Platymeris sp (Mombo Assassin Bug)

[Brian S]

If there ever was anything easy to keep it is these things. I started out with 5 or 6 and now there is no telling how many I have. They literally breed faster than flies I believe LOL. I at first I was gathering the eggs and putting in deli cups to hatch but found that was like shoveling snow in a blizzard since they drop eggs faster than I could keep up with them.
The adults and nymphs seem to live well together. In fact the nymphs will often feed on a cricket that one of the adults have killed.
They are very easy to breed, in fact they breed faster than most feeder roaches. Perhaps I could use these as feeders :O (J/K of course)


In this photo are some of my original adults with several young nymphs running around. The nymphs are fat despite I only throw in large crickets in this tank. I know the nymphs feed with the adults on large crickets as I have witnessed it several times


My set up is very simple. This is where some younger bugs are kept. It is a tall deli cup with bark stacked. They molt hanging upside down so climbs are very neccessary. I keep it bone dry except fpr a little moisture in the corner which the adults will lay eggs in. They dont seem to drink. I believe they get all their moisture from their food.


They are very very voracious eaters and like to eat often. They will often gang up on an insect to subdue it. I have fed them large caterpillars and have seen as many as 6 feeding on it at once LOL.
In this pic there are 3 feeding on 1 cricket.


Another pic of my next generation nymphs

 

[bugmankeith]

Great pictures, what are you going to do with all the new ones?

 

[Brian S]

haha well I've been giving them away LOL

 

[unicron]

i totaly want some. they look really cool

 

[LongDucDong]

Awesome Brian!!!! If she ever pops any more eggs out and they hatch successfully, let me know! Ive been after Mombos for some time now.... I had no idea you had so many. LOLOLOL :worship: :?

 

[CopperInMyVeins]

Funny that you joked about using them as feeders. I'm sure a lot of people won't approve of this, but I had one nymph that was only eating other nymphs, and didn't eat crickets or roaches, even when separated, it ate at least 3 or 4 other nymphs, so... P. trans gets some extra variety in it's diet. Not something I plan on making a habit of, of course.

 

[Jesse607]

Wow, that is pretty neat (the assassins). I've never had much luck with them though. My white spots insisted on feeding on each other no matter how much I fed them. Maybe I will have to try mombos someday. I had some nice Mombos in the past, but I kept them separated because of my experience with the white-spots, and I eventually traded them away.

 

[Tleilaxu]

Assassins are currently illegal here in the USA now so I would uh would not be posting such cool picks.

 

[zinto]

Assassins are currently illegal here in the USA now so I would uh would not be posting such cool picks.

Really? Since when? Can we get some sources on this one? Thanks!
-Nick

 

[Stylopidae]

Really? Since when? Can we get some sources on this one? Thanks!
-Nick

There isn't an official date on the ban. In the past months, the USDA has been raiding the residences of people known to sell platymeris...without even bothering to get a warrant some of the time.

This info comes direct from several dealers who used to sell platymeris I've talked with personally...and I will mention NO names as to who they were.


Tleilaxu knows his stuff.

I don't quite know if they're moving on private owners yet...and I'm taking no chances. Just like phasmids and mantids, the platymeris trade has gone underground.

Just in case you have trouble taking my word for it, here's another member who knows much more than I:

As I replied to the same post in the insect section, this has NOTHING to do with the USFWS, its the USDA (Department of Agriculture). They have a ban on any invert that could be a pest, and their description of pest is anything that eats plants (any part of a plant, even dead plants) which covers millipedes, and any predator that might feed on pollinating insects (that covers mantids). The same ban could be iterepreted to ban nearly all pet invertebrates. Watch out, the bug nazis are coming.

Your tax dollars at work.

Wade

Strictly speaking, there's not really a ban, they just require a permit to have them. However, few people outside of zoos and museums will be able to get such a permit, which has the same effect as a ban. This applies to ALL NON-NATIVE INSECTS, not just mantids, with very few exceptions (house crickets, mealworms, fruitflies etc.). There is no consideration as to whether or not the animal could establish itself here or whether or not it would become a pest if it did.

This includes, btw, nearly every cockroach species kept by hobbyists, but for whatever reason they are not enforcing it at the moment.

While I can understand blocking new species from entering the country on a "just in case" basis, many species are well established in the hobby and have been bred for years, if not decades, in this country by private enthusiasts. Common sense would indicate that if such species have not become pests yet, then there has to be very little risk. Many phasmids, for example, have been bred in the US since at least the 60's.

As far as non-native mantids harming the population of native species is concerned, this is highly unlikely as their cannibalistic tendancies prevent them from having very dense populations. The truth is, mantids are not really very effective pest control either, for the same reason. They just don't make much of a difference one way or the other.Neat bugs to have around, though.

Wade

 

[angus]

hello Brian..

very nice pics there..this speices looks would like low humidity from your pics, how often will u mist them?? the nymphs looks cute...:worship: :worship: :worship:

 

[zinto]

Thanks for the links Cheshire!

 

[CopperInMyVeins]

Wow, thanks for the info Tleilaxu and Cheshire.

 

[Stylopidae]

The aforementioned information has been sent.

 

[Brian S]

Attention: All insects are now destroyed. There is no insects except feeder crickets at my house which are native.
USDA will find nothing here

 

[bugmankeith]

Well that was a complete waste...

 

[Brian S]

Well that was a complete waste...

Yep I agree and we have our wonderful Govt to thank for that which is an even bigger waste

 

[arachnocat]

The USDA must realize people keep these insects and others as pets. Why don't they make a list of illegal bugs for hobbyists? I still don't understand why they keep it so vague. I guess it's because they will have a harder time catching people if the insect trade goes underground. But if they really don't want these bugs in the US wouldn't they want people to know they're illegal so they don't buy or sell something without knowing any better? It's just screwed up I think.

 

[bugmankeith]

If they are illegal (and you didnt know that) then they should give you a specific time period to give them away to someone who can legally keep them, that's what I think.

Are there any native assassin bugs by you, if so keep them, native are just as fun as non-native.

 

[Brian S]

Of course there are natives and that is fine if that is what you like. I just happen to like more exotic animals. I dont even keep US native scorps not that there is anything wrong with doing that even.
They never contacted me (USDA) but now the dirty scum bags have no reason to since I am 100% legal with what I own