Platymeris biguttatus breeding questions

[ReignofInvertebrates]

I’ve kept this species off and on for years, but I never attempted to breed them. I couldn’t find a very universal guide so here are my questions:

1: Any easy way to sex them by looking at them externally?

2: I keep them on cocoa fiber. Will females lay their eggs in this substrate as long as it’s kept moist? Should they be removed for incubation until they hatch?

3: Can small nymphs be housed communally without risk of cannibalism (I’ve always housed them separately)?

 

[ignithium]

1. Apparently there is but I don't knowing it (one of breeder I know say he can pick male and female)

2. I keep on this fibers also. For me i'm keep it very slightly moist and its work fine. I never removing the eggs because they buried it so I can't seeing them. It always hatch for me no problem

3. I never have a cannibalism with this species before and the other people i know that breeding assassin bugs didn't have any as well

 

[MasterOogway]

I keep my colony on sand, sifted daily for frass and eggs. I keep everything bone dry and then only mist my egg cups when I need them to hatch. If I let everything hatch in their enclosure I'd be over-run quickly, lol. I've never tried to sex them since I keep colonies of several dozen it'd be very time consuming. According to @Salmonsaladsandwich: "Adults can be sexed the same way as Platymeris- the males will have a distinct round bump on the end of their abdomen, while females will have a more blunt abdomen with a small final segment. "

I keep my nymphs communally; they are well fed so I don't experience high rates of cannibalism (if any at all). They molt quickly, and grow quickly.

 

[chanda]

I have my biguttatus on a mix of coconut fiber and sand, and it's kept pretty dry. I also have a cleaner crew of dermestid beetles (the ones that grow from those hairy hitchhiking larvae in feeder cricket bags) living in the substrate, eating the cricket husks after the assassins are done with them. The adults and nymphs are kept communally as mixed groups. I'm not really good at sexing them - but they seem to be able to figure it out for themselves and breed readily. The substrate is littered with eggs - and so are all the nooks and crannies in the cork bark. I just leave the eggs in place and moisten the substrate slightly once a week or so. Every once in a while - when the substrate starts getting gross - I'll transfer all of the adults to a new cage with fresh substrate, then leave the old cage for the eggs to hatch and the nymphs to develop. As long as I transfer them before they mature, there are no fresh eggs in the tank - so when everything is done hatching, I can discard the substrate (freeze it first, of course, just in case there are some slow but still viable eggs) and start over with fresh substrate. I find rotating tanks a few times a year easier than sifting the substrate for eggs, and I have the space (and empty cages) to do so.

Cannibalism is minimal, both with adults and nymphs, as long as they are kept well-fed. The dermestid beetles and larvae also serve double duty as feeders for the nymphs, in addition to helping to keep the cages clean. I try to supply a variety of sizes of feeders, both large/medium crickets for the adults and small crickets for the nymphs - though I have seen multiple small nymphs sharing a larger cricket or roach nymph.

 

[Arthroverts]

I agree with all of the above.

Sexing is done easily on mature specimens; males have a distinct circle, almost a ball, on the end of their abdomen called a jockey cup. Females have nothing of the sort and appear to just have a flat abdomen all the way. Very easy to see once you compare the two. I'll have to try and get some pictures and make a sexing guide.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Pyrithion]

I agree with all of the above.

Sexing is done easily on mature specimens; males have a distinct circle, almost a ball, on the end of their abdomen called a jockey cup. Females have nothing of the sort and appear to just have a flat abdomen all the way. Very easy to see once you compare the two. I'll have to try and get some pictures and make a sexing guide.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

Hello Arthroverts, was curious if you ever got around to getting pics and making up a sexing guide for these guys? Cheers!