Real Hemiblabera brunneri!

I can hardly believe it folks, but it looks like we finally have true Hemiblabera brunneri in culture, from Manati, Puerto Rico! Not mislabeled H.roseni, but real, bonefide H.brunneri! I have read the original description for that species by Saussure, 1869 (which mistakenly reports the locality as being "Brasilia", a mistake Princis, 1963 later noted when moving this species to Hemiblabera), and these seem to match perfectly in terms of coloration, morphology, and length. These are a pretty small species, maxing out at 40 mm, and far skinnier and more cylindrical than the other Hemiblabera spp. I've kept. They are absolutely dwarfed by H.roseni, which is ironically mislabeled as H.brunneri in the European and Asian roach hobbies. So let this post serve as a wake up call to those still labeling their stocks as H.brunneri overseas; if they don't look like the below animals, they are not brunneri!

Now, there may be a second, darker Hemiblabera species also found on PR, however it seems H.brunneri may have variable color across it's range, (indeed Rehn & Hebard say as much in their 1927 key to the genus), so further study is needed before saying for sure. There was also another species from PR, H.manca, that was synonymized with H.brunneri, which could perhaps represent those darker phenotypes. However, the species description for manca is terribly short and bereft of any physical characteristics other than wing shape, with no mention of color...

In any case, this specific locality from Manati that we now have in culture seems to match the holotype description perfectly, so I can confidently say that these should be true H.brunneri.

I have my pair in a moderately ventilated enclosure with a substrate of coco fiber a couple inches deep, kept moist. I have them at around 75-80F, and am feeding them dog food and apple. Pretty standard Hemiblabera conditions.

Original description of brunneri

Translation

Female

Male

Pair

These are some truly stunning roaches, and it's nice to see actual representatives of a species whose name was falsely attributed to an older hobby Hemiblabera stock (namely H.roseni in the European and Asian hobbies). Hopefully these establish well for me, from what I hear they breed pretty readily in captivity, much like the other Hemiblabera spp. we have in culture. 

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

More Arenivaga IDs Courtesy of Alan!

Alan Jeon has come through with some more Arenivaga IDs from some dead males I've saved and sent to him. 😁 After dissecting their genitalia and examining them he has confirmed to the following IDs:

• Arenivaga sp. "Mt Ord, AZ" = Arenivaga grata
• Arenivaga cf. investigata "Borrego Springs, CA" = Arenivaga investigata
• Arenivaga cf. investigata "Imperial Dunes, CA" = Arenivaga investigata
• Arenivaga cf. nalepae "Bakersfield, CA" = Arenivaga nalepae
• Arenivaga cf. tenax "Rodeo, NM" = Arenivaga tenax

Most of of these IDs were already suspected just based off external morphology and appearance, but it's nice to have solid IDs on them. 😄

Side note, if anyone still keeps Arenivaga grata "Mt. Ord, AZ", please contact me, as I would very much like to get a colony back! Seems they may have died out of culture... 😭

Lamproblatta sp. "Uvita" = Lamproblatta albipalpus!

After a little chat with Dominic Evangelista, who I consider the leading expert on all things Lamproblatta, in which I sent him photos of my Lamproblatta sp. "Uvita, Costa Rica", he was able to identify them as L.albipalpus, based off the subgenital plate morphology and the bulbously inflated first segment on the male's hind tarsis (the latter feature was not very clearly visible in my pictures but I was able to confirm after examining one of my males in person). So nice to have a species ID on these beauties!

Oh, I guess I should mention that not only did all the nymphs I started with mature successfully, but they've bred well, have been laying lots of oothecae, and now the next generation has started hatching out! So seems they are doing quite well for me.

Adult male

Oothecae

Looks like I'm well on my way to establishing a healthy colony of this species, and should be able to make them available here within a couple months or so!

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

Dark Harvestmen, New Roaches, & Peanut Beetles!

