Tony Jsr.es, " M a n z i l " , ? r e wither. Terrace, Greatvrork,

Ash-ton, K o l s t o n , C o r n w a l l , TR13 e^Q.

NEWSLETTER No. 4 Well, f i n a l l y I am g e t t i n g down to the long overdue

Newsletter - my apologies f o r i t being so long t h i s time. As you can see we are now at our new address, but s t i l l w i t h out a

telephone ( 4 - 5 more weeks quoted). I would never have believed how long i t takes to s e t t l e i n a f t e r a move, but we are s t i l l t r y i n g to s o r t ourselves out, so l e t t e r s w i l l probably be some time before answering i s f i n a l l y done, my apologies to a l l concerned who are w a i t i n g . I cannot remember much about September, other than t o t a l chaos, as many things happened one a f t e r the other, i n c l u d i n g , of course, our t r i p t o London and the A.E.S. E x h i b i t i o n , where, as many o f you know, a very good P.3.G. tur n o u t produced a very memorable weekend. I t was great to meet so many of our members a f t e r many months of corresponding w i t h them, and I must say a sp e c i a l thankyou to Paul Watts and Bob Osborne f o r h e l p i n g w i t h the d i s p l a y o f l i v e Phasmids and,in general, manning our t a b l e , and handing out our i n t r o d u c t o r y pamphlets. Two b e t t e r known "landmarks" who always seemed to be g r a v i t a t i n g back to our t a b l e area were Michael Lazenby and h i s g i r l f r i e n d , Francis, and both were i n e v i t a b l y at the centre of discussions at a l l times. Paul brought h i s p a i r of a new Pha.smid, Eurycantha cal c a r a t a , which i s a f a n t a s t i c species from Sabah, East Malaysia, and i t i s hoped t h a t t h i s species w i l l become more a v a i l a b l e to P.S.G. .members i n the next year or so. Seed stock has been very k i n d l y ma.de a v a i l a b l e to some o f our members, although u n f o r t u n a t e l y i t i s s t i l l very l i m i t e d at t h i s moment. Bob surprised me by b r i n g i n g along h i s a d u l t T. c a n t o r i "odd" male, bred from the ova which we obtained t h i s year. This shows promise o f being a very good species, which may w e l l outshine Acrophylla w u e l f i n g i i n size and colour i f we can get i t established, but more about t h i s species l a t e r . Membership continues to creep upwards, and our numbers have at present reached 38, some o f the new members being from your recommendations, and others as a r e s u l t of bur A.E.S. di s p l a y . Although only 4-5 have j o i n e d so f a r , we handed out 60 pamphlets and from my experience at Lei c e s t e r , new members w i l l s t r a g g l e i n f o r q u i t e some time y e t . Because o f my delay i n g e t t i n g t h i s l e t t e r out, I inte n d to miss the end o f October issue as we are n e a r l y there now, but the s u b s c r i p t i o n of members w i l l not be af f e c t e d as s i x issues w i l l be sent to those who have paid f o r them. I w i l l n o t i f y everyone as t h e i r renewal becomes necessary when i t happens. New members t h i s issue are:-

33« Richard Warran Hrs.. B.Kulligan

32 . 35 . 38 .

Duncan. Wood A l f Gardner John H a l l

36. 34. 3 7 .

Roy Barker Arthur B i l l e t t

Welcome to vou a l l . Tony

A NOTICE 0] PACKAGE HOLIDAY I was approached at the e x h i b i t i o n by a f r i e n d who i s o r g a n i s i n g a

n a t u r a l i s t e xpedition to Central France on 2 1 / 5 / 8 1 . The cost i s £72 f o r a 5 day t r i p which includes Coach, f e r r y , ajid f o u r n i g h t s bed & breakfast and i s l e a v i n g from Exeter. The d e s t i n a t i o n i s the region o f the r i v e r s Indre and Creuse near Charteauroux and i s known as the "Land o f a thousand lakes'.' I f you are i n t e r e s t e d , w r i t e to Ralph Hopper,' "Dankeld" ,Laureston Rd.,Newton Abbot, Devon, w i t h a stamped s.a.e. f o r i n f o m a t i o n , but i f you want to go you had b e t t e r hurry as he has had a good response so f a r .

