Since I am doing more quarterly scheduling, this update will start off at the beginning of September where the Summer Collection Updates (Part 1 and Part 2) left off but will end around the Winter Solstice, as that is the actual end of Fall.
On September 28th, I received 42 bumblebee millipedes (Anadenobolus monilicornis) from Arthroverts. All of them arrived successfully, and I set them up in an enclosure with a mixture of compost, fermented aspen shavings, oak flake soil, hardwood sawdust, hardwood leaves, and calcium powder. I have experienced some die-off, but there seem to be many that prefer to hide just under the surface of the substrate. I hope to have this colony begin reproducing prolifically despite the minor issues.
Back on June 19th, I had acquired about a dozen nymphs of giant peppered roaches (Archimandrita tesselata). It was not until September 29th that the first one matured into an adult. Of all the roaches I have, this species is the only one that eats dead hardwood leaves at a significant pace. According to Roach Crossing, this species is known to depend on the hardwood leaves, so I had fortunately read this prior to my acquisition and was well-prepared to incorporate more hardwood leaves into their enclosure than with most of my other roaches. After that first adult, I have since had 5 mature to adulthood, including three of those molting on Christmas Day 2020.
The first adult to matureTwo of the Christmas roaches“Excuse me, are there still people who dislike cockroaches?”
Early fall in the American Southeast is definitely peak time for finding large insects. While there are some species, such as bird grasshoppers in the Schistocerca genus, that overwinter as adults and can therefore be found in spring, most species overwinter as eggs and therefore, the adults of the largest species are active in September and October. I typically find most of my mantids in the late Summer and early Fall and often keep several for breeding, however, the orthopterans are far more numerous in the right habitat. I do not work with as many orthopterans because I have had issues in past years with some more specialized habitat requirements for breeding. Nevertheless, this covers some of the interesting species I often encounter in early Fall.
An aptly dubbed red-headed meadow katydid (Orchelimum erythrocephalum)Differential grasshoppers (Melanoplus differentialis) can chew through a fabric insect lid, noted. I think this was a Carolina leaf-roller (Camptonotus carolinensis). Scudderia furcata subadultLesser anglewing katydid (Microcentrum retinerve) subadultSmall female katydid nymph in the genus ConocephalusLarger female nymph of the straight-lanced meadow katydid (Conocephalus strictus)Invasive Japanese burrowing cricket (Velarifictorus micado)Subadult obscure bird grasshopper (Schistocerca obscura)Subadult sword-bearing conehead katydid (Neoconocephalus ensiger)
On November 29th, 2019, I had acquired two larvae of the western Hercules beetles (Dynastes grantii). For most of the time, they were pet holes, but on July 15th, I found the first one had pupated. The had come from a museum that wanted me to raise them. I thought they were a male/female pair initially, but once they pupated, I found they were both females. I kept them until they emerged as adults. The first one eclosed in the middle of August, and I pulled her out to the surface on August 27th. The second had just pupated a few days before on August 22nd, so there was about a month gap between them. The second one then eclosed on September 24th. The first imago began came up to begin feeding on September 8th. I tried to acquire a male of this species once I confirmed both of mine were females, but I was strangely unable to find any available this year, although as I recall, there were ads for adults of this species on Beetle Forum in previous years around these times. This species is not native to my state, so I had acquired them under a USDA permit and was not allowed to send them to other breeders to work with them unless the recipient breeders had their own permits. Therefore, they both lived a few months in my care, the first died on November 6th, and then the second died on December 4th.
Sep 24th second eclosed Aug 22, second pupa, July 15 first pupa
I understand that this is your first meal, but I need to change that moldy jelly cup. See! That was worth letting me evict you from the moldy jelly, right?The pupal shell has a really interesting, iridescent sheen. Quit being so dramatic. I had run out of bananas but had a dragon fruit laying around, so why not?
On November 28th, I attended a reptile expo, and I acquired a small Phrynus whitei from Classic Jurassic Exotics. I set it up in a small vial with a vertical piece of Styrofoam, basically making a smaller version of my Damon medius tank. The little guy was doing quite well, however, I noticed it had not molted and then died rather suddenly on January 8th. Afterwards, I learned from a fellow hobbyist that the staple diet of fruit flies that can work well for mantids actually lacks essential nutrients amblypygi need to molt.
