Boy oh boy am I behind on posting... 😅 Apologies for the lack of content, I am finding myself with less and less time for photography, writing, and just about everything else that is necessary for making blog posts. Which is unfortunate, since my collection is larger and more diverse than it's ever been, and I have a lot of awesome projects going on and being added every day it seems. 😄 Anyways, without further adieu, let's get started!
First off, I made a trade with leading hobby expert on this group,
William Samojeden. Very happy with this trade, and hope to get some more Pseudoscorpions from him in the future!
I got a few species from Will, so let's start off with Cheliferida sp. "Flamingo, FL". This species is similar to Chelifer in morphology, though a lot smaller and less gangly.
I have mine in a well ventilated setup with a thin layer of coconut fiber substrate, topped in coco coir chunks. I'm keeping a third of the substrate humid, and offering Coecobrya and Oribatids as their food source. They seem to primarily eat the springtails, and I believe they've started breeding for me.
Here are some pictures:
Not the fastest growers or breeders, but not super difficult either it seems.
Next up we have Chernetida sp. "Livonia, MI". This is a small, mostly subterranean species it seems, and they seem to prefer a mix of springtails and mites (specifically Oribatida) as their primary diet. Unfortunately due to their slow breeding rates and very small size, I don't see these being particularly useful as mite control in bioactives.
I have them in a well ventilated enclosure with a thin layer of coconut fiber substrate, topped with coco coir chunks. Keeping a third of the substrate humid, the rest dry, and at around 75-80F°. I am feeding them Coecobrya and Oribatid mites as the staple diet.
Here are some pictures of them:
A neat little species, that at the very least, I can use as a sort of trash can for excessive numbers of Oribatid mites...
Next up, I did a trade with Kadupul on Discord, for a variety of invertebrates. Unfortunately, for various reasons, several of the invertebrates I got from them did not take for me, however these two species have, so I'll cover them here. The counts on all species were great, and I definitely would do business with them again!
First we have these Cheliferida sp. "Wellston, OH", probably the largest Cheliferids I've worked with (marginally larger than C.cancroides). Similar to other Cheliferids, their favorite foods seem to be springtails, and they need lots of them in order to keep a sustainable breeding group going.
I have them in a moderately ventilated enclosure with a thin layer of coco fiber substrate, topped with a few inches of coconut coir chunks. I'm keeping them on a 40/60 humidity gradient (erring on the dry side), and I'm feeding them springtails as the main diet. I have their enclosure kept at around 75F°.
Here are some pictures of a couple:
A nice addition to my growing Pseudoscorpion collection!
Next up, they sent me a culture of Dermestes cf. undulatus "Wellston, OH". I unfortunately lack expertise in identifying this genus, but I am wondering whether these, or indeed the UT stock of "D.undulatus" I have are actually undulatus, or their sister species D.talpinus... The two species are apparently nearly impossible to differentiate externally, so I may need to send specimens to a specialist in the future in order to get accurate IDs.
In any case, I threw these in with a Princisia project colony I'm working on, and they've been doing well in the warm, semi-humid conditions, feeding on dead roaches and dog food.
Here are some pictures of a couple adults:
Regardless of the ID, these are very pretty and easy to breed Dermestids, so I'm happy to have some more in my collection.
I traded
Robert Dean for a few species towards the beginning of this year, and was very pleased with the counts and quality of the individuals provided. Definitely would trade with him again!
Firstly we have Euborellia annulipes "St. George, UT". This medium sized earwig species has been very easy to breed, and most adults of both sexes lack wings completely. However, I have definitely had a couple winged adults pop up, which I sadly did not get pictures of before they passed. This would be a significant thing to document, since this species was originally described as having a winged form, however lack of recent evidence of this has lead some to believe those original reports were erroneous. So if I ever have winged adults pop up again, I will definitely get some pictures. 😅
Anyways, I have mine set up in a moderately ventilated enclosure with several inches of coco fiber and sand as the substrate. I am keeping them humid, and at around 75-80F°. I am feeding them dog food and the occasional dead roach.