Lazenby's Law

Everyone's s t i c k s behave d i f f e r e n t l y from everyone else's, and from year to year. ( So i t would seem from, the r e p o r t s so f a r — Tony)

2.

A DIFFERENT VIEW 0? B'mTATQSQMA TIARATUK Re c e n t l y I examined a spermatophore o f

under a microscope. I found t h a t t h e sperm are have v e r y l o n g b o d i e s , u n l i k e human sperm. The ~~ — — -a t 400x t h e i r normal s i z e . The sperm can s t a y a l i v e f o r about a week i n the

3per mat ophor e as l o n g as t h e case i s

by A d r i a n H a r r i s o n a male Extatosoma t i a r a t u m v e r y odd i n shape i n t h a t t h e y diagram below shows the sperm

— £• X.

n o t p u n c t u r e d . Without t h e spermato-phore, t h e sperm soon d i e w i t h i n a few h o u r s . I found no evidence o f f o o d i n s i d e t h e case t o s u s t a i n t h e sperm, a l t h o u g h I d i d f i n d a l o t o f a l k a l i n e f l u i d i n which the sperm are s t o r e d . I n some cases, t h e t a i l s o f t h e sperm were t w i c e t h e l e n g t h o f t h e i r body, a l t h o u g h most sperm had r e a s o n a b l y s h o r t t a i l s w hich c o u l d be due t o breakages as t h e t a i l i s v e r y f r a g i l e . The sperm can move q u i t e f a s t when they want t o , but seem t o p r e f e r s t a y i n g s t i l l and v i b r a t i n g t h e i r t a i l s . {Very i n t e r e s t i n g A d r i a n , cam. any o f

t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l s e n l a r g e upon t h i s ? Tony)

A "FEW" MORE 'TOTES by — You guessed i t M i c h a e l LazenbyJ

EXTATOSOMA TIARATIM; Our male t o female r a t i o i s almost e x a c t l y 1.5 t o 1. I g a t h e r t h e Zoo ( P r e s u m a b l y London - Tony) f i n d s t h e same r a t i o . Females which have r e g e n e r a t e d l i m b s are s m a l l e r i n s i z e t h a n u n a f f e c t e d ones. (Bob Osborne a l s o agrees on t h i s b u t I can't say t h a t I ' v e n o t i c e d - Tony) John B e n n e t t , i n t h e A.E.S. E.E.G. n e w s l e t t e r 2/80 (June) g i v e s G a u l t h e r i a s h a l i o n as an a l t e r n a t i v e evergreen f o o d p l a n t . A'TISOMORPHA BUPRBSTOIDBS; These have a l o w - f r e q u e n c y ( 1c/s) h i g h a m p l i t u d e "sway". The females we have seen a r c h i n g t h e i r t a i l s o v e r t h e i r backs t o l a y eggs have been complete w i t h males. We u s u a l l y get a few deaths o f a p p a r e n t l y f l a t t e n e d l a r g i s h females - *To, we haven't squashed them J We t h i n k t h a t t h e y may have r e c e n t l y shed t h e i r s k i n s . ( I have found t h i s w i t h younger nymphs wh i c h seem t o be t h r o u g h d e h y d r a t i o n . I f t h e r e i s a v e r y moist,humid t y p e o f environment t h i s does n o t seem t o occur. - Tony) With r e s p e c t t o g r e g a r i o u s -ness, we have a l a r g e cage w i t h a t l e a s t f o u r s u i t a b l e r e s t i n g areas, y e t t h e y seem t o o n l y huddle t o g e t h e r i n two o f these ( n o t always t h e same two s i t e s ) . Some males we have had t o l i t e r a l l y c u t away from dead females, and t h e s k i n s sometimes appear t o be fused t o g e t h e r . We always have a few eggs which are c o l o u r e d p a l e fawn. Our females are u s u a l l y coupled even i n t h e i n s t a r b e f o r e p e n u l t i m a t e (You must have a v e r y randy l o t , Michael. 1) GENERAL: Br. Robinson's comments i n t h e l a s t n e w s l e t t e r t h a t one s e l e c t s s t i c k s w i t h a g e n e t i c background s u i t i n g t h e c o n d i t i o n s one s u p p l i e s , and t h a t one has a s m a l l gene p o o l t o work w i t h , and a l s o some apparent c o n t r a d i c t i o n s between o b s e r v a t i o n s r e p o r t e d by d i f f e r e n t members makes me f e e l more and more t h a t t h e r e i s no a b s o l u t e l y c o r r e c t answer t o many t h i n g s l i k e c o l o u r -a t i o n ( i n c l u d i n g eggs), d e t a i l e d b e h a v i o u r , and optimum r e a r i n g c o n d i t i o n s f o r s t i c k s . ( V e r y t r u e , M i c h a e l , one o f my aims w i t h t h i s group i s t o show some o f the more common success methods which are r e p o r t e d so t h a t those who do have d i f f i c u l t y can get some guide from everyone e l s e . I f a s n e c i e s seems t o s u r v i v e i n a l l s o r t s o f environments and one person cannot g e t i t t o work i n t h e i r c u l t u r e t h e r e must be something b a s i c a l l y wrong, which I hope w i l l become more c l e a r w i t h o t h e r ' s r e p o r t s . - Tony)

