
Genus
Species
Stock
CLP
668
PSG
72a
Culture status
In culture
Foodplants
Bramble (Rubus spp.)
Breeding notes
(by Bruno Kneubuehler)
General Informations
- provenience: Tapah Hills (Peninsular Malaysia)
- F1 CB culture by Bruno Kneubuehler (2014)
- further taxonomical informations ➤ phasmida.speciesfile.org
- this is a pure culture, and serious breeders won't mix it with Ph. giganteum cultures from a different provenience
- few males were present in the F1 generation
Females
- 10 - 11 cm
- most females are green, few can also be yellow
Males
- 8 cm
- green when freshly adult, but they turn yellow when getting older (usually after about 3 - 4 weeks)
- males live for 2 - 3 months, when kept humid (80+% rH)
Food Plants
- bramble (Rubus spp.)
well accepted by nymphs and adults
Breeding, Behaviour
- active mainly during the night
- eggs just drop to the ground
- about 7 eggs per female and week
- incubation (cup-incubation method on slightly damp sand) about 6 - 8 months at 20 - 23 °C
- eggs of this species are quite prone to get mouldy. In my experience a thin mould layer does not affect the hatching ratio negatively. And one can use springtails to avoid mould during incubation
- nymphs hatch after dawn, during the early morning hours
- a humidity of about 60 - 70 % rH seems to be good enough for the growing-up nymph
- the Free-Standing-Setup is very much recommened for small nymphs
- one can spray them regularly with chlorine-free water, but the water should dry up before spraying again
- rather easy to breed in my experience, but other breeders report a lot of problems with this species
- most cultures of Ph. giganteum are parthenogenetic for a long time
- culture history of a potentially sexual Ph. giganteum culture:
- sporadically breederes report males in their long-term parthenogenetic Ph. giganteum cultures. This can happen due to a genetic anomaly, but it seems as if such males are not fertile
- if at all, "normal" and functional males and a sexual culture of Ph. giganteum exist, these should exist out in nature
- usually when Ph. giganteum eggs are offered by Malaysian dealers, then these are collected from captive-bred females. And their cultures are long-term parthenogenetic cultures
- some years back we have received eggs of a wild-caught ("out-in-the-jungle") Ph. giganteum female, which originated from the Tapah hills (Peninsular Malaysia)
- 1st CB generation yielded two males, which mated with one female (eggs laid not counted)
- 2nd CB generation - only one male, which again mated successfully with a female (she laid about 50 eggs)
- 3rd CB generation with 6 males and a gynandromorph out of about 45 hatching nymphs. This makes about 10% males amongst the hatchlings, which is at least an indication that the previous male was fertile
- 4th CB generation, yielded two males only out of about 100 eggs. A confirmed successful mating
- 5th CB generation, yielded another two males (one more died as a small nymph)
- the "problem" with the Ph. giganteum males is that they are sexually very letharcic. Each male I have seen mating only once or twice. Maybe this is the reason why males are not common? And maybe this is a sign that that this species has come to a "biological dead-end"?
- after mating, the female will carry a spermatophore in her genital tract. This spermatophore looks like a small drop of blood, and is always on the left side. The speromatophores of other Phyllium species are round and white
- breeders ought to be careful and keep only one female with a male. Once a confirmed mating occured (either eye-witness to the mating, or the female carries a spermatophore the next morning), then only one can put that male with another female. Check daily
- in my experience a mated female can lay fertile eggs (from which males hatch) for at least up to 2 (maybe 3) months after being mated
- hatching nymphs need to be sexed in L2. This is quite easy and can be done with the help of a magnifier
- keep male nymphs somewhat cooler than female nymphs, as they get adult quicker than females
- adult males live much longer than so often and wrongly claimed, they usually live for 2 - 3 months