# Suprise escape



## catfishrod69 (Mar 30, 2013)

I was in the middle of feeding my assassins, and when I got done, I put them aside. As I was turning around to grab another enclosure I fealt something touch my leg. Looked down and this little guy was sitting there looking at me. So I decided to get some pics of him. Only one turned out descent cause he wouldn't hold still, kept walking everywhere.

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## Formerphobe (Mar 30, 2013)

That's not a critter you want to get bitten by, right?


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 30, 2013)

Not really lol. Supposedly they have a horrible bite, worse than a couple hornets at once is what ive heard. But not certain. They wont bite unless they are forced to. Ive held them many times.

Reactions: Like 1


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## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 30, 2013)

Gorgeous.  What species?


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 30, 2013)

Platyermeris biguttatus. If you are ever interested in any, let me know. I have a lot of eggs I need to get hatched out. But wanna reestablish my lateralis colony before doing that.


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## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 30, 2013)

Cool.  I have been tossing around the idea of getting some assassins.  If I do decide to go for it, I will let ya know.


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 30, 2013)

You will love them. They take down prey waaay bigger than themselves. They hit prey so hard they do summersaults lol. Very easy to keep, and gorgeous. They can also spray venom and if it hits your eyes, it can cause temporary blindness. However I have never seen one spray. Im gonna make up a new enclosure for the adults, once I do, ill post a pic.

Reactions: Like 1


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## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 30, 2013)

That sounds awesome!  Yeah, when you make it, post a pic.  They are communal?


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 30, 2013)

I actually just ran up to the critter room a second ago, and got the container completely ready. This summer I had walked around the banks of the local lakes. Picking up super dry bark pieces to use for them. I had everything ready, just had to throw it together. I cant put the assassins in yet, as they are eating right now. Yep the adults are completely communal. I keep the nymphs separate until they reach adulthood, and then put them in the mother colony. Nymphs are more likely to prey on eachother. These things have a huge appetite. When feeding the adults they go into a feeding frenzy and attack eachother (anything that moves). So I have to keep separating the attackers from the other ones. Once everyone has a roach to themselves, they are good to go. Ill get them put in the new home tomorrow and get a pic.


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## beetleman (Mar 30, 2013)

yup, they are communal,ive kept the three sp. awhile back exellent captives,and yeah very easy to breed/keep. definitly give them a try! and i accidently got sprayed in 1 eye....not good,took awhile  to get sight in that eye(couple of hours).i never had any problems w/the adults and babies together,just kept them well fed w/crickets,mealworms.

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## catfishrod69 (Mar 30, 2013)

Ive kept the reds before too. But they were really finicky and afraid of feeders. And I couldn't get their eggs to hatch. I have thought about getting some mombo sometime soon, but haven't gotten to it yet.


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## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 30, 2013)

Ow.  My sight is bad enough, so I definitely don't want to get sprayed.  But that is awesome they are communal.  I had no idea - that bumps them up the list.  

And Pete, you know Jenn is gonna love you for giving me reason to get yet another type of invert!   Lmao


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 30, 2013)

Hatchling nymph.

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## 3skulls (Mar 30, 2013)

Those are really cool looking. 
I plan on keeping some wheel bug nymphs again this year. 

Where are those from?


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 30, 2013)

They are very awesome. They are from Africa. Ive never kept wheel bugs, but have kept my eye out for them when in the field. 





3skulls said:


> Those are really cool looking.
> I plan on keeping some wheel bug nymphs again this year.
> 
> Where are those from?


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 31, 2013)

Super cool, catfishrod69. Thanks for sharing. What is the enclosure like? What temps and humidity do they breed at? Do they lay eggs? If so, in the soil? I am completely clueless about assassins but they are popping up in my backyard and I have one in an enclosure in my house. I have not IDed the species yet. THANKS!!


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 31, 2013)

Right now the enclosure is just a large kritter keeper with a piece of grapevine root, couple chunks of cork bark, and some plastic pothos. The substrate I keep bone dry. I keep the room at 80, and have no problems with them laying eggs. They pretty much drop them anywhere. Sometimes over the soil, sometimes you will find eggs in the cracks of cork bark. Yeah there are a lot of native assassins that are very pretty, but they don't get that big. These guys are giants compared to our natives. The adult white spots can take down full grown hisser roaches . 





MrCrackerpants said:


> Super cool, catfishrod69. Thanks for sharing. What is the enclosure like? What temps and humidity do they breed at? Do they lay eggs? If so, in the soil? I am completely clueless about assassins but they are popping up in my backyard and I have one in an enclosure in my house. I have not IDed the species yet. THANKS!!


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 31, 2013)

catfishrod69 said:


> Right now the enclosure is just a large kritter keeper with a piece of grapevine root, couple chunks of cork bark, and some plastic pothos. The substrate I keep bone dry. I keep the room at 80, and have no problems with them laying eggs. They pretty much drop them anywhere. Sometimes over the soil, sometimes you will find eggs in the cracks of cork bark. Yeah there are a lot of native assassins that are very pretty, but they don't get that big. These guys are giants compared to our natives. The adult white spots can take down full grown hisser roaches .


Wow! Taking down full grown hissers! That's crazy. I might need to buy some of these. So the eggs just hatch on their own at 80 F? Do the nymphs crawl through the vents on the top of the KK? Do you use any water dish or do they get all of their water from feeding on prey items? So how many should I get to start a breeding group? If I get nymphs, would you suggest I raise them separate them introduce them as adults?  Are the easy to sex? Sorry for so many questions. They sound really cool.


