
Genus
Species
Stock
Culture status
Probably lost
Foodplants
Shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa)
Common silverweed (Argentina anserina)
Acaena buchananii
Schinus molle
Breeding notes
- Trelew (Argentina)
- eggs are elongate-oval, about 9 mm long, dark brown, lance-shaped micropylar plate
- first the eggs were kept in the fridge (at around 6°C) for 3 months, as eggs in the wild most probably hibernate. After this "hibernation period" they were incubated at room temperature (20 - 23 °C)
- incubation time (HH-method on slightly damp sand) is about 3 months at 20 - 23°C
- very robustly built, brown nymphs, about 12 mm long
- the following food plants have been well accepted:
shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa)
common silverweed (Argentina anserina)
Acaena buchananii - the geus Acaena is known to be a food plant for Agathemra crassa
- the natural food plant for A. claraziana in the area of Trelew (Argentina) is Schinus molle
- other plants which are mentioned as food plants for Agathemera:
Mulinum (for A. crassa), Citrus, Larrea, Rhus, Hoffmannseggia, Lecointea, Lithraea molleoides (for A. luteola)
- nymphs grew very well until they were in L3, then they all died for no obvious reason
- References:
Emily DiBlasi, Solon Morse, Jason R Mayberry, Luciano J Avila, Mariana Morando, Katharina Dittmar: New Spiroplasma in parasitic Leptus mites and their Agathemera walking stick hosts from Argentina (Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, Volume 107, Issue 3, July 2011, Pages 225–228)