( F a s t e n your s e a t - b e l t s , everybody, here comes a LAZE'TBY r e v o l u t i o n a r y theory.') AJ ALTERNATIVE WAY TO DENOTE ITTSTARS OF LARGE NYTjPHS (REVISBBi) We o f t e n don't know, o r can't remember, how many i n s t a r s our v a r i o u s s n e c i e s go t h r o u g h . Also we have found c o n f u s i o n as t o whether l a s t i n s t a r means t h e a d u l t o r l a s t nymphal stage. Also p e n u l t i m a t e i n s t a r i s a t e r r i b l e m o u t h f u l —

— w h a t e v e r i t means. Wit h our method, a l l o u r s t i c k s w h i c h have one shed t o go b e f o r e becoming a d u l t we c a l l minus ones i f t h e y have two sheds t o go

we c a l l them minus twos, e t c . . . T h i s has two o t h e r advantages: -( a ) K a l e s and females at the same stage o f development get t he same n e g a t i v e

number, though they may have d i f f e r e n t i n s t a r numbers. ( b ) D i t t o f o r s t i c k s o f d i f f e r e n t s p e c i e s which go t h r o u g h d i f f e r e n t numbers

o f i n s t a r s b u t which are a t the same r e l a t i v e stage o f development. (Yeesss I don't know what t o say on t h i s , M i c h a e l , as you have found from my p r e v i o u s r e a c t i o n s , I am s t i l l u n c e r t a i n about t h i s method b u t I have i n c l u d e d i t f o r o t h e r s t o t h i n k about. I have never b o t h e r e d t o t h i n k about i n s t a r s , except i n i n s t a n c e s when I have o n l y a few nymphs o f a speci e s t o st u d y . Once you g e t a c u l t u r e g o i n g t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t e n d t o b l u r i n t o a m i x t u r e o f i n s t a r s anyway and most times o n l y t h e approximate i n s t a r number need be quoted. —_^2£l2

MORE ABOUT THE T. CANT QUI "OOP" MALE W e l l , those o f you who came t o the A.E.S. e x h i b i t i o n w i l l remember t h e

g i a n t male which Bob Osborne has managed t o r e a r from o u r b a t c h o f M a l a y s i a n ova r e c e i v e d e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r . I t i s a r e a l l y b e a u t i f u l s i g h t w i t h an o v e r a l l ground c o l o u r o f a l i g h t green, h i g h l i g h t e d w i t h w h i t e , b l a c k , and b u f f - b r o w n , w i t h a b e a u t i f u l peacock b l u e - g r e e n s i d e s t r i p e on each s i d e o f the 1-1 esothorax ( b i t between t h e f r o n t and mid l e g s , Michael. 1.').

Here are some o f the v i t a l s t a t i s t i c s , b u t remember, t h i s i s t h e male, and t he females should be q u i t e a b i t b i g g e r .

Length o v e r a l l = 34cm. Body(head t o t a i l ) = 17cm. Abdomen = 8 t o 9cm. For e l e g s = 13cm. K i d l e g s = 11cm. Hin d l e g s = 13cm. Wings = 4cm each. Antenna = 8cm. Body diam.= 2-3mm.

