Phanocles vosseleri "Green Hills"

(by Bruno Kneubuehler)

General Notes

• identification by Frank Hennemann and Oskar Conle
• at first this species has been distributed as Phanocles sp. "Greenhills"
• 2009 - first successful culture by Jan Meerman (Belize) and Bruno Kneubuehler

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Origin

• Greenhills (Belmopan, Belize)

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Female

• big phasmids, moderately thick, about 17 - 18 cm long
• coloration is variable, different shades of brown with more or less green
• some females have a white dorsal line

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Male

• thin phasmids, about 10,5 - 11,5 cm long
• coloration is very uniform
• meso- and metathorax has a slight blueish dorsal coloration

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Eggs

• about 3,5 x 2 mm
• light brown with dark brown speckles
• strongly structured surface

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Food Plants

• nymphs as well as adults feed easily on bramble (Rubus sp.)

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Breeding Notes

• an easy to breed species
• adulte need a cage of at least 40 cm height
• incubation of the eggs on damp (not too wet) sand, with springtails to reduce mould growth
• incubation time at room temperatures (20-23°C) is about 4 months
• hatching ratio of my first generation was high (more than 75%)
• keep the nymphs in a cage with good ventilation
• 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 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
• adult females start to lay eggs after about 2 weeks
• a female will lay about 50 - 60 eggs per week
• eggs are just dropped to the ground