The day I brought the little guy home. Posing with a fruit fly.
In the Fall of each year, I tend to find several green lynx spiders (Peucetia viridans). This year, I collected an adult female and her egg sac. I am rearing the babies on fruit flies, and they seem to be doing fairly well. I have changed their habitat several times, and they are currently living communally in a 12” mesh cube.
The progenitorThe progeny.
This covers most of the new developments in the Fall. The Summer Updates 1 and 2 have already covered a number of the longer term projects, and due to concurrent composition, those projects were not covered here to limit redundancy. Those projects would include the lubber grasshopper colony, the Brunner’s stick mantises, and other such projects already addressed in the Summer Updates.
It appears that the past few months hath past without much notice from the perspective of this site, so this shall be a review beginning in December and extending to April 23nd.
In December, I completed a trade with another hobbyist. In exchange for four, captive-bred Heterometrus petersii scorplings and six baby green lynx spiders (Peucetia viridans), I received two adult male eastern Hercules beetles (Dynastes tityus) and about two dozen Turkestan roaches (Blatta lateralis). Both shipments were sent December 2nd to avoid Thanksgiving shipping delays, and all organisms arrived healthy. I provided the beetles a display tank, and although I had two males, I chose to house them together in that display tank the first night they arrived. I based this decision on the assertion in The Ultimate Guide to Breeding Beetles by Orin McMonigle that fighting is almost always harmless. Given that there was no female for them to fight over and that they were equal in size, it seemed safe to put them together. I have not heard of this being a problem for others, but one of the beetles, later named Jeremiah, mistook the other beetle for a female and attempted to mate with him overnight. This resulted in Jeremiah somehow pulling out part of the other beetle’s abdomen. I immediately separated them, and the injured beetle subsequently reabsorbed the disjunct part of the abdomen. Nevertheless, he died prematurely on January 5th. Jeremiah lived twice as long and died on Valentine’s Day.
Jeremiah quickly learned that he is not picky when it comes to sugary fruits.
Later in December, I began another conversation with the same hobbyist about a new trade. This time, I would be receiving a young Paragaleodessp. solifugid, a Mastigoproctus giganteus vinegaroon, and a group of five Tylobolus uncigerus millipedes in exchange for starter colonies of giant cave roaches (Blaberus giganteus) and orange-headed roaches (Eublaberus posticus) and a Brunner’s stick mantis ootheca (Brunneria borealis). Everything arrived healthy on both ends, except the solifugid, which appeared mostly dead. Following the recommendation of the other hobbyists to just give him some time as it might be molting behavior, I proceeded to thoroughly ignore the arachnid for the next couple months. On February 20th, I decided to finally give up and reuse the tank (I had given this guy a large tank), but I found that he was moving around finally. Considering this individual looked dead for multiple months, I have to wonder how many of these fuzzy little arachnids are mistaken for dead.
The ancient, apparently ten-legged relatives of spiders and scorpions: the SolifugaeAs I understand it, the small granules visible in the abdomen are fat reserves. If someone knows better, though, please correct me.
He was supposed to be eating the baby Turkestan cockroach, but at least he showed his jaws moving. Just a vinegaroon on the head of a giant rubber duck. Nothing strange here.
Another major development at the end of 2019 was the acquisition of my first dedicated macro camera. I had been looking for a camera that was more durable than the iPhone I had been using and was capable of switching between macro and standard photo capabilities relatively quickly. I found the Olympus TG-6, which is durable to the extreme, even giving me the option of underwater macro. I have yet to fully utilize all its features, but given that it is waterproof, I should be able to use it far beyond my pet insects. The photos on this post have all been shot with the new macro (except the mantis tank as it did not require high-resolution), and I think it is far superior to my clip-on lens, particularly when dealing with uncooperative (aka. fleeing) bugs. As the weather gets warmer, I hope it will allow me to take better in situ photos.
Despite my focus on insects, this camera does birds fairly well too, as this roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) demonstrates. My first use of the underwater macro was on one of my favorite fish: the archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix). This green anole (Anolis carolinensis) surprisingly put up with a photoshoot. Within a few feet of the anole in the previous picture, I found a Lytta aenea blister beetle rooting around head first in the dirt. Interestingly, the anole shown above passed within inches of the beetle but ignored it.
