Orestes mouhotii
(by Bruno Kneubühler)
| order | Phasmatodea | |
| suborder | Verophasmatodea | |
| infraorder | Areolatae | |
| superfamily | Bacilloidea | Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1893 |
| family | Heteropterygidae | Kirby 1896 |
| subfamily | Dataminae | Rehn & Rehn, 1939 |
| tribe | Datamini | Rehn & Rehn , 1939 |
| genus | Orestes | Redtenbacher, 1906 |
| species | Orestes mouhotii | Bates, 1865 |
General Informations
- this species has been described by Bates in 1865 as Acanthoderus mouhotii
- only females are known from nature and all captive bred cultures are parthenogenetic too
- in culture since quite some time - several culture stocks have been imported over the years
- 2009 - I have distributed a few eggs from my own culture stock
Origin
- my culture stock has been collected by Kai Schütte (Germany) up in the Tapah Hills of Malaysia in April 2007
Females
- sturdy insects - about 5 cm long
- very nice bark-like structure and colouration from different shades of brown
- antennae are shorter than the fore legs
Foodplants
- nymphs accept from the beginning bramble (Rubus sp.) easily
- apart from this they also like Salal (Gaultheria shallon) - other plants I have not tried out
- other sources also mention the following foodplants: oak (Quercus sp.), rose (Rosa sp.), Epipremnum (E. aureum) and beech (Fagus sp.)
Breeding Notes
- an easy to breed species
- incubation on damp sand (not too wet!), with spring tails to reduce mould growth
- incubation duration at room temperatures (20-23°C) is about 4 months
- after hatching the nymphs remain inactive for quite some time - it can take up to two week before they will start to feed
- they grow up in a Faunabox (or similar cage) very nicely - also adults can be kept in such a small cage
- I do never spray them with water - a constantly wet paper towel on the cage floor provids enough humidity
- it is advisable to cover the container in which the food plants stand with cotton wool - to prevent the nymphs from drowning
- nymphs as well as adults will feign death when being touched or handled - a very handy species
- it takes a long time for the females to mature - about 15 months
- about 6 weeks after the final moult they will start to lay eggs
- about 1-3 eggs per week
- they prefer to lay the eggs in a damp place
more photos of this species here