Firstly, he sent me a trio of Metasiro sp. "Tuscaloosa Boat Ramp, AL". These are so-called "Mite Harvestmen", for obvious reasons; they are harvestmen, that look like mites. AFAIK no one has seriously attempted culturing these, I'm hoping I can have success in doing so.
I have mine set up in a moderately ventilated enclosure with an inch or so of a coco fiber, coco chunk, sand and sphagnum moss mix. I'm keeping them humid and at around 75-80F°. I'm feeding them springtails, fish food and fruits (no idea what they're eating, but if I had to guess, the springtails).
So far there has been no reproduction, so either I have a unisex group, or they require some specific stimulus for reproduction (perhaps seasonal cues). I will try cooling them in the Fall, to see if a diapause helps get them breeding.
Here are some pics:
Such a unique type of harvestman, I hope I can get them breeding!
Next up, yet another earwig species (this time a US native), Marava pulchella "AUM, AL". These are another colorful dwarf earwig, they seem less prolific than M.arachidis, but still rather easy to culture!
I have mine in a moderately ventilated setup with several inches of a sand and coco fiber mix, topped with bark pieces. I'm keeping them humid and at around 80F°. I'm offering dog food as the staple diet.
Here are some pictures of them:
Really loving keeping earwigs, they're so easy to set up and pretty low maintenance, I hope more people will get into them soon!
Alan also sent me a group of Cubaris benitensis "Yuma, AZ". A neat US native, desert dwelling species, that's pretty similar to Venezillo arizonicus in terms of care.
I've got them housed in a well ventilated enclosure with an inch of a sand and coco fiber mix, topped with bark hides and leaf litter. I'm keeping a third of the enclosure humid, the rest dry, and have them at around 75-80F°. I'm offering dog food as the supplemental food.
Here are some pictures of them:
They've already started breeding for me, very slowly. Looking forward to getting a large colony established!
Lastly Alan also sent a group of large nymph Parcoblatta caudelli. I am curious as to whether or not this locality needs a diapause, because they see to have halted growth completely at the subadult stage... I guess we shall see. In any case, glad to have this species back in my collection!
Well, that does it for this post, big thanks to Alan for this and all other boxes he's sent me! Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time! 😉
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