Pharnacia sp. "Mt. Halcon"

(by Bruno Kneubuehler)

General Notes

• 2010 - this Pharnacia species has been imported from Mindoro Island (Philippines) and bred for the first time by Bruno Kneubuehler
• 2011 - this Pharnacia island form shows some minor differences in comparison to Ph. ponderosa "Samar"
• 2011 - the taxonomic position of this species is not yet clarified - taxonomic research is being conducted by Joachim Bresseel (Belgium)

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Origin

• Mt. Halcon (Mindoro Island, Philippines)

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Females

• big and sturdy insects
• about 18 - 18.5 cm long
• main colouration is green
• eyes are brown
• no wings present
• antennae are a bit shorter than half of their fore legs

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Males

• much thinner and shorter than the females
• about 11.5 cm long
• main colouration is brown-green, with some darker brown spots and areas
• especially the unterside of meso- and metathorax is glossy-green coloured
• the ventral abdomen as well as the inner surface of the knees is green
• many small spines on the legs
• fully developed wings
• a light colored, almost white line runs alongside the outer margin of hind- and forewings
• the membranous part of the hindwings (anal region of the alae) is transparent and smoke-coloured
• antennae are about two-third of the lenght of the forelegs

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Nymphs (L1)

• big nymphs, up to 2,5 cm long
• antennae are very short and dark brown
• long legs
• mainly green in colour, with some darker areas

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Eggs

• about 5 x 4 mm
• brown
• surface is glossy
• robust eggs, with a strong egg shell

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Food Plants

• nymphs as well as adults feed easily on bramble (Rubus sp.)
• other well accepted food plants: beech (Fagus sylvatica), oak (Quercus sp.), Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

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Defensive Behaviour

• freshly hatched nymphs are quite docile
• as the nymphs grow bigger, so does their fidgety nature when they feel threatened
• sometimes even movements in front of a (still closed) cage with older nymphs and adult males are enough to evoke a strong defensive behaviour - they drop to the ground and wriggle about frantically for some time
• freshly adult do also display this frantic behaviour
• but as the adulte females grow bigger, then they change their defence behaviour to assuming a S-shaped posture with their hind legs spread out wide. Then they try to frighten a potential predator by clapping their hind legs together.
  It might be too dangerous for the thick females to fall down, cause they might easily get harmed due to their weight - compared to nymphs and males
• sometimes adulte males also try to escape by fluttering with their wings, but they are not capable to actually fly

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Breeding Notes

• this is a very easy to breed species
• incubation with the HH-incubation  method (on very slightly damp sand) yields a good hatching ratio
• some moss spread over the eggs reduces mould growth and strongly facilitates successful hatching
• incubation time at room temperatures (20 - 23°C) is about 4 - 4,5 months
• hatching ratio of the first generation was 50+ %
• 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 floor of the cage helps raising humidity
• only small nymphs can be kept in a medium sized Faunabox (or similar cage)
• move nymphs to a bigger cage as they grow bigger
• the cage for adult specimens should be at least 60 cm high
• I have never sprayed nymphs or adults with water
• make shure that nymphs, which are about to undergo their adult moult, do not find places to hang from near the bottom of the cage - otherwise moults might turn out fatal
• males will be adult after about 3 - 3,5 months (at 20 - 23°C), females after 4,5 - 5 months
• females start to lay eggs after about 2 - 3 weeks
• eggs are just dropped to the ground