Dream insect/invertebrate/arthropod?

[RTTB]

I have less exotic wants as I am a natives guy. I want some Desert Ironclad Beetles and I would love to collect them myself

 

[MantisGirl]

I have always thought a Hymenopus coronatus (Orchid Mantis) would be great. They are one of the hardest species of mantis to keep, though.

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

Definently a few Citheronia regalis.

 

[Ratmosphere]

I have always thought a Hymenopus coronatus (Orchid Mantis) would be great. They are one of the hardest species of mantis to keep, though.

Totally disagree. I have some and they do fine at room temperature, keeping the substrate damp, and misting from time to time.

 

[MantisGirl]

Totally disagree. I have some and they do fine at room temperature, keeping the substrate damp, and misting from time to time.

Really? I read that they were the hardest ones to keep. If you live in the US that might make a difference. In the winter, in the UK, it gets very cold and it can be hard to keep tanks warm.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Same with the winters here in CT! As long as the heating system doesn’t give out you should be fine.

 

[Hisserdude]

Really? I read that they were the hardest ones to keep. If you live in the US that might make a difference. In the winter, in the UK, it gets very cold and it can be hard to keep tanks warm.

Nah man, there are WAAAAY more difficult mantids to keep than the orchids. I'd say orchid mantids are an intermediate species, not necessarily for beginners who have no experience keeping inverts whatsoever, but definitely not as difficult as some expert species.

 

[Hisserdude]

For me it's gonna be either one of the Perisphaerus spp, or a Pilema sp, both are very unique cockroach genera, both with somewhat high levels of paternal care! It'll probably be a LOOOONG time until any reach the US hobby though. (Well, one guy here had Perisphaerus last year, but I don't think he was able to breed them)

 

[MantisGirl]

Nah man, there are WAAAAY more difficult mantids to keep than the orchids. I'd say orchid mantids are an intermediate species, not necessarily for beginners who have no experience keeping inverts whatsoever, but definitely not as difficult as some expert species.

Which ones are harder? I bet they don't look as nice.

 

[Nir Avraham]

I’ve always thought about this one.

Greta oto (Glasswinged butterfly)

I've seen so many of them in Costa Rica. Beautiful!

 

[BoyFromLA]

I've seen so many of them in Costa Rica. Beautiful!

It’s a stunning butterfly. So pretty!

 

[LawnShrimp]

In order of how much I want them:

1. Scolopendra sp. 'Philippines' - Blue, orange, and incredible.
2. Any Sphaerotheriidan that can breed in captivity (or moving to Madagascar and having them in my backyard).
3. Phrynus longipes, or any other large Phrynus sp.
4. True Hierodula grandis
5. Metallyticius splendidus
6. Thai pill isopods - any species that is colorful
7. Messicobolus millipedes
8. Lepidurus sp. - any will do

 

[schmiggle]

Which ones are harder? I bet they don't look as nice.

Idolomantis diabolica is known for being a pain, and Gongylus gongylodes is no piece of cake either.

 

[MantisGirl]

Idolomantis diabolica is known for being a pain, and Gongylus gongylodes is no piece of cake either.

I'll steer clear of them, then!

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Definently a few Citheronia regalis.

That's a good one... you know what's frustrating? Living in a place where they were once native but have gone extinct from in recent decades. I could get some but I wouldn't have the satisfaction of being able to release them knowing they might survive and find mates.

 

[Serpyderpy]

Gonna stick them under a spoiler because there's quite a few and I tend to rant an awful lot about animals that I wish I could have.

​

Spoiler: Abandon hope, all ye that enter here.