While not related directly to my captive arthropods, on the 24th of January, I saw a species of butterfly that I was not expecting to see in the wild: the atala (Eumaeus atala). This species was nearly extinct several decades ago. Nevertheless, its population has recovered due to the popularity of its host plant as an ornamental, and I saw this particular individual in Orlando, Florida.
While this butterfly was under an inch long, it had some of the brightest colors I have ever seen in nature.
Mid- February, I acquired some captive-bred Thyropygus pachyurus millipedes under one of my USDA PPQ 526 permits. Given that I think these millipedes could become a replacement for the now-scarce Archispirostreptus gigas in the hobby, I look forward to raising these millipedes to adulthood. Hopefully, the F1 generation of this species breeds as I recall reading that captive-bred A. gigas do not usually produce offspring, hence why they disappeared so rapidly from the US hobby.
The juveniles have a beautiful coloration that darkens with age.
March was the best month for my collection to date. On Pi Day (the 14th), the first of my Brunner’s stick mantids (Brunneria borealis) hatched from an ootheca laid by the adults I kept last year. (These nymphs are not from one of Jenny’s ooths, for those who were wondering. These are from Kim’s ooth.) As I mentioned in the linked post, these mantids hatch gradually from their ootheca, and as of 4/22, 38 nymphs have hatched from this ooth.
Feeding the nymphs was another problem I mentioned in the linked post above. I had read that nymphs of this species were quite delicate. As it turns out, this is apparently not true. My nymphs have been happily eating both Drosophila melanogaster and even the larger Drosophila hydei right after hatching. I also learned from mantodeology on Instagram that these nymphs should be fine in a large communal setup. In addition to that, he informed me that they benefit from a bioactive setup to allow for high humidity. I had originally been housing these mantids in individual, 32-ounce deli cups, but I was having significant die-off rates among the nymphs. I transferred them to a medium-sized Sterilite storage bin, and they did better but were still dying in disconcerting numbers. The next piece of inspiration came from ennisanna-fei, again on Instagram, through a post showing a mantis sitting in a Styrofoam container. This prompted me to take one of my Styrofoam coolers that was missing a lid and modify it by adding a glass door and a hole for an LED.
I did not have the best materials on hand, so twine and skewers became a hinge attached by hot glue, but it has a tight seal regardless. I lined the bottom with foil to make it waterproof, as this type of Styrofoam is known to allow water to penetrate. A couple weeks later, the grass (Sorghum bicolor) has filled in nicely, and most of nymphs are hiding in it.
I am currently planning to make a number of mantis enclosures out of the higher-quality, construction-grade form of polystyrene foam. I just need to work out some of the minor details, such as how the doors will work, but I have a decent amount of insulation foam to experiment with. Regardless, this first Styrofoam tank has been perfect for these nymphs, and they are doing much better.
Another project that has been ongoing in my collection is a small blatticomposting bucket. I had wanted to work with blatticomposting for a while as it is simply composting by giving cockroaches random food waste. I did not want to accidentally poison a whole colony, however. The perfect opportunity presented when my orange head roach (Eublaberus posticus) colony had become a bit too large, but rather than cull the colony, I took a part of the colony and put them in a Home Depot bucket. I now had a distinct population of roaches for the blatticompost bin, and in case they found something toxic in the organic matter I gave them and died, I have a backup colony that continues to receive the same food as the other roaches. Despite the necessary precautions, the roaches in the bucket have thrived. They will eat nearly anything. In the picture below, the white clump partially buried in roaches is paper towels that they have been eating. While I try to avoid anything that is likely to have pesticides or toxic constituents (e.g. pizza), this bucket has become the trash can for my entire bug room, including dead or mismolted insects, even if it is other cockroaches.
Maybe I should have a competition to see who can guess how many roaches are in the bucket? I am not sure how I would manage to count them myself, though!
Back in November, I posted a picture of my new, and first, tarantula: a curly hair (Tliltocatl albopilosum). While I am beginning to think that I am not feeding it as much as it would like and therefore inhibiting his growth rate, he has grown a bit. It does not particularly enjoy my presence, but hopefully, it will sit on the surface more when it is larger.
It turns out that an iPad makes a good background for macro photos.
