Abedus herberti

[buthus]

Haha, "Toad Bugs".. I remember those hopping around on the edge of ponds. I find the water bugs in this thread every Spring when I'm dipping around looking for anything interesting. I usually just dump these out of the net but, since there seems to be some interest, I'll remember to hold on to them this time. I find a lot of other water bugs and beetles too like the Backboat swimmer type. I sometimes catch the big green diver beetles and the shiny big black ones. Sorry, I don't know the sci names of what I'm talking about. If I do get some, I'll hand them out cheap but I would at least want shipping costs and maybe a dollar or two. I'm guessing there wouldn't be a whole lot of people that would want one so, no big deal.

Ahh...yes, your the netter that posted...sorry...I read too fast sometimes.
Keep us informed ...I do believe there is interest here.
Id LOVE to play around with those big Lethocerus americanus





edit: Surfing round for bug info and thought this was cool.
http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/divi...humans-will-not-need-oxygen-masks-underwater/

 

[buthus]

Alright kids, now for the good stuff ...

 

[dtknow]

Incredible observations! It helps your setup is pretty open. Makes me reconsider my "plant thicket" style setup.

 

[Galapoheros]

Wow that's pretty awesome. I bet there are things people catch on this site that some experts are still hoping to see themselves some day. Dialup sucks but it was worth the wait .

 

[slimtim454]

Please tell me you have some of those for sale?!?!

 

[buthus]

Appreciate all the comments ...very much. Hard to justify the time spent on some of these "projects", but if someones watching, Ill let the rest of my life go down into fiery ruin just to capture whats happening next.

Please tell me you have some of those for sale?!?!

If I sold these, I'd loose potentially important data that will help me do it with greater efficiency and a higher success rate the next time around.
If/when I end up with a good number of adults (key word if ) I may be interested in selling some, but most likely I'll be handing them out to others that are serious about expanding upon the knowledge gained.
I think of it this way... I keep a bunch of stuff that the majority in the hobby are really not all that interested in. If I sold my entire invert collection, I'd bet I would be hard pressed to pay one months rent with the profit. I'd be much better off selling my big screen TV. I am rarely interested in spending time observing it let alone documenting its behavior and everytime I invite interesting people over to take a look at it, they never show up. :? I should sell it.
Anyway... want some? Send me another specie ...or some water scorps or find me a hand full of Steatoda borealis or other east coast flavors. A little loss, a little gain, I'm game.



Mortality rate isnt too bad, but it is adding up. All nymphs were finally seperated a couple days ago with a nice count of 100 even. About half had two rounds of feeding while in cups and the other half had one round in cups and some fed while still together. Last night I fed and changed the water of about half. Count now is 88 nymphs and the three original adults.
I've drawn up some designs to raise a large number of nymphs with water filtration and quicker access for mass feeding. Whether I take one of the ideas past the drawing board is a matter of time and will power.
I am not totally convinced that water condition is the main reason for the high mortality rate, but I believe it is (probably) a major factor. Yet, I must add that I have found nymphs floating dead in some of the cleanest cups and happy go lively ones in some of the most fouled. Hard to draw any conclusions regarding this issue.

 

[slimtim454]

Anyway... want some? Send me another specie ...or some water scorps or find me a hand full of Steatoda borealis or other east coast flavors. A little loss, a little gain, I'm game.

Sounds like a deal to me. I live on a lake here in MA. My dad caught me a species of Giant Water bug that was very dark almost black. Anyways it died and I ended up pinning it. The lake is still cold but in a month or two i'm sure the water bugs will be back. Do you feed them small fish, tadpoles, even small frogs?

 

[buthus]

edit:

Do you feed them small fish, tadpoles, even small frogs?

Yes, but I have not..yet. I dont have easy access to clean water and the life in it. Ill probably get some pet store feeder guppies or mosquito fish, but that is not important right now.



ok... some molt shots...

This one is starting to darken up after a couple of hours...

Change of plan ..lava rock replacing all the crab grass. Cleaner and easier to clean, not to mention a much better surface for the nymphs to grip.

Molt underside...

If it was the size of a pony and right in front of you, would it still look this cute? :?

 

[Galapoheros]

Hard to justify the time spent on some of these "projects", but if someones watching, Ill let the rest of my life go down into fiery ruin just to capture whats happening next.


QUOTE]

HA! I've often wondered that about myself with all this stuff but then I look around I see people watching TV, complaining about politics all the time, reading the newspaper, working on stuff that all turns to dirt anyway so, what the diddly! We all have the same destiny. Might as well play with toys a little.

Awesome shots! They have a human baby look to them. Sure wouldn't want to breast feed one of those though . Really good shots, thanks!

 

[Mr. Mordax]

WOW. Your timing is amazing. I'd come back from a weekend trip and see some of mine that I'd only missed by less than two hours (they were still white). I'm jealous!

If it was the size of a pony and right in front of you, would it still look this cute?

Depends on how many martinis I had. (Funnylori in background: "those are so adorable!")

 

[buthus]

WOW. Your timing is amazing. I'd come back from a weekend trip and see some of mine that I'd only missed by less than two hours (they were still white). I'm jealous!



Depends on how many martinis I had. (Funnylori in background: "those are so adorable!")

Rule of thumb... If you're waiting and watching, everything interesting starts happening at around 4:30 in the morning. Otherwise, it happens anytime during the day when you're not there to see it. No...I'm serious ..it's true! :?

 

[Galapoheros]

I believe you. It's a great defense on their part.