Mearnsiana bullosa "Mt. Apo"

(by Bruno Kneubuehler)

General Notes

• synonyms - Hennobrimus hennemanni (Conle, 2006), Trachyaretaon manobo (Lit & Eusebio, 2005) (J. Bresseel, personal comm.)
• 2008 - first successful culture (with males and females) in Europe by Bruno Kneubuehler

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Origin

• Mt. Apo (Mindanao, Philippines)

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Female

• big, very sturdy phasmids - about 9,5 cm long
• dorsal side is coloured in a strong green, brown-green or brown
• ventral side is coloured brownish, orange and purple

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Male

• quite massive for their size - about 4,5 to 5 cm long
• very beautiful colouration - green, yellow and red
• on the meso- and metha-thorax they sport two characteristic bumps per segment

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Eggs

• about 5 x 3,5 mm
• dark grey-brown

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Food Plants

• nymphs and adults feed nicely on bramble (Rubus sp.)
• but in spring time they do not like the fresh leaves. Therefore during spring time one should collect stems with old leaves from the previous year. One can find these leaves at least until June
• hasel nut (Corylus avaellana) and beech (Fagus sylvatica) is also eaten
• leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum, evergreen) is accepted (Philippe van der Schoor, Netherlands)

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Breeding Notes

• a really beautiful species and easy to breed
• if the eggs are buried for incubation, then humus or peat should be used
• incubation: HH-incubation method on slightly damp sand yields good hatching ratios (50% and higher)
• incubation time at room temperatures (20-23°C) is about 4 months
• cut away the leave margins for the freshly hatched nymphs
• keep the nymphs in a cage with good ventilation and still high humidity
• nymphs and adults can be kept in a Faunabox (or similar cage)
• move nymphs to a bigger cage as they grow bigger
• a constantly wet paper towel on the cage helps raising humidity
• I have never sprayed nymphs or adults with water
• male will be adult after about 4 months, females after about 4,5 months
• females will lay the first eggs after about 4 weeks
• eggs will always be laid in clutches, about 25 - 30 eggs per clutch. Therefore they lay their eggs only about every 2-3 weeks
• females need a substrat for laying their eggs into. If they can not find a suitable substrat they will hectically move around the cage.
• the substrate for laying eggs should be at least 5 cm deep, as they bury their eggs up to 3 cm deep. Best is to provide this substrate in platy receptacle. This receptacle must be places in a corner of the cage - otherwise they might miss it !
• as substrate for laying eggs I use dry sand, because it is very easy to sieve the eggs (very carefully !) out of the sand. But if sand is being used, then do not leave the eggs for a long time in the dry sand. This might damage them because of the dry substrate. Still they do not get harmed if left in dry sand for at least one week
• of course it is possible to use humus / peat  as a substrate for egg laying. In this case the eggs can be incubated directly in this substrate
• males can stay with the same female for some days, but eventually they will go for another female