On March 21, the first four eastern lubber grasshoppers (Romalea microptera) from the ootheca laid by last year’s adults hatched. Two years ago, I also managed to persuade the adults to ovaposit, but I was unable to rear any of the offspring past a few molts. Suspecting my problems were related to enclosure design, I immediately cleaned out the old, massive tank and began constructing a bioactive enclosure with live plants (aka. all-you-can-eat-buffet) for the lubbers. The first ones received romaine lettuce and wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina) cuttings, but I planted cups of sorghum grain with the eventual plan of replaceable food generators. In addition to the sorghum cups, I planted one cup with ‘Gold Rush” bush bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) as I have been told lubbers have a inordinate fondness for legumes. As of April 23, I have over thirty baby grasshoppers eating everything in sight, particularly the poor wandering Jew cutting. A few of these nymphs are approaching an inch in length. I have had almost no deaths, that is unless these grasshoppers are adept at eating dead siblings immediately, but then why did I see the few dead that I did multiple days in a row (holding out hope they might be alive)? Regardless, they seem to be thriving in their oversized tank.
What a cute little plant-murdererThis was the tank before the grasshoppers decided everything was delicious. Tank as of 4/23
Those are some of the best developments in my collection, and hopefully, I will be back on schedule for May.
I was slightly delayed in composing this, but a number of things have occurred in my collection. For starters, there was the golden orb-weaver exchange detailed in a previous post. Also, I received a large order from Bugs in Cyberspace in the middle of October. This order included three species of roaches, two millipede species, and a baby tarantula, which happens to be my very first one. I had been wanting to acquire some of the roaches in the genus Therea for quite a while, but I had not yet acquired any. This order included two species: the question mark roach (T. olegrandjeani) and the domino roach (T. petiveriana). The question marks require USDA permits to own, and I have the permits to receive and own this species. The domino roach was deregulated as part of a previously mentioned deregulation of roaches, and no USDA permits are needed to own this species. The individuals I received of this species were young nymphs and will take a while to mature, but the adults are beautiful.
The middle marking gives Therea olegrandjeani its common name as it somewhat resembles a question mark. This adult female domino roach lays small oothecae (egg cases) that are about a centimeter long and differs from roach species that have live young.
The third species of roach from the order was the yellow morph of the Gyna lurida. This species was another one on the aforementioned list of deregulated “plant pests”, and I had read it was a decently easy one to rear. The nymphs are still small, and I have yet to see the adults in person. I have never even seen the normal coloration of this species, other than maybe a few dead specimens, so I am looking forward to watching this species develop.
The nymphs have a very intricate pattern.
Since I have not seen this species before, I do not have any pictures of the adults. The Bugs in Cyberspace YouTube channel was made by Peter Clausen, who sent the shipment, and here is his video showing both color morphs of this species.
My next species from this shipment was the Florida ivory millipede (Chicobolus spinigerus). I acquired a breeding pair, but unfortunately, a couple weeks after the shipment, one, I think it was the male, died. There are plenty of droppings, so the other one has been eating. I am hoping that I am correct that this one is a female as she could still lay fertile eggs and start a colony.
Here is the pair shortly after they arrived and I transferred them to their permanent tank.
The other millipede species I acquired is an Oregon-native: Tylobolus uncigerus. Since Peter Clausen lives in Oregon, he collects this species himself. I acquired five adults, and I hope to breed this species. I am experimenting with keeping this species at cooler temperatures. Since it comes from a cooler region, this species should do better with the cooler temperatures. My only problem experimenting with this has been that the chamber I designed to cool the millipede tank has been malfunctioning. It runs on a thermoelectric device called a Peltier cooler and is controlled by a 12-volt thermostat. The problems arise from the power supply. The power supplies I have used have some sort of safety mechanism that shuts off power when the thermostat tries to modulate the power. I hope that trying a general purpose adapter will just output a steady current and let the thermostat and Peltier cooler do what they are intended to do.
T. uncigerus are not that unique in coloration, but it is an elegant species.
My last acquisition from this shipment was a curly hair tarantula (Tliltocatl albopilosum). This species used to be in the more familiar Brachypelma genus, but it was recently reclassified. My little spider has been eating fairly well, and I have been using rice flour beetle larvae (Tribolium confusum) as feeders. The current enclosure I am using is an approximately 3 ounce, clear vial with coconut fiber substrate. I put an artificial leaf as a hide, yet the spider is quite audacious and just made a burrow against the side of the enclosure. I am looking forward to raising this little tarantula.
