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- Oct 20, 2008
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I don't think either of us have looked too closely to determine sex ratios. Mating is apparent and if conditions are favorable I think at least one of us will see egg laying.Very interesting, thank you very much for the info! I am very excited for next week! How is the sex ratio on these guys, does it seem pretty even? I only bought three, so I'm hoping I get a sexed pair or some gravid females.
Have you seen the article @Metastasize linked to here?:
What are your thoughts on it?
And lastly, sort of a random question, do you know of any Motyxia that could range into Idaho, or is the genus endemic to California?
EDIT: Nevermind, read the re-evaluation by Rowland Shelly and saw the range map for the whole genus, they only live in CA.
D'oh! I only read the paper after posting my stream of consciousness observations. It's encouraging. I'm still processing the information. Some of it is surprising, like the sealed container and temperature range in the lab. I tend to overthink these things and this seems easier than I advertised. I'm interested to see if Chris52's humus is attractive to them and if Erin's pine shavings work. My feeling is the more degraded the material is the more likely they will eat. I don't know that the resins will be much of a bother although I don't think anything that relatively fresh will be consumed. Hard to say. It seems that it has to be broken down enough to for their soft mouth parts to take on and break down further. I'm going to add local pine mulch to the mix and see what happens. In short, poop is a good indicator that they're eating! I still have that nagging feeling that something may be missing but it could just be empty anxiety
Hisser, I wouldn't count out the possibility of an isolated relative of Motyxia elsewhere. There are a number of organisms that can be found in pockets away from their primary population. Lampropeltis zonata and Uroctones mordax in Washington state come to mind.
I'm sincerely interested in everyone's take and think this and Harlequin's thread could be a great compilation of info for not only Motyxia but for other polydesmids, as well.