The b l u e - g r e e n s i d e s t r i p e s s l o w l y g i v e way t o w h i t e near t h e m i d l e g s and c o n t i n u e as w h i t e l e a d i n g edges t o t h e b u f f - b r o w n wing covers. The abdomenal j o i n t s are h i g h l i g h t e d by w h i t i s h areas on the s i d e s shading down t o p a l e green on t h e u n d e r s i d e o f each j o i n t . The l e g s are a l l green, w i t h b l a c k r a i s e d p o i n t s a l l down them and the y meet t h e body w i t h b u f f - b r o w n j o i n t s . The wings are a u n i f o r m p a l e s t r a w and o f a s i m i l a r s i z e r a t i o t o t h a t o f Orx i n e s m a c k l o t t i i , and appear t o o n l y be used f o r b r e a k i n g f a l l s r a t h e r t h a n s u s t a i n e d f l i g h t . T h i s male i s t r i c k y t o handle as he i s " a l l l e g s " and w i l l hang on t e n a c i o u s l y l i k e most o t h e r phasmids. He seems r e l u c t a n t t o open h i s wings even when coaxed t o do so.

W e l l , I can g i v e a l l these o b s e r v a t i o n s f i r s t hand, as Bob has done a very d i f f i c u l t t h i n g , He has p a r t e d w i t h h i s "one and o n l y " so t h a t I can keep i t w i t h my t h r e e o t h e r nymphs so t h a t we can g e t a b e t t e r chance o f g e t t i n g them t o breed. I t ' s a v e r y good, i f d i f f i c u l t , p o l i c y t o g et t o g e t h e r when odd specimens are r e a r e d , as i n the end everyone w i l l f i n a l l y g a i n w i t h t h e i n c r e a s e d chances o f s u s t a i n e d c u l t u r e . I have heard from Jim Ashby t h a t he a l s o has a l o n e l y male o f t h i s s p e c i e s , so i f anyone has j u s t g o t an odd female ( s t i c k . 1 t h a t i s . ) and wants t o n e g o t i a t e a combined e f f o r t w i t h t h e aim o f s h a r i n g any ova then pleas e c o n t a c t him a t 210 Jeans Way, Dunstable, Beds, LU5 4rR. One problem w i t h t h i s s p e c i e s , though, I don't know how you c o u l d get nymphs o f t h i s s p e c i e s t h r o u g h t h e post as the y are q u i t e l a r g e and l o o k q u i t e f r a g i l e , e s p e c i a l l y t h e l a r g e r i n s t a r s . Tony.

THBRMOSTATS AND PHAS^ID QA5:33 Some o f the problems and c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . Another query I had fro m M i c h a e l Lazenby ( t h a t man again.') was about

t h e use o f T r o p i c a l P i s h t h e r m o s t a t s f o r c o n t r o l l i n g t h e h e a t i n g i n s i d e h i s cages. M i c h a e l w r o t e t o me c o n c e r n i n g t h e poor r e g u l a t i o n he got from t h e one he had bought, and t h e d i s c u s s i o n which f o l l o w e d seemed i d e a l f o r t h e n e w s l e t t e r . The t h e r m o s t a t i n q u e s t i o n i s t h e WTO "Popular Neon" type which i s a t o t a l l y enclosed t h e r m o s t a t i n a g l a s s t u b e . M i c h a e l wanted t o use t h i s t y p e as he sprays h i s cages a l o t and t h o u g h t t h a t t h i s t y p e would be s a f e r . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , when m o n i t o r e d , he found t he te m p e r a t u r e range when under c o n t r o l wasn't b e t t e r t h a n 8'F so wanted t o know what was wrong.

One the main problems w i t h t h i s t y p e o f t h e r m o s t a t i s t h e f a c t t h a t t he medium b e i n g sensed has r a t h e r d i f f e r e n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , i . e . a i r has

4.