Pheretima sieboldii​

Let's face it, most earthworms are boring. They do their part in the ecosystem but apart from that they're very mudane. They wiggle, and eat dirt, and produce tons of tiny little worms that do the same, but then I found out that somewhere in the world there exists giant blue earthworms and I immediately fell in love. There are similar worms that live in Australia, but since exported animals is usually next to impossible, here's hoping that these guys can maybe end up in the hobby someday. They're from Southeast Asia, and they look stunning.​

Platymma tweediei​

These guys look like volcanoes. Very slow, slimy volcanoes. The underside of their bodies are a beautiful, solid orange colour. They are incredibly hard to find within the hobby and they don't fare so well in captivity, though some people have had some success in rearing them. I hope we can raise a population some day, but people don't seem too interested in snails, unlike other inverts.

Dactylotum bicolor​

Grasshoppers are wonderful little things but the colours on this critter make me drool. It's like someone genuinely managed to bring a drawing to life, one they made out of ink and watercolour paint. I know crickets, locust and grasshoppers get a bad rep due to how noisy, manic and destructive they can be but, at least they look good doing it!

Polyzosteria mitchelli​

Again, they live in Australia, so I doubt I'll ever own one, but they are gorgeous creatures. They're decently sized cockroaches that have a lovely subdued turquoise coloured chitin with bands of yellow or cream. Their legs shimmer too, kinda prickly looking but they look very gentle. The pattern on their backs are mesmerizing, I could stare at it for hours. They're quite chunky too, you can definitely see all of their defining features.

Chrysis ignita​

Is that not one of the coolest binomial names ever? These guys are native to where I live, which surprised me an awful lot, but they are apparently now somewhat rare to spot here in the UK. I missed the season anyway to hunt for these beauties, here's hoping I'll be more successful next year. I'll have to look up and speculate how to replicate their needs, I can't imagine a cuckoo wasp will be straightforward to look after.

There are a ton of others but, I'll stop here before I list every single one.

TL;DR I like a lot of brightly coloured inverts but a lot of them are a pipe dream.

 

[schmiggle]

Gonna stick them under a spoiler because there's quite a few and I tend to rant an awful lot about animals that I wish I could have.

​

Spoiler: Abandon hope, all ye that enter here.

Pheretima sieboldii​

Let's face it, most earthworms are boring. They do their part in the ecosystem but apart from that they're very mudane. They wiggle, and eat dirt, and produce tons of tiny little worms that do the same, but then I found out that somewhere in the world there exists giant blue earthworms and I immediately fell in love. There are similar worms that live in Australia, but since exported animals is usually next to impossible, here's hoping that these guys can maybe end up in the hobby someday. They're from Southeast Asia, and they look stunning.​

Platymma tweediei​

These guys look like volcanoes. Very slow, slimy volcanoes. The underside of their bodies are a beautiful, solid orange colour. They are incredibly hard to find within the hobby and they don't fare so well in captivity, though some people have had some success in rearing them. I hope we can raise a population some day, but people don't seem too interested in snails, unlike other inverts.

Dactylotum bicolor​

Grasshoppers are wonderful little things but the colours on this critter make me drool. It's like someone genuinely managed to bring a drawing to life, one they made out of ink and watercolour paint. I know crickets, locust and grasshoppers get a bad rep due to how noisy, manic and destructive they can be but, at least they look good doing it!

Polyzosteria mitchelli​

Again, they live in Australia, so I doubt I'll ever own one, but they are gorgeous creatures. They're decently sized cockroaches that have a lovely subdued turquoise coloured chitin with bands of yellow or cream. Their legs shimmer too, kinda prickly looking but they look very gentle. The pattern on their backs are mesmerizing, I could stare at it for hours. They're quite chunky too, you can definitely see all of their defining features.

Chrysis ignita​

Is that not one of the coolest binomial names ever? These guys are native to where I live, which surprised me an awful lot, but they are apparently now somewhat rare to spot here in the UK. I missed the season anyway to hunt for these beauties, here's hoping I'll be more successful next year. I'll have to look up and speculate how to replicate their needs, I can't imagine a cuckoo wasp will be straightforward to look after.

There are a ton of others but, I'll stop here before I list every single one.

