Loxopsis valeroi "Tawau"

(by Bruno Kneubuehler)

a detailed care sheet will follow later on...

• easy to breed, if the food plants are available
• food plants:
  • evergreen oak (Quercus ilex)
    very well accepted by newly hatched nymphs, older nymphs and adults
  • summergreen oak (Quercus rubor)
    very well accepted by older nymphs and adults, not tested with newly hatched nymphs
  • sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)
    moderately well accepted by older nymphs and adults, not tested with newly hatched nymphs
• female ≈ 7 - 8 cm, males ≈ 5 - 6 cm
• eggs are stuck into leaves out in nature
• eggs are laid in clutch, which can count 40+ eggs
• one clutch per female in 2 - 3 weeks
• a thin (membranous) lid flips open within hours after the eggs have been laid. Underneath is the actual egg lid, which is covered by some powdery substance
• the egg membran (opposite to the micropylar plate) also cracks open, though not as quickly as the membranous lid flips open
• most probably the membrane, which covers the eggs, dries out after the eggs have been laid. Thus this membrane shrinks, causing the membranous egg lid to flip open and the membran to crack open on one side of the egg
• as there is a connection (channel) between the micropylar plate and the egg's inwards, the area of the micropylar plate might be stronger connected with the egg shell. And this could explain why the eggs shell cracks open on the side opposite to the micropylar plate
• under CB conditions females stick their eggs also into leaves or a polystyrene slab, which is attached to the cage side wall
• incubation with the SET technique
• incubation time about 5 weeks
• make sure that the incubation box, in which they hatch, is big enough - as many nymphs can hatch during the same night !
• keep nymphs and adults in a moderately humid cage
• provide twigs for them to hide out during the day and to offer good support during moulting