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! 😉 

Weird Little Spiders, Big Beetles, & More!

As of last year, I've started noticing a small Dictynidae species establishing itself inside of my bug room. They started off near one of the windows, making their webs amongst the few plants I have growing there. But they started to spread out and made their webs behind and amongst shelves, the corners of my room, even trespassing on Steatoda territory! Now they're even making some webs on top of certain enclosures, especially those with grooves or crevices they can lay low in. 

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.

Male

Female

An adult female's web (note the egg cluster in the middle)

Cute little spiders that I suppose I am now "culturing". 😆

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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).

Female

Male

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. 😅

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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..

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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°.

Male

Female

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!

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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! 😉