Genus
Species
Stock
CLP
602
Culture status
Probably lost
Foodplants
Bramble (Rubus spp.)
Breeding notes
(by Bruno Kneubühler)
General Notes
- 2011 – taxonomical aspects of this species are being examined by Joachim Bresseel (Belgium), and he will also describe this species
- 2012 - first successful culture by Bruno Kneubuehler
- 2012 - this species has been distributed as Clitumnini sp. "Tam Dao“
_________________
Origin
- Tam Tao National Parc, Vietnam
_________________
Females
- medium sized phasmids
- about 12 – 14 cm long
- coloration is consistent amongst females (F1)
- body is glossy green with few dark brown areas
- few small white dots on the thorax
- white-black markings on the forehead
- thin black stripe on the side (laterally) of the metathorax
- legs are glossy green with some ligher green rings
- antennae short and light brown
- no wings (apterous)
_________________
Males
- gracile, thin and pretty phasmids
- about 10 – 11 cm long
- head, prothorax, legs joints and abdominal ending are grey-brown
- meso- and metathorax are blue-green
- legs and abdomen are red-brown
- long, thin legs
- antennae are dark and about half the length of the forelegs
- no wings (apterous)
_________________
Nymphs
- about 15 mm (L1)
- very short, brown antennae (L1)
- yellow-green (L1)
- by L2 it is quite easy to draw a distinction between ♀♂ (by the naked eye)
_________________
Eggs
- rather big
- about 6 x 3 mm
- llight to darker brown
- longish, flattish – with an idiosyncratic form
- big capitulum on top of the egg lid (operculum)
_________________
Food Plants
- bramble (Rubus sp.)
is very well accepted by freshly hatched nymphs, older nymphs and adults - no other food plants have been tested by me (so far)
_________________
Behaviour
- nymphs as well as adults are passive during the day and they usually feed during dawm / night
- a defensive spray has not been observed
- matings occur during the night and couples stay together for a few hours only
_________________
Developement
- incubation time (HH-incubation on slightly damp sand at 20 - 23 °C) is about 6 months (F1)
- spread some dried (!) 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
- hatching ratio in F1 was very high (> 50%)
- males and females will be adult after about 3 (at 20 – 23°C)
- females start laying eggs after about 2 – 3 weeks
- eggs are flinged away - with a swing of the abodmen
- about 35 – 45 eggs per female and week
- adults can live for several months
_________________
Breeding Notes
- my general notes on how to breed phasmids are a integral part of this care sheet ...
- it is very easy to breed this species
- keep the nymphs in a cage with good ventilation, but take care that the humidity does not drop too low
- a constantly wet paper towel on the floor of the cage helps raising humidity
-
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)
- move nymphs to a bigger cage as they grow bigger
- a cage of at least 30 x 30 x 30 cm should be provided for 3 - 4 couples of this species (or considerably larger if the cage also contains other species !)
- generally I advise to keep different phasmid species seperately (unfortunately, overcrowed cages are still too common ...)
- I have never sprayed nymphs, adults or their cage with water
- make shure 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