Alan Spring 2022 Package Series Pt. 1/3
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Last month Alan Jeon sent me a bunch of goodies, which I'll spend the next few posts showing off! 😁
First off, we have an Ectobiid from Florida that's been in and out of the US hobby for years, that I've somehow never kept, Symploce morsei. This is one of the relatively few New World native Symploce species, though it's unclear if they're native or adventives to FL.
The younger nymphs of this species look exactly like Blattella nymphs, but as they get older they develop a very pretty mahogany hue with white spots on their abdominal margins. Adults look like your typical brown Ectobiids, but are at least fairly large for a Symploce species.
I'm keeping my 15-20 small nymphs in a well ventilated deli cup with a thin layer of coconut fiber as the substrate. For hides I'm using bark and leaf litter, I'm keeping them quite humid and relatively warm (75-80F°). I'm offering dog food and fruits as the staple diet.
Here are some pics of a small nymph:
They look so much like Blattella at this stage, it's crazy! 😄 This species is quite pretty, especially as large nymphs, it's a shame they haven't been more popular in the hobby. This may be due in part to their unforgiving nature, lapses in care, excessive dryness, and potentially overcrowding can all lead to severe culture crashes. I'm up to the challenge though, and hope to help establish this species in culture the best I can! ☺️
He also sent me a starter culture of one of the "Chaddest" of roaches, Parcoblatta divisa from Montgomery, AL. 😄 Interestingly, the adults of this strain are much lighter than the ones I used to breed from NC, (the adult females at least), nymphs seem to have a slightly different color pattern too. Just goes to show how variable Parcoblatta can be in terms of coloration across their ranges.
Very happy to gain another species from this awesome genus, my friend Kai thinks Parcoblatta are boring, but a true roach connoisseur knows Parcoblatta are among the coolest US native roaches. 😜
I've got my dozen or so nymphs in a moderately ventilated container with a thin layer of coconut fiber as the substrate, with bark, cardboard and leaf litter for hides. I'm keeping them humid and relatively warm (about 75F°). I'm offering dog food, fruits and veggies for food.
Here are some pictures of a couple subadult nymphs, and an adult female:
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| Subadult nymphs |
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| Adult female |
Pretty right? So far there's only one adult, hopefully the rest mature soon! Would love to breed these, especially since this strain of divisa won't require a diapause, unlike the NC strain I kept previously.
Well, that's gonna be it for today, thanks for reading, hope you all enjoyed, stay safe, and I'll see everyone next time! 😉
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