a much lower thermal capacity than water and consequently loses heat f a s t e r . A second problem i s t h a t the thermostat, being enclosed i n a glass tube has a b u i l t i n delay caused by the extra g l a s s / a i r l a y e r s and so the operating range s u f f e r s , when coupled w i t h the f a s t e r heat loss o f the a i r i n the cage. When, sensing water, t h i s i s not ~o apparent as the temperature changes are much slower, and the water i s c o n t i n u a l l y s t i r r e d by the f i s h and airstones normally present. This i s a c o n d i t i o n which does not e x i s t i n a phasmid cage, ( a f t e r a l l , a l e g t w i t c h i n some species cam be the h i g h l i g h t o f the day.') and so heat i n the a i r w i l l tend to s t r a t i f y more. Two possible options are t h e r e f o r e a v a i l a b l e , one which ignores the f a i r l y wide range and uses the thermostat b a s i c a l l y as a cutout i f the room temperature i s high enough as w e l l as keeping a f a i r l y c o n t r o l l e d environment (most species w i l l experience a wider temperature range i n the n a t u r a l environment, e.g. Singapore,'vest Malaysia has a f a i r l y constant y e a r l y temperature range of 73-^0'?, North West Queensland, A u s t r a l i a has a y e a r l y range o f 50-100'? and F l o r i d a , USA ranges 50-yO'F, w i t h most monthly v a r i a t i o n s being i n excess of 10'?). The other o p t i o n i s to use an outside thermostat ( I t h i n k t h a t they are c a l l e d " L i t t l e Wizard") f o r a f i s h tank and extend the metal sensing p l a t e i n t o the ton of the cage so t h a t the e l e c t r i c a l p a r t s are kept away from any spraying i n the cage. This thermostat must be kept u p r i g h t f o r c o r r e c t o p e r a t i o n but has the advantage t h a t the temperature can be adjusted e a s i l y by means of a c o n t r o l knob. The s e n s i t i v i t y o f t h i s thermostat can be increased by i n t e r n a l adjustment of the magnetic linkage of the e l e c t r i c i t y contacts but i t i s not a task f o r an u n a u a l i f i e d e l e c t r i c i a n . I have, however, managed to get c o n t r o l range to about 2'P by t h i s adjustment and can have a go at any which anyone wants adjusted provided r e t u r n postage i s included. One minor disadvantage w i t h a d j u s t i n g the s e n s i t i v i t y i s t h a t the power handling o f the thermostat i s reduced a b i t and i t i s more s e n s i t i v e to v i b r a t i o n or knocks. Because of the cost o f these thermostats, I t h i n k t h a t I may j u s t have one sensing room temperature and c o n t r o l l i n g a l l the cages together. Tony

EUROPEAN PHASKIDS A b r i e f overview On my l a s t v i s i t to London, I i n e v i t a b l y arranged a f u r t h e r v i s i t w i t h

J u d i t h Marshall to spend some time w i t h the B r i t i s h Museum's e x c e l l e n t s e t ( ? ) reference c o l l e c t i o n o f Phasmids. As t h i s issue we are dealing w i t h B a c i l l u s r o s s i u s , i t seems a good place to do a summary of the other European species which are known, so t h a t anyone who i s , perhaps, going on t h e i r holidays to any of the places which have species indigenous, w i l l know what t o look f o r , and may w e l l be able to b r i n g back a f u r t h e r species f o r study.

A l l the species f o l l o w i n g , from the B r i t i s h Museum's specimens, look t o be very s i m i l a r to B a c i l l u s r o s s i u s, w i t h the main v a r i a t i o n s apparently being the adult s i z e . Colour v a r i a t i o n s are i n e v i t a b l y r a t h e r d i f f i c u l t to decide w i t h only d r i e d specimens to r e f e r t o , so one can only guess the same range of colours as B.rossius, although t h i s may w e l l be wrong. As w e l l as B.rossius and B . g a l l i c u s then, we have:-

Leptynia hispanica - Spain & Southern France. Specimens i n the c o l l e c t i o n were c o l l e c t e d at S i e r r a d.e G-uadarrama and S i e r r a de Cazorla. Males o v e r a l l 3", females o v e r a l l 3 .5"

B a c i l l u s cyprius - Cyprus. One specimen only, l e n g t h o v e r a l l 5".

B a c i l l u s a t t i c u s - Greece. One specimen only, l e n g t h o v e r a l l 5"»

B a c i l l u s o c c i d e n t a l i s - Azores. One specimen only, l e n g t h o v e r a l l 3 . 5 " .

Three species g e n e r a l l y described as "Mediterranean" are:-

B a c i l l u s l i b a n i o u s - Males o v e r a l l 2 .5" females o v e r a l l 3 . 5 " .

B a c i l l u s granulatus- Males o v e r a l l 2" females o v e r a l l 2 .2 5" .

B a c i l l u s t r i p o l i t a n u s - one specimen only, l e n g t h o v e r a l l 3 . 5 " .

