Clitumnini sp. "Tam Dao"

(by Bruno Kneubühler)

General Notes

• 2011 – taxonomical aspects of this species are being examined by Joachim Bresseel (Belgium), and he will also describe this species
• 2012 - first successful culture by Bruno Kneubuehler
• 2012 - this species has been distributed as Clitumnini sp. "Tam Dao“

_________________

Origin

• Tam Tao National Parc, Vietnam 

_________________

Females

• medium sized phasmids
• about 12 – 14 cm long
• coloration is consistent amongst females (F1)
• body is glossy green with few dark brown areas
• few small white dots on the thorax
• white-black markings on the forehead
• thin black stripe on the side (laterally) of the metathorax
• legs are glossy green with some ligher green rings
• antennae short and light brown
• no wings (apterous)

_________________

Males

• gracile, thin and pretty phasmids
• about 10 – 11 cm long
• head, prothorax, legs joints and abdominal ending are grey-brown
• meso- and metathorax are blue-green
• legs and abdomen are red-brown
• long, thin legs
• antennae are dark and about half the length of the forelegs
• no wings (apterous)

_________________

Nymphs

• about 15 mm (L1)
• very short, brown antennae (L1)
• yellow-green (L1)
• by L2 it is quite easy to draw a distinction between ♀♂ (by the naked eye)

_________________

Eggs

• rather big
• about 6 x 3 mm
• llight to darker brown
• longish, flattish – with an idiosyncratic form
• big capitulum on top of the egg lid (operculum)

_________________

Food Plants

• bramble (Rubus sp.)
  is very well accepted by freshly hatched nymphs, older nymphs and adults
• no other food plants have been tested by me (so far)

_________________

Behaviour

• nymphs as well as adults are passive during the day and they usually feed during dawm / night
• a defensive spray has not been observed
• matings occur during the night and couples stay together for a few hours only

_________________

Developement

• incubation time (HH-incubation on slightly damp sand at 20 - 23 °C) is about 6 months  (F1)
• spread some dried  (!) moss over the eggs - this will make it much easier for the nymphs to hatch unscathed and it also reduces mould growth to some extend
• hatching ratio in F1 was very high (> 50%)
• males and females will be adult after about 3 (at 20 – 23°C)
• females start laying eggs after about 2 – 3 weeks
• eggs are flinged away - with a swing of the abodmen
• about 35 – 45 eggs per female and week
• adults can live for several months

_________________

Breeding Notes

• my general notes on how to breed phasmids are a integral part of this care sheet ...
• it is very easy to breed this species
• keep the nymphs in a cage with good ventilation, but take care that the humidity does not drop too low
• a constantly wet paper towel on the floor of the cage helps raising humidity

• a humidity level of about 60+ % rH (for adults) and 75+ % rH (for nymphs) seems to be fine

• nymphs can be kept in a Faunabox (or similar cages)
• move nymphs to a bigger cage as they grow bigger
• a cage of at least 30 x 30 x 30 cm should be provided for 3 - 4 couples of this species (or considerably larger if the cage also contains other species !)
• generally I advise to keep different phasmid species seperately (unfortunately, overcrowed cages are still too common ...)
• I have never sprayed nymphs, adults or their cage with water
• make shure that nymphs, which are about to undergo their adult moult, do not find places in the cage which would not offer them enough space beneath to moult successfully