My little spider loves these tiny beetle larvae.
On November 8th, I was volunteering at a insectarium, and I was able to take home some extra larva from their Eleodes tank. They recently put a good substrate of mixed organic matter, and these beetles have been breeding out of control. I took a cup of larvae home, and put them in a ten-gallon fish tank filled with rearing substrate comprised of coco fiber, leaf litter, and some decaying organic matter. In addition, I have been adding ground fish pellets to the top of the substrate for protein. It has only be a couple weeks, but the larvae seem to be thriving.
Just a quick peek under a piece of wood in the insectarium’s tank reveals several larvae. There are hundreds more deeper in the substrate. The larva would not cooperate for a photo and kept trying to burrow into my hand.
I mentioned the Abacion magnum millipedes in my last Collection Update, and I have learned quite a bit more about their nature since then. Talking to a renowned hobbyist, who owns the Invertebrate Dude blog, I learned that this species of millipede might be the Goliathus of millipedes. For those who do not get the reference, Goliathus grubs are carnivorous, whereas most of their relatives are detritivores. Regardless, the hobbyist forwarded the information from a millipede expert, who suspected this millipede species might require a higher protein diet. I am now feeding these millipedes with a fish pellet designed for carnivorous cichlids, and they are eagerly consuming the pellets. This suggests that higher protein may be what this species requires.
This species has minutely detailed ridges. Within a couple hours of adding the pellets, the millipedes had munched considerable holes in them.
My next species is a common polydesmid in my area: Apheloria tigana. I want to breed this species in captivity as it has a beautiful contrasting colors of yellow and black. I am currently using my basic millipede substrate. I have heard some of the large polydesmids benefit from cooler temperatures, so once I fix the aforementioned glitches with the thermoelectric chamber, these millipedes will join the Tylobolus in the chamber. If I can get these to breed, then I am looking forward to having a large colony in a display tank.
My last find to describe is an unusual centipede. It appears to be in the order Geophilomorpha, but beyond that, I have not be able to narrow it down. If anyone recognizes it from the following photo, then let me know.
I am still working on some new pages and resources on my website. I will be updating my collection list with these new species. I am working on incorporating a guide to the USDA regulations into my website, but there is a reason that this does not really exist as it is hard to address all the complexities and exceptions in even a common taxon, such as Tettigoniidae. Eventually, I will finish this and publish it for people to use.
On August 30th, I received several baby giant golden orb weaver spiders (Trichonephila clavipes) from a local museum where I volunteer. These particular ones were given to me because they were refusing to eat. I attempted to force-feed them, but the picky eaters all died despite my best efforts. The last one, however, happily began construction of a web in the corner of my room. For a short while, I had issues feeding her, yet when I realized that moths actually stuck to her web, feeding became much easier. Light trapping could now serve yet another purpose: to catch food for this little spider. Certain species of spider require a specific humidity level to optimize the effectiveness of their web, and I hope that the heater this winter does not dehydrate the air excessively for her.
The spider ignored the supports I gave it and built a web in front of them.
Molting is the most vulnerable time for an arthropod.
Another angle mid-molt
Yet another angle
After molting, the spider is much larger and often brighter in color.
The temperatures have become too low to catch large moths, but fortunately, black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) also stick in this type of webbing easily. Someone who rears these flies in massive quantities for composting gave me some larvae, numbering at least several hundred, in the middle of September. While I could have done a better job with rearing these flies, they have still been developing to adulthood properly and are my spider’s new favorite food. I may have to look to find a supplier of these flies overwinter because they require warm temperatures and generate a smell that will likely prove too much for indoor rearing.
She loved the moths.
I have yet to measure the humidity of my room, but Spider Pharm (the original source that my spider came from) suggests that they require an above-average humidity and temperature. Regardless, mine has molted properly, and, as previously mentioned, the web has been functioning properly. Two possible consequences of an improper environment have not manifested.