Here are some pictures of an adult:
Love the chunky forceps on these guys, a very cute species of earwig for sure!
Next up we have Venezillo pisum "Everglades, FL". A cute and rare little US native, relatively new to culture as well. I am a sucker for US natives and little obscure species, and V.pisum fits both those categories well.
I have them in a well ventilated enclosure with an inch or so of coco fiber, topped with bark pieces and leaf litter. I am keeping them quite humid, at around 75F°, and am offering dog food as their supplemental diet.
Here are some pictures of these cuties:
Definitely an underrated little species, that I hope to see more people keeping in the future!
I also got a nice group of the US native Neanura growae "FL". A US native alternative to the popular Yuukianura aphoruroides, and seemingly as simple to culture.
I have them in a moderately ventilated enclosure with a thin layer of aged sawdust topped with coco coir chunks, which I'm keeping moist, at around 70F°. I am feeding them fish pellets and dog food as the staple diet.
Here are some pictures of the living Cheeto dusts:
An adorable springtail species that I'm glad to be culturing!
There was also a single gravid female of Porcellionides cf. pruinosus from "St. George, UT" thrown in with the Euborellia, and I have established a colony of those just 'cause.
I have actually done a couple different trades with
Alberto (Junior) Marquez over the Summer, which I'll sum up together in this post.
One of the species I got, I have never kept before, despite them being a hobby staple; Panchlora sp. "Hobby". These are the OG "Green Banana Roach" in the pet/feeder trade, previously misidentified as P.nivea. The males of this species have a far more rounded subgenital plate than that of true nivea (or most other Panchlora spp. for that matter).
I have mine in a moderately ventilated enclosure with a few inches of coco fiber mixed with coco coir chunks, topped with a bit of leaf litter. I'm keeping them humid, at around 75-80F°, and am offering dog food and fruits as their main diet.
Here are some pictures of these beauties:
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| Male |
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| Female |
Of all the Panchlora I've kept, these definitely have the most vibrant green coloration. They've already started breeding for me, so hopefully they establish themselves firmly in my collection.
Next up, another new species for me (and relatively new to culture), Panchlora sp. "Redlands, FL". This species is a very pale green, a bit on the smaller side for Panchlora (the males especially), almost looking white in dim lighting, against the substrate. Care seems to be standard for Panchlora.
I have mine in a moderately ventilated enclosure with a few inches of coco fiber mixed with coco coir chunks, topped with a bit of leaf litter. I'm keeping them humid, at around 75-80F°, and am offering dog food and fruits as their main diet.
Here are some pictures of a pair:
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| Male |
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| Female |
A cute little species, that has been breeding well and prolifically for me so far.
I also got starters of Panchlora sp. "Guadeloupe", Phortioeca sp. "Tena, Ecuador", Lucihormetica grossei and L.subcincta. All arrived in great shape, as is usual when dealing with Junior.
I should also note, since we're talking about
Panchlora spp., that I also traded
Lucca's Biohub for some extra
Panchlora sp. "Guadeloupe", and
Panchlora sp. "Ecuador - Speckled". They also arrived in good shape, and I look forward to trading with them again in the future!
Last but not least, I traded
Carlos Michaelsen of
Tropical Isopods this summer for a group of
Stygnomma cf.
spiniferum "Flamingo, FL". I am awaiting an ID confirmation, but this does appear to be
S.spiniferum, though I'm unsure what subspecies. These differ from the "Big Pine Key" stock I have in that the males seem to consistently have much larger pedipalps, the legs seem more vibrantly banded and perhaps a bit thicker, and the abdominal spines a bit more pronounced as well. Minor differences, but differences nonetheless.
I have them housed in a moderately ventilated enclosure with an inch or so of coconut fiber substrate, topped in sphagnum moss, coco coir chunks and bark hides. I'm keeping them quite moist, at around 75-80F°, and am offering them springtails, micro-roaches, fish pellets and fruits as their staple diet.
Here are some pictures of a couple:
They've been breeding well for me thus far, I should be able to make these available fairly soon, though I'd prefer a more solid ID before doing so. 😅
Anyways, that does it for this post! Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time! 😉
