Necrosciinae sp. "Cuc Phuong"

(by Bruno Kneubuehler)

General Notes

• taxonomical aspects of this species are being examined by Joachim Bresseel (Belgium), and he will also describe this species
• this species could belong to a new genus (Joachim Bresseel, pers. comm.)

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Culture History

• 2011 - first successful culture by Bruno Kneubuehler
• 2012 - this species has been distributed as Necrosciinae sp. „Cuc Phuong“

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Origin

• Cuc Phuong, Vietnam

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Females

• inconspicuous, typical phasmids
• about 6 - 7 cm long
• females are differently colored
• mainly different shades of brown
• few females have grey areas
• hind wings are well developed
• last part of hind wings is faned out – which at first looks as if something went wrong during the last moult. But all females (and males) posses this characteristic
• 5th – 7th abdominal segment is a bit swollen comapred to the other segments
• membranous part of hindwings (alae) is translucent and brown
• antennae are brown-black banded
• antennae are longer than forelegs
• subgenital plate is shorter than the abdominal tip

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Males

• typical, thin phasmids
• about 5.5 cm long
• coloration varies amongst males (F1), but not as variable as amongst females
• different shades of  light and dark brown
• wings are well developed
• last part of hind wings is faned out too
• membranous part of hindwings (alae) is translucent and brown,
• the base of the hindwings is red
• antennae much longer than forelegs

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Nymphs

• about 16 mm long (L1)
• green (L1)
• antennae longer than forelegs
• by L4 – L5 it is quite easy to draw a distinction between ♀♂ (by the naked eye)

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Eggs

• about 3 x 1 mm
• elongate-oval
• contrasty markings, light and dark brown
• matt
• surface is rough
• no distinct capitulum present
• the egg lid (operculum) is aslope to the longitudinal egg axis
• microphylar plate is narrow

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Food Plants

• cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
  this very commnon and  evergreen garden plant is very well accepted by freshly hatched nymphs, older nymphs and adults
• cut away the leaf margins for the small nymphs !

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Behaviour

• nymphs and adults react rather frantically when they feel threatened (like when they are touched). They drop down, wriggle about and freeze again after a few steps
• exited adult males sometimes run around for some time with wings spread wide open
• otherwise adults and nymphs are rather passive during the day
• matings are frequent, couples usually stay together for a few hours only
• a defensive spray has not been observed
• eggs are glued to different sufaces in the cage – ceiling, walls, floor, food plants
• about 30 eggs per female and per week

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Developement

• as this species has a rather short incubation time, they can produce two generations per year
• incubation time (HH-incubation on slightly damp sand at 20 - 23 °C) is about 4 – 6 weeks  (F1)
• if the eggs are detached, it is important to spread some dried  (!) moss over the eggs - this will make it much easier for the nymphs to hatch unscathed and it also reduces mould growth to some extend
• hatching ratio in F1 was very high (> 50%)
• males will be adult after about 3 months (at 20 – 23°C), females after about 3.5 months
• females start laying eggs after about 2 – 3 weeks
• adults can live for several months

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Breeding Notes

• my general notes on how to breed phasmids are an integral part of this care sheet ...
• it is very easy to breed this species
• keep the nymphs in a cage with good ventilation, but take care that the humidity does not drop too low
• a constantly wet paper towel on the floor of the cage helps raising humidity
• a humidity level of about 60+ % rH (for adults) and 75+ %  rH (for nymphs) seems to be fine
• nymphs can be kept in a Faunabox (or similar cages)
• if needed, move nymphs to a bigger cage as they grow bigger
• a cage of at least 30 x 30 x 30 cm should be provided for 3 – 4 adult couples of this species (or considerably larger if the cage also contains other species !)
• generally I advise to keep different phasmid species seperately (unfortunately, overcrowed cages are still too common ...)
• I have never sprayed nymphs, adults or their cage with water
• make shure that nymphs, which are about to undergo their adult moult, do not find places in the cage which would not offer them enough space beneath to moult successfully