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 31, 2013)

Yeah they are awesome killers. They also hunt by eyesight, so they will chase prey lol. Well the eggs need to be moistened down. I usually seperate the eggs into a incubator, and when they hatch i seperate the nymphs individually. But if you keep feeders in with them at all times, you should be ok. I do keep a water dish in with them, and occasionally give a little spray. Sometimes they drink from the dish or water droplets, but mostly get thier moisture from prey. Females are parthenogenic and can produce fertile eggs without mating. But they will also mate, and that makes it more successful. So if you had 5 adults, in no time you could have a booming colony. Yeah i always raise nymphs to adulthood before putting them together. But if you keep them well fed you shouldnt have any problems. I was hatching out 150 at a time, so i had to keep them together, well 150 turned into 6 in just a few days lol. So thats why i started seperating them til they are adults. As far as sexing, no its not easy. I know you have to look at the rear end of the abdomen, something to do with the shape of it. I have tried a few times, but couldnt really tell. Trust me within a few days of having adults, youll be digging out 30+ eggs very often. These are probably my favorite true insect. Dont worry about the questions man, ask away!


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 31, 2013)

catfishrod69 said:


> Yeah they are awesome killers. They also hunt by eyesight, so they will chase prey lol. Well the eggs need to be moistened down. I usually seperate the eggs into a incubator, and when they hatch i seperate the nymphs individually. But if you keep feeders in with them at all times, you should be ok. I do keep a water dish in with them, and occasionally give a little spray. Sometimes they drink from the dish or water droplets, but mostly get thier moisture from prey. Females are parthenogenic and can produce fertile eggs without mating. But they will also mate, and that makes it more successful. So if you had 5 adults, in no time you could have a booming colony. Yeah i always raise nymphs to adulthood before putting them together. But if you keep them well fed you shouldnt have any problems. I was hatching out 150 at a time, so i had to keep them together, well 150 turned into 6 in just a few days lol. So thats why i started seperating them til they are adults. As far as sexing, no its not easy. I know you have to look at the rear end of the abdomen, something to do with the shape of it. I have tried a few times, but couldnt really tell. Trust me within a few days of having adults, youll be digging out 30+ eggs very often. These are probably my favorite true insect. Dont worry about the questions man, ask away!


Thanks, again. They sound like great bugs.


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 31, 2013)

Your welcome. Yep they are. Very hardy, great eaters, and just awesome to watch. Ill have to get a few of different sizes out and get some more pics.


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 31, 2013)

A few updated pics. I might have to rethink the décor in the enclosure, as it wont be too fun pulling all of it out to get to the eggs. But I should only have to do it once in a while, and might end up hot-glueing all of it together so its easier to take out and put back. But there is 4 adults in there. 



















One of the juvies

Reactions: Like 1


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## Silberrücken (Mar 31, 2013)

catfish, awesome pics, man. 

I have kept a few Wheelbugs, and I found them to be quite fascinating. Fantastic hunters, and their prey (I fed mine crickets) die nearly instantly. 

Love the colors/patterns on yours!


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## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 31, 2013)

Gorgeous setup!

Reactions: Like 1


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 31, 2013)

Thanks man! I always wanted to keep wheelbugs, but never found any yet. I know what you mean about the prey/hunting too. 





Silberrücken said:


> catfish, awesome pics, man.
> 
> I have kept a few Wheelbugs, and I found them to be quite fascinating. Fantastic hunters, and their prey (I fed mine crickets) die nearly instantly.
> 
> Love the colors/patterns on yours!


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## Marijan2 (Mar 31, 2013)

Seems they are not so common here in europe. will try to find them on terraplaza this month but i listed all vendors and no one has them

I WANT THEM SO BAD, damnit


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## 3skulls (Mar 31, 2013)

catfishrod69 said:


> Thanks man! I always wanted to keep wheelbugs, but never found any yet. I know what you mean about the prey/hunting too.


If I find more than a couple of nymphs this year, ill let you know. 

Some years I find tons.


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## antinous (Apr 1, 2013)

Nice insects, thanks for the pics! They're pretty cool!


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 2, 2013)

Sorry to hear this. Hope you get lucky!





Marijan2 said:


> Seems they are not so common here in europe. will try to find them on terraplaza this month but i listed all vendors and no one has them
> 
> I WANT THEM SO BAD, damnit




---------- Post added 04-02-2013 at 08:21 PM ----------

Thanks! I could have swore I found a wheelbug nymph. I was raising him up, he was doing very well, and I liked him a lot. Then he tried to molt, and died . 





3skulls said:


> If I find more than a couple of nymphs this year, ill let you know.
> 
> Some years I find tons.




---------- Post added 04-02-2013 at 08:22 PM ----------

Thanks, and your welcome!





theReptileGuy said:


> Nice insects, thanks for the pics! They're pretty cool!


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## Curious jay (Apr 3, 2013)

Marijan2 said:


> Seems they are not so common here in europe. will try to find them on terraplaza this month but i listed all vendors and no one has them
> 
> I WANT THEM SO BAD, damnit


There's a UK seller that has red/white in stock. Slightly overpriced but you can buy in bulk slightly cheaper and I believe she ships around Europe.

I was looking at them myself a while back and was thinking of getting some myself but was unsure on the space they would take up.


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## Marijan2 (Apr 3, 2013)

Curious jay said:


> There's a UK seller that has red/white in stock. Slightly overpriced but you can buy in bulk slightly cheaper and I believe she ships around Europe.
> 
> I was looking at them myself a while back and was thinking of getting some myself but was unsure on the space they would take up.


that'll need to wait for 3 more months, after we officially get open borders with EU


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 3, 2013)

They don't take up too much space at all. A 10 gallon aquarium can house lots of them. They are very communal.

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