Food Plants for Phasmids

1) General Informations
2) .....when food plants wither too early
3) Food plants from plant shops
4) Salal (Gautheria shallon)
5) Eucalyptus
6) Coating Method

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General Informations

·   if possible offer phasmids more than one food plant - they will be healthier. The food plants
    we are offering them are a mere substitute for their natural food plants. Thus they might
    not really cover all the nutritional needs. This this might be compensated by offering them
    a wider range of food plants........of course this will be difficult for many breeders in winter

·   try out new food plants for your phasmids

·   the assumption that phasmids will not eat what is not good for them - should be taken
    with a pinch of salt. If this would be true, then they would also avoid plants treated with
    pestizides. Rather it can be expected that most plants are not really harmful for phasmids.
    Then why don't they feed on all plants? My surmise is that phasmids are guided by a very
    instinctive taste. Certain substances will attract them to start feeding, while others reject
    them. And this might be different from species to species

·   change the food plants once a week - or more often if you have the time to do so

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 ... when food plants wither quickly - too quickly

·   most food plants should stay fresh for at least one week, if not then find here some
    suggestions how to improve the situation

·   clean the container for the food plants regularely. Plants keep fresh longer in fresh water

·   use tall containers for the food plants, so that a larger part of the stem is submerged in
    water

·   use the old florist trick - cut the stem of the food plants with a sharp knife diagonally to
    the direction of growth. This will even help to some degree to avoid that fresh shoots of
    bramble or raspberry wither quickly

·   fresh shoots of bramble / raspberry in springtime wither rather quickly, despite our best
    efforts. These new shoots are usually quite delicate. During that time it might happen that
    you have to get fresh food more than once a week. But cutting the stem as described
    above certainly helps

·   if it is very cold for a prolonged time in winter (with temps lower than 0°C), then bramble
    leaves start to wither. This happens cause the evaporating water is not adequately
    replaced by the semi-frozen stems and leaves. Shower bramble stems with halfdried
    leaves (also when there is a lot of frozen snow) as soon as possible in the bath tube with
    cold (!) water and let them for some time. Often this helps a lot to revive the leaves

·   keep your stock of food plants in a container with a high water level and put a transparent
    plastic sac over them. This way, they will keep fresh for a longer time

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Food plants from plant shops

·   pesticides are still very commonly used when growing plants for nurserys and flower shops.
    Therefore it is to be assumed that plants from plant shops were treated with pesticides

·   furthermore, modern pesticides are often socalled "systemic" poisons. Plants treated with
    systemic pesticides will absorbed or assimilate the poison via their roots or even leaves
    and it will be stored in the plant tissue itself. Therefore systemic pesticides are very
    persistent and thus active for a very long time. If such pestizides has been applied, then
    washing the leaves or replacing the soil does not help at all. The plant will remain
    poisonous !

·   in this context I made a very unfortunate experience myself. I bought a Pandanus from a
    flower shop. Then about 1,5 years later (!) I was convinced that the poison must be
    inactive. So I fed a leaf of it to my new Megacrania phleaus generation - and the next day
    almost all nymphs laid dead on the cage floor

·   fortunately there are also a few exeptions - it seems that for growing some plants no
    pestizides are needed. For example Eucalyptus and Salal (Gaultheria shallon), bought in
    flowers shops, are being used by different breeders without any difficulties. That is good
    luck for us, cause these two plants are great food plants for many species. Nevertheless,
    we should be prepared that one fine day we might get a poisoned batch that will wipe out
    all our cultures fed with these plants

·   to stay on the safe side, first feed plants from flower shop or nursery to one taster
    phasmid only. If that one will survive for two days then the plants should be OK

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Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

·   this plant (as cut greenery from the flower shop !) is being sucessfuly used since quite
    some time by many phasmid breeders

·   cut greenery of Salal mainly comes from Central America, an no case of poisoning has
    become known till today

·   this plant is being accepted by many phasmid species

·   do not use rooted Salal plants from the market garden - these plant seem to be poisoned
    with pestizides

·   but there is no guarantee that cut greenery of Salal from flower shops won't ever be
    poisoned

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Eucalyptus

·   what have been said for Salal above, is also true for Eucalypus

·   exept for, cut greenery of Euclyptus comes mainly from southern Europe (at least here
    in Europe)