Micro-Tenebs from Kyle!

Kyle's Crazy September Package Series Pt. 4/4

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Alas, we've finally reached the final post in this series, but I saved the cutest for last. 😁 These next four species are all micro-darklings, which are honestly some of my favorites to breed.

First off, Blapstinus sp. "Hurricane, UT". Only about 4 of these cuties, hopefully over got a pair, there's one individual that's noticeably larger and broader than the others, which I'm hoping is female, if so I should see larvae pretty soon. 

I've got them housed in a well ventilated deli cup, with half an inch of coconut fiber as the substrate, a third kept humid, the rest dry. They've got a few small bark pieces for hides, and I'm keeping them at around 75F°. Feeding them dog food as their staple diet.

Here are some pictures of them:

This brings me up to 3 Blapstinus spp. so far, kinda wish they were more desired in the hobby, they're pretty dang cute. 😄

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Next up, Nocibiotes cf. granulatus from Yuma, AZ. I've been wanting to work with this genus for a while, adults may only be 4-5 mms long, but their morphology is so neat, and they've got a nice glaucous coating to them when kept dry and undisturbed, with reddish legs. Females have caudate elytral tips, compared to the fully rounded elytra of males (after learning this, I've realized all the individuals in my pictures of this species are in fact female).

I've got my dozen or so adults housed in a well ventilated deli cup, with half an inch of coconut fiber as the substrate, a third kept humid, the rest dry. They've got a few small bark and moss pieces for hides, and I'm keeping them at around 75F°. I'll be feeding them dog food as their staple diet.

Here are some pictures of them:

A very cute little species, hopeful they'll breed well for me! 😁

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Now for another dream micro-teneb of mine, Notibius puberulus! Kyle caught me a bunch of these, from Yuma County, AZ. 

I've got the dozen or so housed in a well ventilated deli cup with half an inch of coconut fiber as the substrate, a third kept humid, the rest dry. They've got a few small bark pieces for hides, and I'm keeping them at around 75F°. Feeding them dog food as their staple diet.

Here are a few pics of them:

I'm in love with their rotund shape, and wide fore-tibiae. I SO hope these will be easy to breed, I think they will be. 😁 I think these also develop a glaucous coating when kept dry and untouched, so we'll see if mine do over time.

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Lastly, I got a new species of one of my favorite darklings genera to breed, Triorophus, or as I call them, the "Huckleberry Darklings". 😁 This particular species was collected from Hurricane, UT. 

I've got my 7 adults housed in a well ventilated container, with a layer of very fine clay as the substrate, a quarter kept humid, the rest dry. They've got a few small bark pieces for hides, and I'm keeping them at around 75F°. Feeding them dog food as their staple diet.

Here are some pictures of them, sadly their glaucous coating has been rubbed off in transit, as it often is in darklings that produce it... Over time the coating will come back, and I'll get pictures of them when it does:

Looking forward to breeding these, will be nice to have two different Triorophus species established in culture! 😁

Well, that does it for this series of posts, HUGE thanks for Kyle of Roachcrossing for sending me this treasure trove of darklings, I'll do my best to breed them all! 😄 Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, stay safe, and I'll see you all next time! 😉