As can be seen, i t ' s a motly bunch, and not too Much known about them so i f you have the chance to get to *n area which may have species present, do some r e a l research, make a note of environments, photograph i f possible where found, and b r i n g 'em back a l i v e i f you can. who's going to be f i r s t ? Tony.

5.

PSG/ BACILLUS 'QTTTQ ) O l U O The European S t i c k

F i r s t described : Rossi - 1790

Synonyns :

Range :

Adult :

Ova

There has been considerable ' confusion as to the c o r r e c t name f o r the c u l t u r e species which i s being kept i n B r i t a i n at the moment. This species has been i n c o r r e c t l y known as B a c i l l u s g a l l i c u s , which i s a c l o s e l y r e l a t e d species but i n v e s t i g a t i o n has shown t h a t the c u l t u r e species i n B r i t a i n i s , i n f a c t , the species B a c i l l u s r o s s i u s , which co-exists w i t h the r a r e r B a c i l l u s g a l l i c u s i n p a r t s of Europe. As the confusion i s between two d i s t i n c t species, any synonymy i s r a t h e r u n c e r t a i n ( t o mel).

Southern Europe, p a r t i c u l a r l y Spain & Southern Prance.

To help i d e n t i f y the two species which are so c l o s e l y r e l a t e d , J u d i t h gives the f o l l o w i n g d i f f e r e n c e s : -B.rossius (Rossi) i s a mainly b i s e x u a l species and the key fea t u r e to separate i t from 3 . g a l l i c u s (Charpentier) i s the number of antenna segments. B.rossius : Females 20-25 segments, males 20 segments. B . g a l l i c u s F e m a l e s 12-13 segments, r a r e l y o c c u r r i n g males

~~ have 12-15 segments. A d d i t i o n a l l y , B.rossius i s u s u a l l y l a r g e r (females bodylength 7-10cm.) than 3 . g a l l i c u s (females b / l 6-8cm.). The other way of i d e n t i f y i n g the species i s by means of the ova(see below). Returning to B.rossius, the present species i n B r i t a i n , the c u l t u r e u n f o r t u a a t e l j r consists only of females, so once again t h i s i s a t a r g e t to aim f o r i f anyone i s going to Southern Europe. We are, a f t e r a l l only studying h a l f of the species, and i t should not be too d i f f i c u l t to get new stock which i s b i s e x u a l . This i s also t r u e f o r some of the other species i n B r i t a i n , so l e t ' s see i f we,as a group, can get proper c u l t u r e s going of a l l the species, r a t h e r than j u s t b i t s and pieces. The female B.rossius, although g e n e r a l l y a b r i g h t green species :

has colour v a r i a t i o n s ranging through pale fawn, to a dark brown. I have not found any p a r t i c u l a r conditions a f f e c t i n g the colour of i n d i v i d u a l s , but K i c h a e l ( t h a t one again!) r e p o r t s t h a t more seem to become brown/fawn, the lower the population d e n s i t y . I have found t h a t ova kept from a p a r t i c u l a r coloured female may w e l l give r i s e to o f f s p r i n g w i t h a s l i g h t l y higher p o s s i b i l i t y of the same colour trend of the female, but the other colours are always present. Perhaps a good p r o j e c t f o r anyone i n t e r e s t e d i n the study of h e r e d i t a r y to f i n d i f t h i s i s t r u e . The t y p i c a l green i n s e c t has a t h i n white s t r i p e down each side, x^hich i n some cases may be h i g h l i g h t e d by a t h i n n e r red l i n e as w e l l . The red, when present, does seem to i n t e n s i f y i f the adults are kept at f a i r l y low temperatures f o r long periods, although temperatures below 55-SO'F are outside the

tolerence range f o r long periods. The i n n e r p a r t s of the legs are also coloured red i n most cases. The ovum of B.rossius i s a small dark bluish-grey ovoid 2mm long having a l i g h t e r grey f i n e r e t i c u l a t e d p a t t e r n a l l over.