As of November 1st, the spider was returned to the museum for their exhibit. Due to my success with this first spider, the museum gave me another spider to raise. Out of the babies I could choose from, I picked a young female that had fallen during its last molt and bent all her legs. Despite these injuries, the spider is still able to maneuver when she is placed on a proper web, such as the one crafted by my last spider in the corner of my room. She is still somewhat challenging to rear, however, as she cannot move as quickly to capture the insects I put in the web before those insects have a chance to escape. She also seems to be exceptionally timid, possibly as a response to her disability. This becomes a problem with feeding as these spiders are incredibly talented at determining what is in their web. If I try to place an insect in her web with the tongs, then she detects the difference in the vibrations from this insect and refuses to come eat. Eventually, a struggling fly will attract her attention, and she will overcome her fear, provided I keep the tongs still.
The leftover web from the previous spider gives this spider a much needed advantage.
These spiders can be bred in captivity and are such interesting captives, so I may reach out to the original source of this spider, the aforementioned Spider Pharm, and see about getting a male. Their website currently lists males as out of stock, but if my current spider is able to fix its deformities when it molts next and the museum does not need her for their exhibit, then I will need a male for breeding. There is a paper linked on the Spider Pharm page that outlines a method for rearing large numbers of young orbweavers. If that method works (and based on the good things I have heard about this company, it will), I will be able to supply the museum with spiders for their exhibit. These spiders have also been nice for dealing with escaped flies in the room. I might put some of the males out in my greenhouse if I do not need them for breeding as they seem to be the right size for controlling a number of the pests in my greenhouse. For obvious reasons, I would not want to put females out in the greenhouse as they are not native to my area.
True spiders in general are lacking popularity relative to their cousins the tarantulas, and certain care requirements dissuade prospective keepers from pursuing orbweavers as pets. Nevertheless, these spiders can make amazing pets and have been decently easy to care for in my experience.
I have decided that I have been worrying too much about writing long posts focused on a particular species or topic. While I do intend to continue writing posts of that nature, I want to make posts more frequently and consistently but concerning changes in my arthropod collection. I am going to start by attempting a monthly “Collection Update.”
Last month, I acquired a colony of eastern lubber grasshoppers (Romalea microptera). Since they were from an in-state source, I do not need USDA permits for this otherwise regulated species. Considering this is a phytophagous species, obtaining the permits for acquiring them from an out-of-state source would likely require a containment facility. I have been feeding these grasshoppers a variety of greens, including kale, lettuce, and canna lily, in addition to some random, pesticide-free plant clippings. This is by far my favorite species of grasshopper to work with, so I am hopeful that I can breed them and continue my population.
This male is showing off the defensive wing coloration of this species. Such a cute face!Is my iPhone too scary for your mate, little grasshopper? These grasshoppers officially have the largest enclosure in my menagerie.
Another Orthoptera species I acquired at the same time as the lubber grasshoppers is a group of tawny mole crickets (Neoscapteriscus vicinus). These mole crickets feed on the roots of grasses and are considered a pest. I have heard that their particular favorite is Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon). I plan to start growing trays of this grass in my greenhouse to maintain a colony of these adorable crickets. Mole crickets are often quite common, but they are rarely seen because they almost never surface.
This one sadly died prematurely, but it did give me the opportunity to photograph its modified front legs, which are characteristic of mole crickets and evolved for digging.
My third and final species of orthopteran I acquired last month is Tachycinesasynamorus, the greenhouse camel cricket. Before, I have kept individuals I found in my crawl space under the house, but those attempts at establishing a captive colony all failed. Fortunately, I have learned and corrected the mistakes that contributed to the demise of prior colonies. This colony has already been in my care for almost a month, longer than any other attempt, yet only one old adult has died out of a couple dozen individuals of mixed ages. I am sad that it took a couple failures to correct these mistakes, but I am glad I was prepared when the opportunity presented to acquire this group of camel crickets.
Many people fear these crickets, but I think they are amazing.
Next is a cockroach. Recently, I acquired a rare, primitive species of cockroach that is endemic to western NC and the surrounding regions. This primitive roach is Cryptocercus wrighti, and the cryptocercid roaches are thought to be the closest cockroach relatives of termites. I collected these near Asheville, NC and babied them on the drive home. I took some of the wood I found them in, and they seem to be thriving so far.
This adult female looks remarkably similar to the unrelated hissing cockroaches in the genus Gromphadorhina. The nymphs do indeed look similar to their termite relatives.
