Boy oh boy have I been slacking on posting... 😆 Lots of things have happened since my last post, I've moved houses and now have my own room, which with the aid of shelves, a space heater (and soon a humidifier) I've turned into a hot house for my bugs (not THAT hot, only 85F° or so, with the floor being more like 75F° or so).
That means no more heat cables, which means enclosures will dry out slower (especially when the humidifier is set up), which means I can go longer between misting enclosures. Plus having everything on proper shelves now and not stacked so precariously in a closet or corner of a room or something makes doing maintenance and getting to certain setups SO much faster and easier. Plus I just have more room in general for more bugs, which is great, because I've been getting lots of new bugs... 🤣
Speaking of which, let's get to the meat of this post. I got a package of roaches a couple months ago, almost all of which are brand new to the US hobby.
First off, I got a group of Hemiblabera granulata "Guadeloupe", which is now the third species of Hemiblabera in the US hobby. 😃 This species is smaller than the common H.roseni, but is otherwise quite similar in appearance, but darker overall and more matte and granulated in texture. This species is new to culture period, only imported from Guadeloupe into France a couple years ago IIRC, so I'm glad they're already in the US hobby. Care seems to be standard for Hemiblabera, and they are quite hardy and prolific, so I'm sure they'll be a hobby staple in no time.
I've got my group set up in a moderately ventilated container with a couple inches of coco fiber as the substrate, topped with a bit of leaf litter. I'm keeping them humid, warm (80F° or so), and feeding dog food and fruits. Doesn't get much simpler than keeping Hemiblabera lol.
Here are some pictures of an adult pair:
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| Male |
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| Male (L) & Female (R) |
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| Female |
Hoping my group breeds for me, already loving this simplistic but cute new addition to culture.
Next up, Periplaneta brunnea "EU Hobby Stock". So these aren't new to the US hobby per say lol, but cultures of this species here have nearly gone extinct due to random crashes, and while they're now on the up and up again, I figured I'd get some of the EU hobby line to see if they're more robust.
I've never seen this species in person before, and while they may seem unassuming from photos (especially adults), I gotta say the nymphs of this species are absolutely beautiful. 😍 A very nice array of patterning and different shades of browns makes these the prettiest Periplaneta nymphs I've ever seen in person, and they're one of the least "pesty" Periplaneta (no way these can set up shop inside your house), so definitely a great addition to any Blattodea enthusiast's collection IMO, especially those that like the more roachy looking spp..
I've got my culture set up in a moderately ventilated container with a thin layer of coconut fiber substrate, topped with eggcrate and cardboard rolls for hides. I'm keeping them humid, warm, and feeding dog food and fruits.
Here are some pictures of the nymphs:
Pretty right? Hopefully they'll breed well for me, and we can keep this line, as well as the US hobby lines in culture for years to come. 🙂
Now onto an exciting reintroduction to US culture, Decoralampra fulgencioi. These were fairly well established in the US hobby for a short while a few years back, but then a series of colony crashes combined with a general lack of interest in Epilamprinae in culture lead to them dying out in the US hobby. Thankfully they've persisted in culture across the pond, and so now we've got another chance at getting them more firmly established here.
As far as Epilamprinae go, these are some of the prettiest in culture. Adults are strikingly patterned and beetle-like, with a slight purplish sheen to them in person. Breeding is rather straightforward, however in addition to the normal sensitivity Epilamprids have towards filth buildups and overcrowding, they are also very sensitive to any sort of fungus outbreaks, especially flowerpot mushroom (Leucocoprinus) mycelium infestations. Once they start crashing, colonies are very slow to recover, or simply die out.
I've got my culture in a moderately ventilated container, with a thin layer of coconut fiber as the substrate, topped with leaf litter and bark hides. I'm keeping them humid, warm, and feeding dog food and fruits (in addition to the leaf litter).
Here are some pictures of an adult pair:
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| Female |
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| Male |
Such a pretty species, hopefully they'll become better established in US culture this time. 🤞
Lastly, but not leastly, I got a nice group of Tagaloblatta sp. "Okinawa". Honestly, I'm the most excited about these, because they have such great micro-feeder potential. They are a simply colored but cute little cockroach, adults maxing out at around 15mms in length, but they hatch out at just a couple mms long.
Firstly, nymphs can't climb, only adults can. Adults could probably fly, but definitely aren't inclined to. Secondly, they don't burrow.
Thirdly, they seem pretty easy to care for and prolific based on what information I can find, so if that proves to be the case, these may be a fantastic new small feeder roach, a bit above Compsodes schwarzi in maximum size, but still smaller than Paraplecta.
I've got mine set up in a minimally ventilated container with a thin layer of coconut fiber substrate, topped with leaf litter and bark. I'm keeping them humid, warm, and offering dog food and fruits as the staple diet.
Here are some pictures of the lil guys:
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| Adults |
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| Adult and nymph |
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| Nymphs |
If these end up being very prolific, these are gonna be a fantastic feeder IMO, so here's hoping they'll prove me right! 😄
Well, that does it for this post and round of new acquisitions, but rest assured, there's lots more where this came from. 😉 Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time!
