Another B. fumigata question

[ahicks51]

I've had a colony of B. fumigata going for about 3 months now. Almost two months ago, I slapped a heating pad underneath it, so the temperature in that area is now up around 90F. The adults are doing great- fat and healthy, eating well, etc. My problem is that I can't find any young. I've seen at least two adults with oothecae, but- no young.

I keep them in a plastic bin, with ~2" of clean peat in the bottom. One corner of the bin has a baby food jar with a fabric wick in it that I top off every day so one corner stays moist. The bin has several egg cartons in it providing plenty of hiding spaces. The humidity is pretty low (Phoenix metro being what it is), but the adults seem to be doing just fine. Food consists primarily of dog food, followed by bananas, with some amount of green veggies now and again.

Any advice?

 

[ZephAmp]

You might want to take away the heat.
I have mine on the lowest rack in my bug room and the temps are generally around 68, and they just crank out babies.

 

[ZephAmp]

Also, if you got your colony from a U.S. supplier, they're not B. fumigata; they're another unidentified species of Byrsotria generally called Byrsotria sp. "Cuba." Real B. fumigata have more oval wings that are a dark chestnut color.

 

[Matt K]

Solution = waiting. It will happen and has not been long enough.

 

[zonbonzovi]

You might want to take away the heat.
I have mine on the lowest rack in my bug room and the temps are generally around 68, and they just crank out babies.

Wow- are there any other species that do well at those temps?

 

[ZephAmp]

My Polyphaga aegyptiaca and Hemiblabera tenebricosa do very well at these temps. (+ ~1 degree for the Hemis and - ~1 degree for the Polyphaga)

 

[ahicks51]

Solution = waiting. It will happen and has not been long enough.

But if I've seen mature females with oothecae, does this mean I'm just not seeing the young, or that they ate them, or that my conditions aren't right and they're dead?