Quite recently, in fact, just a few days ago, I discovered a site in my area that had dozens of an unusual and often unknown arachnid: the ornate harvestman (Vonones ornata). These harvestmen are in the same order as the ubiquitous “daddy long-legs,” but they have some unique features. First, their legs are not nearly as long as their renowned cousins. Second, there are conspicuous markings on their abdomens, and interestingly, these markings fluoresce under UV light similar to their other, more distant arachnid cousins: the scorpions. Peter Clausen of Bugs in Cyberspace has posted care videos on this species which I have embedded below. Basically, he feeds them high-protein fish food along with maintaining populations of microfauna, and this species thrives. I collected some of these unique arthropods for establishing a colony, and they are amazing to watch, especially under a black light.
Now here are some pictures and videos of my group I collected.
Their fluorescence is not as responsive as a scorpion’s, but with a sufficiently powerful UV source, they are still beautiful.
The Brunner’s stick mantis (Brunneria borealis) is my favorite species of mantis from the Continental US. This is an all-female species that reproduces only through parthenogenesis and are the only species of mantis known to rely entirely on this method of reproduction. Despite being a large species of mantis, their oothecae (egg cases) are miniscule and only about one centimeter in length. I found several this year at a new area that I had never thought to look, and I now have quite a few oothecae. Unlike some of my pets, I have been finding names for my mantids this year, and the one I am still keeping as a pet, Jenny, has laid three oothecae so far. (She also made the cricket population go extinct in the previously-vacant tank where I had accidentally created a self-sustaining cricket population.) From what I have heard, oothecae from this species are also unique in the way that they hatch gradually, releasing a few nymphs a week instead of all the nymphs exiting at once. This may make it easier to keep up with their appetites, and that is important as I have been warned that the newborn nymphs may require hand-feeding because they are so delicate.
Jenny poses perfectly for the macro lens. This was Jenny’s first ootheca.
There is a rare species of millipede in NC, or at least it seems rare based on how rarely people report it. Abacion magnum is a relatively large species in the order Calipodida, and I have only ever found them in one place: my backyard. I always joke that my yard is pretty boring, arthropodologically speaking, but this millipede species (and a few others) clearly invalidates that claim. I have not found much information on care, but I find them in the same habitat as the more common Narceus americanus millipedes. I have kept them in the past for considerable amounts of time by mimicking this habitat, but unfortunately, I was unable to get more than one at a time as I only find a few each year. Yesterday, however, I uncovered two, and based on the size difference, I think there is a possibility that I have a male and a female. Today, I will set them up in a nice home with all the rotten wood and dead oak leaves they could want. I also want to get some better pictures using my macro lens, but I do not want to stress them out any more than they already are.
Finally, I am working on a complete list of all the arthropods I am currently working with, other than feeders. It will be linked in my main menu at the top of the page when it is active. (Also, as a side note, I think this update post took me longer to compose than any of my posts on a particular topic. So much for trying to simplify things!)
I recently decided to start photographing my pet insects using my macro lens to see if I could get some higher quality photos. I had originally been using my macro lens to get better photos of tiny insects for iNaturalist. Once I started using it on my pets, I realized how useful it was. Even photos of larger insects, such as giant cave roaches (Blaberus giganteus), were much improved with the macro lens. I also started taking photographs of all the different instars of my monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillars. For those who are unfamiliar with the term “instar,” an instar number is the number of times a larva has molted, counting hatching as the first molt. Therefore, the first instar is a newly hatched larva. The fourth instar is one that has hatched and then molted three times since.
Some of the best photos I have captured with my macro lens are of my spiders. For example, I managed to catch my pet brilliant jumping spider (Phidippus clarus) in impressive detail. The most impressive part of this lens, though, is the fact that it is just a simple clip-on phone lens. My iPhone pictures are so much improved by this lens that I must recommend the brand: LIEQI. I have their 15x macro, and it is incredibly useful, even for photos that would not seem to require a macro lens.