TL;DR I like a lot of brightly coloured inverts but a lot of them are a pipe dream.

Maybe if they exported those blue earthworms they would also export the giant Bornean leeches, which I've wanted forever...they're specialized to feed on the blue earthworms.

 

[Hisserdude]

Which ones are harder? I bet they don't look as nice.

I was going to suggest both of the species that @schmiggle suggested, along with any of the bark mantids, (Metallyticus splendidus, Gonatista grisea, etc.).

Gonna stick them under a spoiler because there's quite a few and I tend to rant an awful lot about animals that I wish I could have.

​

Spoiler: Abandon hope, all ye that enter here.

Pheretima sieboldii​

Let's face it, most earthworms are boring. They do their part in the ecosystem but apart from that they're very mudane. They wiggle, and eat dirt, and produce tons of tiny little worms that do the same, but then I found out that somewhere in the world there exists giant blue earthworms and I immediately fell in love. There are similar worms that live in Australia, but since exported animals is usually next to impossible, here's hoping that these guys can maybe end up in the hobby someday. They're from Southeast Asia, and they look stunning.​

Platymma tweediei​

These guys look like volcanoes. Very slow, slimy volcanoes. The underside of their bodies are a beautiful, solid orange colour. They are incredibly hard to find within the hobby and they don't fare so well in captivity, though some people have had some success in rearing them. I hope we can raise a population some day, but people don't seem too interested in snails, unlike other inverts.

Dactylotum bicolor​

Grasshoppers are wonderful little things but the colours on this critter make me drool. It's like someone genuinely managed to bring a drawing to life, one they made out of ink and watercolour paint. I know crickets, locust and grasshoppers get a bad rep due to how noisy, manic and destructive they can be but, at least they look good doing it!

Polyzosteria mitchelli​

Again, they live in Australia, so I doubt I'll ever own one, but they are gorgeous creatures. They're decently sized cockroaches that have a lovely subdued turquoise coloured chitin with bands of yellow or cream. Their legs shimmer too, kinda prickly looking but they look very gentle. The pattern on their backs are mesmerizing, I could stare at it for hours. They're quite chunky too, you can definitely see all of their defining features.

Chrysis ignita​

Is that not one of the coolest binomial names ever? These guys are native to where I live, which surprised me an awful lot, but they are apparently now somewhat rare to spot here in the UK. I missed the season anyway to hunt for these beauties, here's hoping I'll be more successful next year. I'll have to look up and speculate how to replicate their needs, I can't imagine a cuckoo wasp will be straightforward to look after.

There are a ton of others but, I'll stop here before I list every single one.

TL;DR I like a lot of brightly coloured inverts but a lot of them are a pipe dream.

Polyzosteria mitchelli are HIGH up on my wishlist too, hopefully some day, someone will import some...

 

[Serpyderpy]

Maybe if they exported those blue earthworms they would also export the giant Bornean leeches, which I've wanted forever...they're specialized to feed on the blue earthworms.

They're the giant red nightmare fuel inducing beasts, right? They're awesome. I find it amazing that nature managed to not only make two giant wriggling inverts into a predator/prey dynamic, but it also turned out one was blue and one was red. That colour debate never ends.

Polyzosteria mitchelli are HIGH up on my wishlist too, hopefully some day, someone will import some...

Here's hoping a gravid females decides her oothecae would look super nice and cozy inside someones suitcase.

No but, seriously. I hope some more Australian species can be avaliable soon. Legally.

 

[schmiggle]

They're the giant red nightmare fuel inducing beasts, right?

That's correct, except replace nightmare with "dreams of pure superbness."
I forgot to mention some beautiful marine and terrestrial planaria (don't know the marine planarian names, but Bipalium is awesome), a come snail, one of those lovely tropical sponges (it would be like a reverse carnivorous plant--it's an animal that grows in a modular fashion and eats things too small to see), and a peacock mantis shrimp.