A lot of their success probably comes from the fact that they are pretty small, only maxing out at around 6-7 mms. And their favorite prey item (at least according to the contents of their webs) appears to be small flies, with the webs of the ones in my room being absolutely littered with phorid fly carcasses. It's only because of the latter fact that I don't care about them, and try not to destroy their webs in my room, because Steatoda webs are not that great at catching phorids (they're better suited for moths and other inverts). But the webs of these Dictynids are like little fly traps, so they have earned their place in the bug room ecosystem. 😆
Unfortunately I haven't been able to get an ID beyond family, maybe one day that'll change, who knows. I don't even know where they came from really, probably from outside where I live considering their proximity to the windows (which I open every now and then), but they could have just as easily hitchhiked in with materials from out of state.
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| An adult female's web (note the egg cluster in the middle) |
Cute little spiders that I suppose I am now "culturing". 😆
Last year I got a group of Eleodes gigantea from Maddog4621 on discord, a species that can get very large, though perhaps not as heavy as species like E.acuta, E.obscura, etc.. They are in the same subgenus (Steneleodes) as E.longicollis, one of the best beginner darkling species IMO, and are not much more difficult to breed than that species (with some caveats).
E.gigantea have proven incredibly easy to breed thus far, preferring a more organic base substrate for oviposition (sandy substrate mixes did not seem to trigger any oviposition in my group at all, switched them to pure coco fiber and BAM, tons of eggs and larvae). A staple diet of dog food has worked fine for both adults and larvae, and this species seems to do well on a 70/40 humidity gradient (erring on the drier side). Larvae are easy to rear and pupation survival rate is high, however due to their prolific nature it's become quite apparent that this species stunts very easily in captivity.
All adults I have reared thus far have been less than half the size of some of the largest WC adults I have. This is likely due to the larvae being reared communally in a measly 1 gallon bin though, if I had them in a much larger bin (or just read larvae separately) and each larvae had more space and food to themselves, that would surely improve the CB adult size by a lot. They are just much easier to stunt via crowding than some of the more aggressive large Eleodes (which will sooner cannibalize each other than grow in conditions that crowded).
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A very cool species, hopefully going forward I can rear some CBB adults the size of these WC baddies in the pictures above, even if I just have to isolate some larvae from a young age to do so. 😅
Earlier last year I got some Australophiloscia societatis "Maui, Hawaii" from Cory Leed, these are a small and surface active species that has some pretty variable patterning. Another one of those obscure isopods that people don't really seem to pay much attention to, one of my favorite types to keep. 😄
I have my colony in a moderately ventilated enclosure with a thin layer of coco fiber substrate, topped with some leaf litter and bark hides. I'm offering dog food as a supplemental diet, and am keeping them quite moist, at around 75F°.
These are very fast moving and don't seem to burrow much at all, and are also pretty prolific and hardy (but not super voracious like dwarf whites). Considering they max out at around 8mms, I think these would make a great feeder for certain micro predators, dart frogs, etc..
Recently I got some more Parcoblatta strains from Alan Jeon the GOAT, including some Parcoblatta divisa "Park Crossing - Black". These will likely be split off into their own new species one day, as P.divisa and P.pennsylvanica seem to hold several cryptic species within them as currently classified. Large nymphs of this line are completely black, and adult females carry this coloration over into their abdomens, which only have thin pale abdominal margins.
I have mine set up in a well ventilated setup with a thin layer of coco fiber substrate, topped with eggcrates for hides. I'm feeding them dog food and apple slices. They are being kept on a 50/50 humidity gradient, and at around 80-85F°.
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Alan says this strain has proven difficult to get past F2, here's hoping I can even get to F1... 🤞 I have an adult male and two adult females mature ATM, though I am slightly concerned that the male that matured with them is actually a male of a different divisa phenotype... I've seen him courting these females though so I could be wrong, I guess we shall see!
Last but not least, my Rochaina bilunata have reached L4! And after rehousing them to a gallon jar (with more artificial fern fronds for hides, since they only seem to use that surface area, not the bark or leaf litter I gave them for hides in their old setup), I have a solid headcount; 13 healthy L4 nymphs! 😁
So seems my losses thus far have been minimal, and I think pretty much all of them were during F1. Whether that was due to me still figuring out their preferred humidity/moisture levels or just due to some nymphs not hatching out all that healthy, who knows, but regardless I'm stoked that I still have a baker's dozen healthy and happy!
They have lost all noticeable patterning and instead have a orangish blush to their entire exoskeleton. It's hard to see in these pics but they are also developing their defensive butt glue, which is white in coloration in this species.
Well, that does it for this post, thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time! 😉
