be taking some of this info and incorporating it into my own rearing methodology for this group, particularly the information regarding pupation. Rider outlines some clever ideas for bottom watering pupation cups, which I hadn't considered before (maintaining proper humidity levels inside pupation cups has definitely been the biggest hurdle for me in terms of rearing Cryptoglossini).

It also does a great job of explaining morphology of these beetles, as well as taxonomy in a way that's easy for beginners and laymen (such as myself) to absorb. Speaking of morphology, he also outlined ways to sex Cryptoglossini that I wasn't aware of, most significantly how to sex Cryptoglossa spp. (evidently males have small tubercles on their mesofemora that females lack).

Information on their wild habitats, showcasing general soil composition and the biomes that these beetles call home also provide a better perspective on how to set these species up for success in captivity.

Overall I find this book to be a great addition to any Tenebrionid enthusiast's collection (especially those interested in breeding Cryptoglossini), and really wish there were more books and resources like this dedicated to Tenebrionids. 😁

If you'd like a copy of the book yourself, you can buy it from Amazon here. I'd highly recommend picking up a copy, especially if you're keen in breeding Cryptoglossini. 

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

More Roachy Updates!

My Eurycotis improcera colony has started throwing out individuals with white eyes, which is pretty awesome! Should be a simple recessive gene as in other roach species, so I've isolated about 8 of these individuals in the hopes of isolating this morph. 

Here are some pictures of an adult male:

Hopefully this morph proves out, if so this will be the first cockroach morph I've ever isolated, and a first isolation for this species in captivity as far as I'm aware! 😁

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This Summer I received a culture of Arenivaga cf. nalepae from Bakersfield, CA, courtesy of BLANK. This is a new species for culture, and one of many California endemic Arenivaga species (which we still need more of in the hobby). This species has rather pale males with minimal pronotum markings, and little to no dark mottling on the tegmina. The females are reddish in color, again with little to no patterning. They seem to prefer a more inorganic substrate mix, so I have mine set up on play sand, and they seem to be doing well.

I've got them housed in a well ventilated enclosure with an inch and a half of sand at the bottom, keeping one third of the substrate moist, the rest dry. I'm feeding them leaf litter and dog food, and have them at around 75-80F°. 

Here are some pictures of an adult pair:

Male

Female

So far they're doing well for me and breeding, so fingers crossed we get these well established in the hobby!

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My Eublaberus cf. posticus "French Guiana" have finally started to mature, and boy are they pretty! 😍 The patterning of the pronotums is very variable, one thing that does seem to be a bit consistent though is that males tend to have darker tegmina, whereas the female tegmina are lighter.

Here are some pictures of a pair:

Fingers crossed they'll breed well for me, the females are already looking rather plump!

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I was lucky enough to get my hands on groups of both Schizopilia fissicollis and Capucina patula again this Fall (my last attempt with those species ended in failure, as they got pesticide poisoning, along with a lot of other species in my collection).

I've got both species housed in moderately ventilated 5 gallon gasket tubs with coco coir chunks substrate, topped with a bunch of vertically slanted cork bark. It would appear neither species actually requires extremely flat bark, good old cork bark pieces are all that's necessary (and is what most EU breeders keep theirs on).

I'm keeping both species semi-humid, the Schizopilia seems to be able to handle higher humidity, but don't like very moist conditions. Whereas the Capucina like it a bit more on the dry side.

I took pictures of adult Capucina last time I tried them, but never got to photograph adult Schizopilia, until now! Here's a pair of the S.fissicollis:

The pronotum morphology on this species is insane! 😍 Such a unique and pretty species, and one that seems to be doing rather well for me. I have a pretty even sex ratio in my Schizopilia culture, whereas the Capucina were very male heavy. I have adults of both sexes in both species now though, so should be a matter of time until I see some breeding action from them!

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Lastly, my Archimandrita tesselata have not only matured over the Summer, but have produced offspring of their own. These are such large and pretty roaches, and I finally got around to getting pictures of one of my mature females.

Here she is:

A very nice hobby staple, there's a reason they've stuck around in culture as long as they have. 😁

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