Friday, November 24, 2017

Drymaplaneta semivitta Hatchlings & a Asbolus verrucosus Update!

It's finally happened, one of my Drymaplaneta semivitta oothecae hatched! 😁 So happy that I finally have offspring of this species, hopefully many more will follow! Funnily enough, this particular ootheca had a small spot of mold growing along the opening seam a week ago, which I quickly wiped off, but I figured the mold was coming from inside of the ooth, which would have meant it was a dud. I decided to leave it be just in case, and I'm sure glad I did!

I was able to get a few pictures of the nymphs squeezing their way out of the ootheca, but was interrupted and had to leave before capturing the whole process. Here are the pictures I could get:




And here is one of them a couple days after hatching:




I am thrilled that I could successfully breed this species, things were looking bad for my colony for a while, but it looks like everything worked out in the end! 😊
On the other hand, my three Asbolus verrucosus larvae apparently haven't been doing well in my care at all, I only have one left! 😞 Either their cage was too small and they resorted to cannibalism, I over-watered them (more likely IMO), or they don't like the food I have them. There's no hope for a future generation, that's for sure, I'd be surprised if I can get this last larvae to make it to adulthood! I'll definitely try my hardest though, I'm gonna keep the sand less moist, and may upgrade the larva's enclosure size soon too. 

Anyway, here are some pictures I took of the remaining larva:







At this age, it looks very similar to an Eleodes spp. larva. At a glance they look the same, the only noticeable difference being the unusual terminal segment, (which looks more odd in person). Hopefully I can get this last larva to mature, I will keep you all updated!

Anyway, that's gonna do it for this post, I hope everyone enjoyed, will see you all next time! 😉
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10 comments:

  1. AlexWNovember 24, 2017 at 9:49 PM

    Can we assume safely that each healthy Drymaplaneta ooth produces approx. 10 young?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Invertebrate DudeNovember 24, 2017 at 11:22 PM

      Yes, all of the normal sized Drymaplaneta ooths I've hatched have contained 10-12 nymphs. :)

      Delete
    2. AlexWNovember 25, 2017 at 1:35 PM

      Good! Mathematics is quite useful when dealing with insects.


      Did you provide both wet and dry areas in the Asbolus larva cage, and is it big enough to attempt pupation?

      Delete
    3. Invertebrate DudeNovember 25, 2017 at 5:42 PM

      No, I just kept the entire enclosure moist, since that's what the few people who've had success breeding this species have done for the larvae. I think I kept them TOO moist though, and I think I'm going to try a vertical moisture gradient of sorts for my remaining larva.

      Delete
    4. Invertebrate DudeNovember 25, 2017 at 9:35 PM

      BTW, it looks like my Pystalla worries have been for nothing, two of them have molted into adults now! :D Looks like they WERE in premolt after all!

      Delete
  2. chosetecNovember 25, 2017 at 11:15 AM

    Hey, long time lurker here. Did you see that one guy's video about successfully getting Asbolus larvae to pupate by incubating them at super high temperatures? I think like 88 degrees Fahrenheit if I recall.

    I was looking into it because I'm considering getting A. verrucosus but I wanted to be able to breed them. (still haven't bought the beetles though)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Invertebrate DudeNovember 25, 2017 at 5:44 PM

      Hello,

      Yes, I've seen that thread, I don't have an incubator, but I do plan on trying to construct a makeshift one with my heat cable, I think it'll work for getting my larva to pupate. First I have to get it to survive until maturity though...

      Delete
    2. chosetecNovember 25, 2017 at 11:16 PM

      Cool. Maybe slowly ramping up the temperature might be a way to keep the bigger larvae healthy too. I saw some small egg incubators online that were cheap, I was thinking of modding one after I get these beetles.

      Delete
    3. Invertebrate DudeNovember 26, 2017 at 2:55 PM

      I might do that, though from what I've heard heat doesn't affect larvae that much. It could also desensitize them to that certain stimulus, which could make pupation difficult...

      Cool, let us know how that goes! :)

      Delete
  3. chosetecNovember 25, 2017 at 11:23 AM

    here's the link to the post I mentioned! http://arachnoboards.com/threads/inducing-bdfb-to-pupate.280289/

    ReplyDelete

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