Pylaemenes guanxiensis "Taiwan"
(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 | Pylaemenes | Stål, 1875 |
| Species | Pylaemenes guanxiensis | Bi & Li, 1994 |
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General Informations
- originally described by Bi & Li (1994) as Datames guanxiensis
- synonyms: Dares guanxiensis (Zompro, 2004)
- only females are known from nature and all captive bred cultures are parthenogenetic too
- 2009 - first time cultured by Bruno Kneubuehler
- 2010 - distributed as Pylaemenes guanxiensis "Taiwan"
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Origin
- my culture stock has been collected in North Taiwan in 2008
- identification by Yamai S. Huong (Taiwan)
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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
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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.)
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Nmyphs
- especially small nymphs often hide during the day along the edge of a leave. And here they are in danger of being bitten by adults, which start to feed from the edge of the leaves !
- therefore it is better to seperate small nymphs and adult specimens
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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 - 6 months
- hatching ratio is low, only about 10 - 15 % in my culture....
- 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 - up to 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
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References
- Phasmida Species Files (www.phasmida.orthoptera.org)
