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Ophicrania sp. "Negros"
(by Bruno Kneubuehler)
  

General Notes

• identification by Oskar Conle
• the taxonomic position of this species is subject to current research by Joachim Bresseel (Belgium). Results on this should be available soon and will also be published here
• 2009 - first successful culture of this species by Bruno Kneubuehler
• 2009 - this species has been distributed to some experienced breeders under the perliminary name  Ophicrania sp. "Negros"
   

Origin

• Jeffebeck Arimas has collected this species on Mt. Kanlaon and Mt. Mandalagan (two volcanic mountains in North-Negros, Philippines) in May 2008
   

Females

• very beautifully coloured phasmids - about 9 cm long
• they have wings - which are not suitable for flying
• they are also quite often active during the day
   

Male

• about 6 cm long
• also very beautifully coloured
• often they are on the back of a female
• they can fly for a short distance, but they do this very rarely
• though they change the females from time to time
   

Eggs

• about 7 x 2 mm
• dark brown
• eggs shaped typically for this genus
   

Food Plants

• their natural food plants are not known
• only Chrysalidocarpus lutescens have been accepted by the first generation as an alternative food plant
• but without cutting the edges of the leaves, the nymphs would even refuse to feed on this plant !
• adult specimens were feeding readily also on these leaves without cutting away the edges
• very little was also consumed of another palm - the chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei)
• another Ophicrania species is known to feed on reed and bamboo (Joachim Bresseel, pers. communication) and other palm species (Thierry Heitzmann, pers. communication)
   

Breeding Notes

• if you have their food plant, then it is an easy species to breed
• inkubation of the eggs on damp (not too wet) sand, with springtails to reduce mould growth
• incubation time at room temperatures (20 - 23°C) is about 4 months
• hatching ratio of my first generation was high (more than 90 %)
• keep the nymphs in a cage with good ventilation
• take care that the humidity does not drop too low. A constantly wet paper towel on the bottom of the cage helps raising humidity
• nymphs and adults can be kept in a Faunabox (or similar cage)
• move nymphs to a bigger cage as they grow bigger
• I have never sprayed nymphs or adults with water
• make shure that nymphs, which are about to undergo the adult moult, do not find places in the cage which would not offer them enough room beneath to moult successfully
• male will be adult after about 3,5 months (at room temperatures), females after 4,5 months
• females start to lay eggs after about 2 - 3 weeks
• eggs are just dropped to the ground