Just a little PSA, but Stygnomma spiniferum was just synonymized with Neoscotolemon spinifer, so that is the updated, currently valid name for that taxon. 

Now personally, I think the Floridian populations of N.spinifer may represent two separate species... Because not only are there the typical, orange N.spinifer in Flamingo, Everglades FL, but there is a separate, darker colored population established there as well. These two color forms seem to breed true to their coloration, and differ slightly in morphology IMO, with the darker ones having slightly smaller palps, and shorter, more rounded tubercles on their backs.

The dark population is also far more partial to springtails in their diet and don't seem to breed well without them, whereas the orange N.spinifer (both the Flamingo population and the BPK population) breed fine just being fed micro-roaches (though the survival of their offspring is improved when springtails are thrown into the mix).

So, I'm not entirely convinced they are the same species, and will go on to label these dark ones Neoscotolemon cf. spinifer "Flamingo, Everglades, FL - Dark". Carlos Michaelsen of Tropical Isopods was kind enough to trade me a group of these beauties, and after realizing they seem much more partial to springtails in their diet, they've finally started to breed well for me. This is a beautiful line, and I really love the contrast between their dark colored bodies and paler appendages. 

I've got them set up in a minimally ventilated container with a thin layer of coco fiber substrate topped with bits of sphagnum moss, coco coir chunks, leaf litter, and lots of bark pieces for hides. I'm feeding them springtails, fish food pellets, and have some Nocticola in there for good measure. I'm keeping them pretty moist, at around 75-80F°.

Definitely a beautiful looking strain, I hope someone does some work on these different Floridian populations soon and perhaps confirm my suspicions. 

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Last year I got a package from Bhjjr, and he included some freebie Periplaneta lateralis that he found in his house (seems his area of CA is infested with them) as a joke. Little did he know I'd been wanting some locality data red runners. 😆 So I got them all set up and they're starting to breed now.

Hobby stock red runners are pretty variable but I feel like the ones I have don't look quite as pretty as this "Sanger, CA" stock.

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Last year I received, again as a freebie in a trade with somebody, a ziplock baggie containing a few Pseudoglomeris magnifica, no locality given other than "Vietnam". They were in rough shape from shipping and of the two adult females and several nymphs that survived, one adult female died later without ever giving birth, and ALL those nymphs ended up being males. 😆

Thankfully one of the females survived and I guess must have been a virgin, because only after the males have matured has she started gaining weight... so I assume she is now gravid and I might just get a colony established of this strain LOL. It's a pretty small line, and the females and nymphs are very green. Kinda reminds me of the "Northern Vietnam" line in size and exoskeleton punctation, but more green without a golden sheen to them (not much of a bluish sheen either).

Anyways they're set up in a bougie 5 gallon gasket bin with full lid ventilation, a substrate of coco fiber topped in lots of horizontal hardwood and cork bark hides. I aim to keep the air humidity high but surface moisture low and mist them lightly semi-daily. They're sitting at about 80-85F°, and I'm feeding them dog food, fish food, artificial pollen, and fresh fruits.

Here's hoping that female gives birth and produces some decent sized clutches, so I can get a proper colony established in like, a couple years. 😂 

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Last but not least, sometime last year I got some Ulomoides dermestoides, AKA "Peanut Beetles" from Satchell Watts-Kerr. These are darkling beetles commonly associated with stored goods, most prominently peanuts. However they don't seem to require peanuts in their diet to thrive, and none of my current colony have so much as seen a peanut in their lives. 😆 

I keep them on a dry food substrate of dog food and oatmeal. They don't seem to thrive on just dog food (but they do eat a lot of it), not sure if it's because it's less fine of a substrate and the larvae dry out from over exposure or what. But making sure they always have oats available in the mix seems to fix that issue. They're in a minimally ventilated half gallon screwtop container, and I keep them at around 72-75F°.

These are pretty hardy and prolific breeders, and make for a good small feeder species. A neat, relatively new addition to US culture!

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