Periphetes quezonicus "Mt. Palakong"

(by Bruno Kneubuehler)

General notes

• 2010 - sucessful culture of this new culture stock by Bruno Kneubuehler

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Origin

• Mt. Palakong Simbahan (Real, Quezon Province, Philippines)

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Female

• very nicely coloured phasmids
• about 10 - 11 cm long
• no wings

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Male

• colouration is a blue-green with orange
• about 9 cm long
• no wings

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Nymphs (L1)

• greenish-brown
• antennae are longer than the fore legs

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Eggs

• about 2,5 x 1,5 mm
• elongate
• red brown in colour
• surface is not shiny

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Food Plants

• nymphs (from L1) as well as adults feed nicely on bramble (Rubus sp.)
• they also feed nicely on raspberry (Rubus idaeus) and oak (Quercus sp.) (info by Simona Inches, Switzerland)
• firethorn (Pyracantha sp.) (Philippe van der Schoor, pers. comm.)

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Defensive Behaviour

• especially the adult males and females let themselves drop to the ground very quickly when they feed disturbed (like when the cage is being opened up)
• once dropped to the ground, they try to crawl away to find a hideout

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Breeding Notes

• an easy to breed and beautiful species
• incubation of the eggs with the HH-method (on dry sand) yields good hatching rations
• hatching ratio for my first generation was more than 50%
• incubation time at room temperatures (20 - 23°C) is about 5,5 months
• keep the nymphs in a cage with good ventilation
• small nymphs can escape easily through cracks in the cage - like in a Faunabox (Rainer Piller)
• take care that the humidity does not drop too low
• a constantly wet paper towel on the bottom of the cage helps raising humidity
• nymphs and adults can be kept in a Faunabox (or similar cage)
• move nymphs to a bigger cage as they grow bigger
• I have never sprayed nymphs or adults with water
• make shure that nymphs, which are about to undergo the adult moult, do not find places in the cage which would not offer them enough room beneath to moult successfully
• male will be adult after about 2,5 months (at room temperatures), females after 3 months
• females start to lay eggs after about 3 weeks
• eggs are just dropped to the ground