Ova c t d . S . (Lo ts iu. s

6. The micropylar p l a t e i s a l i g h t grey and extends from the bottom o f the ovum r i g h t up to the operculum. The operculum V

V,

Nymphs :

Eoodplants: Comments :

•S.G. MART

ve've OhJ

long del; nianv thi:-

uniform grey, but covered w i t h f i n e The raised r i d g e from the n i c r o p y l e

i s a f l a t o val l i d having a raised perimeter r i n g surrounding a raised v a r i a b l e p a t t e r n spread over the centre. A t h i n r a i s e d ridge extends from the micropyle, around the back up to the operculum on the opposite side to t h a t of the micropylar p l a t e . The ovum of B . g a l l i c u s has a sh o r t e r micropylar p l a t e and the operculum snd body are inden t a t i o n s a l l over, extends to the bottom of the ovum o n l y e

B.rossius ova need no s p e c i a l hatching conditions and w i l l hatch r e a d i l y i f l e f t i n the bottom o f the cage at room temp-erature provided i t i s above 55'F. The nymphs, when f i r s t hatched are near l y always green, but a f t e r a short time i n f i r s t i n s t a r some" may change to a pale fawn. These changelings w i l l i n subsequent i n s t a r s produce fawn or brown i n d i v i d u a l s whereas those which stay green w i l l remain so throughout t h e i r i n s t a r s to produce the t y p i c a l b r i g h t green a d u l t s . Michael rep o r t s t h a t h i s nymphs die i f sprayed, or even i f fed on wet leaves, and I also have found great d i f f i c u l t y i n keeping t h i s species healthy w i t h h i gh moisture l e v e l s . They also do not take k i n d l y to overcrowding, and unless p l e n t y o f room i s a v a i l a b l e , many nymphs w i l l have .bad sk i n changes, at

I t does seem s u r p r i s i n g t h a t a which i s one o f the nearest to home, to keep w e l l . The nymphs are very s i m i l a

the very l e a s t l o s i n g l e g s . son species, so d i f f i c u l t

f a i r l y cor should be i n shape to the a d u l t , and the only change f i n a l l y i s a t h i c k e n -i n g of the abdomen i n readiness f o r egg l a y i n g . I have only found Bramble as an acceptable foodplant. Well, not much feedback on t h i s species ( o n l y J u d i t h & .chael) so I have no way of knowing whether everyone has had s i m i l a r f i n d i n g s . Michael also mentioned t h a t some eggs l e f t i n a sheltered spot outside had survived the mild w i n t e r of 1976-77 and at l e a s t one nymph grew to adult outside - unless someone else was breeding them as w e l l i n the same place.' I have t r i e d some i n our garden but none survived the w i n t e r , even i n egg form, probably due to f r o s t s .

Paul Watts,21 Forest Gate, Anstey, Lei c e s t e r , LE7 7FJ — r e p o r t s : Although maiy species are now a v a i l a b l e through the mart, there have been very few requests. Everyone must have a l l they want. F.ay I remind you a l l t h a t the service i s f r e e , and a l l species are a v a i l a b l e f o r the cost o f 2 postage stamps and envelopes. A change i n proceedure now i s t h a t anyone wanting species should send a LARGE s.a.e. and a BLANK stamped envelope"which w i l l be sent on to the appropriate s u p p l i e r , thus saving time and postage costs. Species a v a i l a b l e as ova at present are:- C.briareus, A.buprestoides , O. m a c k l o t t i i , O.morosus , L.pterodactyles , S.sipylus I.tiaratum , Thailand species

, ± J . UJ.o.J.a.««ii4 , m a x i o a u o p e r a s , West Ind i a n "Warty" , B. extradentatum , B.rossius , P.sanguineoligatus (iTote: t h i s i s the c o r r e c t name, not P.bicolour c o r r e c t i o n from J u d i t h i n her l a s t l e t t e r to me —Tony) Anyone w i t h surplus not l i s t e d above contact Paul t o be added to the s u p p l i e r s l i s t .

I have no-Well, ̂ .getting near the end, now, but a l a s t request. f o r g o t t e n the P.S.G. Species catalogue, simply "not had time to persue i n f o r m a t i o n on some o f the species y e t . Anyone who can provide h i s t o r i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n on the f o l l o w i n g species could help, wanted i s Year of import, '.who imported i t and how (ova?). Sipyloidea s i p y l u s , B a c i l l u s r o s s i u s, Baculum extradentatum, Acrophylla w u e l f i n g i , Orxines m a c k l o t t i i . :;ot a telephone now Germoe 3705, j u s t connected. Sorry f o r the w i t h t h i s l e t t e r but at present I am

..es Next species Orxines s k l o t t i : working against time f o r so l e t s here from y o u — Tony