The characteristic pink spots of a Pink-Spotted Hawk Moth (Agrius cingulata)
The eye of a Pink-Spotted Hawk Moth (Agrius cingulata)
The cute face of a Pink-Spotted Hawk Moth (Agrius cingulata)
The head and thorax of a Pink-Spotted Hawk Moth (Agrius cingulata)
The proboscis of a Pink-Spotted Hawk Moth (Agrius cingulata)
A Yellow-Striped Oakworm (Anisota peigleri)
The intricate structure of Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usenoides)
The top of a Key Lime (no real point to this one)
Pentas flower after misting
Brazilian Skipper (Calpodes ethlius) nectaring at a Pentas flower
A Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) drinking nectar out of a Pentas flower
Silkworm (Bombyx mori) eggs on a penny
A first instar Monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillar
A second instar Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
A third instar Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
A fourth instar Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillar brandishing its osmeterium
Golden Orbweaver (Trichonephila clavipes)
Golden Orbweaver (Trichonephila clavipes) drinking off its web
Cactus Longhorn Beetle (Moneilema gigas)
Eastern Fire Centipede (Scolopocryptops sexspinosus)
Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) eating a Lobster Roach (Nauphoeta cinerea)
A captive-reared Giant Stag Beetle (Lucanus elaphus) pupa
The head of a Green June Beetle (Cotinis nitida)
Some weevil from the genus Curculio
This little Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum) was quite loud in my room.
A baby Obscure Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca obscura)
This is the photo of my cute jumping spider I mentioned above.
A newly-molted Giant Cave Roach (Blaberus giganteus)
Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans)
A Harlequin Bug (Murgantia histrionica)
This is some caterpillar that will likely be easy to identify since the picture is so clear.
I am giving my only amblypygid the honor of being the subject of the first post on The Mantis Menagerie. Amblypygi are an ancient and strange-looking order of arachnids. Among their members are the longest-legged arachnids in the world with leg spans exceeding two feet! My amblypygid is not one of the truly massive species but still has a leg span that exceeds a foot. My specimen is an adult female from west Africa, and I purchased her at a Repticon show in November 2018.
The most obvious characteristic of amblypygi are the large raptorial “arms.” Technically, though, those arms are not actually arms, but rather, they are called pedipalps and are the same type of structure as a scorpion’s pincher.
When I purchased her at the show, she was carrying an eggsack. I wanted to see the baby amblypygids hatch, but unfortunately, she decided to eat the eggsack. Since she had been well-fed and had no great need of the nutrients in her eggsack, I am guessing that she knew it wasn’t going to hatch. I was sad, but I plan to find her a male eventually, breed them, and try again.
Care of these animals is extremely easy, as long as basic tank construction requirements are met. These requirements do not necessitate a high-quality glass tank or special lighting. Indeed, I keep my amblypygid in a five-gallon bucket with a vertical piece of styrofoam. To mammal or reptile owners, this may seem like a cruel setup, and you would be right for most mammals, reptiles, and some amphibians. Invertebrates are different. First, their brains are not as complex as the aforementioned vertebrates. This means they cannot be bored from a simple enclosure, and as long as they can follow their instincts, they will be content with the setup (food is a different matter sometimes). Second, many of the aforementioned vertebrates require ultraviolet light to make vitamin D for regulating Calcium and therefore bone growth. Invertebrates do not have calciferous bones and do not have these requirements. Finally, amblypygi like the dark. Some species are even troglophilic, and therefore, in captivity, they are perfectly content sitting in the dark. My amblypygi is hard to get out of the bucket. She darts back and forth over the styrofoam, and it takes two hands to corral her a get her to crawl on one hand. Now you can see that the bucket setup, while possibly sounding like a cruel enclosure, is not at all cruel if used for the right animal. I mentioned a vertical piece of styrofoam in the bucket. The most important part of an amblypygi enclosure is having something for the residents to molt on. Molting is an essential process in the amblypygid’s life. In order to molt properly, amblypygi must have a surface they can grip well and is at least vertical if not leaned backward a little, so the amblypygi can hang from the surface and stretch its delicate legs. This is not a problem for most species as they never get large enough, but make sure your amblypygid can fully stretch its legs in the enclosure without hitting the walls. One final thing to watch with molting is humidity. There needs to be a moist substrate, such as coconut fiber, to maintain high humidity. Once you have a secure enclosure, a substrate to hold moisture, and a good place for the amblypygi to molt, your setup is ready.
The daily, or more like weekly, tasks associated with pet amblypygi include misting to keep the substrate wet and the humidity high, feeding crickets or roaches, and removing the occasional droppings.
