phasmatodea.com

Carausius spinosus
 

general notes

• this species is being cultivated since many years
• several new culture stocks have been imported over the years
   

origin

• Kai Schütte (Hamburg, Germany) collected eggs in the Tapah Hills (Malaysia) in March 2007 (half way up from Tapah to Tanah Rata, Cameroon Highlands). The place where they were found is a clearing in the forest just beside the road
   

females

• quite large, sturdy insects, up to 15 cm long
• wingless
• head without horns, insted they sport a foreward pointed ridge across the fore head
• forelegs are strongly broadened
• antennae as long as fore legs
• colouration: different shades of brown. At night colouration becomes a reddish brown and thorax's underside is reddish
• a black spot on each side of the mesothorax at the joint of the mid legs, and two black spots ventrally on the 7th abdomial segment (distally)
• fine granulation all over the body
• inside of the midleg's femur reddish
   

males

• slim insects, about 9-10 cm long
• wingless
• head with two small, blunt, forward pointed horns
• forelegs also broadened, but not as much as in the females
• antennae almost as long as fore legs
• colouration of body and legs: many, irregularely arranged and shaped dark brown spots on lighter brown, these spots are lesser on the dorsal part of the body pic
• inside of midleg's femur reddish
• their abdomen ends in a strongly pronounced, pincer-like ending pic
   

eggs

• round, dark brown, surface is strongly granulated, well developed operculum
• size 3mm long, 2,5 mm broad
   

breeding notes

• incubation of the eggs on damp sand – with springtails to prevent growth of mould
• incubation at room temperature (18-22 °C) takes about 4 months
• nymphs take easily to bramble, cut edges of leaves for the newly hatched nymphs
• keep the nymphs in quite humid atmosphere, yet provied them with a good air ventilation
• neither do I spray the nymphs nor the adults with water
• there is a wet paper tissue on the cage bottom which is being changed every week. This provides enough humidity in the cage
• male become adult after about 3 months, females after about 4 months
• females start laying eggs about 3 weeks after their final moult, they lay 20 – 25 eggs per week
• both males and females are great at feigning death, playing a dead twig during the day and also when you handle them
• attention – females are prone to loose legs quickly when handled roughly
• males, especially young ones, often hang down freely from their food plants, just hold to the plant with their hind legs