Species
Stock
CLP
749
Culture status
In culture
Foodplants
Bramble (Rubus spp.)
Firethorn (Pyracantha)
Breeding notes
(by Bruno Kneubühler)
General Notes
- Nicolas Cliquennois (Madagascar) and Sven Bradler (Germany) are currently working on taxonomical aspects of this species
- it might have been described as Canuleius delicatulus Brancsik, 1898 (info by Nicolas Cliquennois)
- für weiterführende taxonomische Infos → Phasmida Species Files
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Culture History
2014 - first successful culture (parthenogenetic, females only) by Bruno Kneubuehler
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Origin
- Nosy Be (Madagascar)
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Females
- about 7 – 7.5 cm
- bark-like brown coloration with a little green
- small spines on the thorax and head
- body surface coarse
- very short antennae
- a wart-like protrusion dorsally, at the caudal end of the 6th abdominal segment
- light brown cerci
- subgenital plate shorter than the abdominal ending
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Nymphs
- about 12 mm (L1)
- light brown (L1)
- already distinct spines on the head
- very short antennae
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Eggs
- these are glued
- 4 x 2 mm
- hairy
- brown checkered
- surface coarse and matt
- egg lid (operculum) sloped towards the longitudinal egg axis
- micropylar plate long and lance-shaped
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Food Plants
- it is very much recommendede to cut away the edges of the leaves for nymphs in L1
- regularly change the plants and the water in which they stand
- bramble (Rubus spp.)
is very well accepted by nymphs and adults - firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea)
is moderately accepted by nymphs and adults
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Behaviour
- nymphs as well as adult are passive during the day and out and about feeding at night
- if being touched, small nymphs (L1) are passive and feign death
- a defensive spray has not been observed
- but a rather calm species
- females glue their eggs to the stems of the food plants. Carefully remove the eggs, as they can break easily
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Developement
- incubation time (HH-incubation) at 20 - 23 °C is about 5 months
- GET method for glued eggs
- please note, that for phasmids it is not uncommon that some nymphs hatch a few or many months after the first nymphs hatched
- spread some dry (!) 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
- females will be adult after about 5 months (at 20 – 23°C)
- females start laying eggs after about 3 – 4 weeks
- about 4 – 6 eggs per female and week
- adults can live for several months
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Breeding Notes
- my general notes on how to breed phasmids are an integral part of this care sheet …
- it is recommend to keep this species in a seperate cage. The culture is much more likely to be successful than in an multi-species cage which are all too often badly crowed
- it is very easy to breed this species
- keep nymphs seperate from the adults. This makes it much easier to monitor their developement and they are protected from being disturbed or even harmed by the much bigger adults (like during their moults)
- keep the nymphs in a cage with good ventilation
- 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 like Faunarium)
- move nymphs to a bigger cage as they grow bigger
- a cage of at least 30 x 30 x 30 cm height should be provided for about 10 adult female
- I have never sprayed nymphs, adults or their cage with water
- make sure 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