Phasmatodea Cultures

At present more than 200 species of phasmids are bred in captivity. Whether for scientific purposes or as pets, it is important and very useful for serious breeders to obtain information about each stock in order to provide the best environmental conditions depending on the natural habitat and also not to mix different populations of the same species. Mixing different stocks can cause the loss of particular characteristics:

Phenotype: particular morphological characteristics of a population (Colour, ornamentation, etc).

Genotype: forget about sentences like..."it is good to renew blood from time to time"; see section "myths and legends".

Cryptic species: Sometimes it happens that several different species are grouped in a single species because it is not possible to differentiate them at a morphological level. Keeping the different stocks separated helps to prevent this kind of error and allows scientists to confirm if they are the same species or not, by an integrative taxonomic approach (morphological, molecular, ecological analysis, etc).

PSG list and CLP list

PSG and CLP lists were born from "Phasmid Study Group" and "Phasma" respectively. These are the 2 biggest associations of enthusiasts of phasmids. In the beginning, the main objective of both lists was to maintain control of the stocks that had been imported. Nonetheless, nowadays both lists are full of errors (wrong identifications, scientific names not updated, lack of information about the collecting event, lack of photos, etc.). That is why we have decided to present and bring together all known information about each of the stocks that are bred or have been bred in captivity on this website, and step by step try to correct as many mistakes as possible. For this purpose, these are the steps we plan to do:

  1. Merge all the info known from CLP and PSG lists. (done)
  2. Update all the scientific names. (done)
  3. Upload pictures of each stock and confirm or correct the ID. (in progress)
  4. Try to find the missing info for each stock. (in progress)
  5. After completing the previous steps, stocks that can not be verified (lack of photos, sampling data, etc.) will be removed from this list.

IMPORTANT!

  • Due to the huge amount of information that needs to be reviewed, the list is not fully updated for now!. We suggest trusting only in stocks containing photos.
  • If you have doubts about the changes in the names of the stocks, "HERE" you can find a list with all the updated stocks, their previous names and the reason for the change.

 

What is a “stock”?

Each isolated population, populations that are far away from each other or living in a very different habitat should be considered as different stocks, it does not matter if they are the same species or not. For example, populations from different mountains, valleys, islands, etc. but also from a single mountain with very different habitats depending on the altitude. It would be possible to find a low-altitude population and a slightly different population at high altitudes (ornamentation, size, etc.); even if they look alike, they should be kept as different stocks.

How to differ each stock?

Our proposal to name the different stocks is to include the origin of the stock after the name of the species and in quotation marks (as a keyword). E.g. Anisomorpha buprestoides "Ocala": Anisomorpha buprestoides is the scientific name of the species and "Ocala" refers to the place where this stock was found (Ocala National Forest, Orlando, U.S.A.)

This is why it is important to know the origin as accurately as possible, to avoid confusion with future stocks from a nearby area but different mountain, habitat, etc.

IMPORTANT! If you are not sure about the origin of your stock or if it has been mixed with others, then you should never include the keyword after the scientific name.

E.g. There are several stocks of Extatosoma tiaratum and it is known that a lot of breeders mixed them. So, if you are not sure if your stock is pure or not, then you should name it (e.g.) Extatosoma tiaratum and not Extatosoma tiaratum “Inisfail”.

 

 

 

 

 

Culture List

Stock name CLP PSG Culture status
Carausius sp. 2 "Java" 276 136 Probably lost
Carausius spinosus 170 241 Carausius spinosus Probably lost
Carausius spinosus "Tapah Hills" Carausius spinosus "Tapah Hills" Unknown
Caribbiopheromera jamaicana "Jamaica?" 45 17 Caribbiopheromera jamaicana "Jamaica" Unknown
Caribbiopheromera jamaicana "Trinidad" 536 354 Caribbiopheromera jamaicana "Trinidad" Unknown
Carlius fecundus "Farino" 765 Carlius fecundus "Farino" Unknown
Centrophasma hadrillum 283 146 Centrophasma hadrillum Probably lost
Centrophasma hadrillum spinocephalum "Bako" 736 146a Centrophasma hadrillum spinocephalum "Bako" In culture
Centrophasma longipennis "Tawau" 806 Probably lost
cf. Clitumninae "Sulawesi" 325 Probably lost
cf. Clonaria "Dar es Salaam" 227 41 Probably lost
cf. Clonaria 2 "Dar es Salaam" 228 42 Probably lost
cf. Xylica "Amani" 234 49 Probably lost
Chitoniscus lobipes "Suva" 805 Probably lost
Chondrostethus sp. "Honiara" 505 Chondrostethus sp. "Honiara" Probably lost
Chondrostethus sp. "Malaita" 333 Chondrostethus sp. "Malaita" Probably lost
Chondrostethus woodfordi 132 186 Chondrostethus woodfordi Probably lost
Cigarrophasma tessellatum "Garradunga"" 327 363 Cigarrophasma tessellatum Unknown
Cladomorphini "Santa Cruz de la Sierra" 792 Cladomorphini "Santa Cruz de la Sierra" Probably lost
Cladomorphus phyllinus 222 11 Probably lost
Cladomorphus phyllinus "Sao Paulo" 657 11a Cladomorphus phyllinus "Sao Paulo" Probably lost
Clemacantha goliath 43 14 Clemacantha goliath In culture
Clemacantha goliath "Beerwah" In culture
Clitarchus hookeri 39 7 Probably lost
Clitumninae sp. "Khao Yai" 160 229 Clitumninae sp. "Khao Yai" In culture
Clitumnini sp. "Cat Tien" 650 In culture
Clitumnini sp. "Tam Dao" 602 Clitumnini sp. "Tam Dao" Probably lost
Clitumnini sp. Bangladesh 150 219 Probably lost
Clitumnini sp. ‘’Chu Yang Sin’’ In culture
Clitumnus sp. "Cuc Phuong" 527 In culture
Clitumnus sp. "Da Krong" 568 Probably lost
Clitumnus sp. "Sangihe Island" 335 Probably lost
Clonaria conformans "Nakhon Ratchasima" 156 225 Clonaria conformans "Nakhon Ratchasima" In culture
Clonaria fritzschei 127 179 Clonaria fritzschei (Zompro, 2000) In culture
Clonaria libanica 487 Probably lost
Clonaria luethyi "Koh Tao" 149 218 Clonaria luethyi "Koh Tao" In culture
Clonaria natalis 337 Probably lost
Clonaria sp. 280 141 Clonaria sp. Probably lost
Clonaria sp. 281 142 Probably lost
Clonaria sp. "Arusha" 297 206 Probably lost
Clonaria sp. "Bukima" Clonaria sp. "Bukima" Probably lost
Clonaria sp. "Phan Thiet" Unknown
Clonaria sp. "Phu Quoc" In culture
Clonaria sp. "Phuket" 603 In culture
Clonaria sp. "Sega Forest" 262 102 Probably lost
Clonaria sp. "Windhoek" 735 Probably lost
Clonistria bartholomaea "Grenada Island" 119 168 Clonistria bartholomaea "Grenada Island" Probably lost
Clonistria guadeloupensis 338 Clonistria guadeloupensis Probably lost
Clonistria sp. "Martinique" 340 Clonistria sp. "Martinique" Probably lost
Clonistria sp. "St. Andrews" Unknown