Psytalla horrida vs Anthia sexmaculata

[obie]

I'e been thinking about getting a colony of one of these. For you guys who keep them what are some of the pros and cons.

 

[Sarkhan42]

Psytalla are very messy(prey bodies should be cleaned pretty regularly), and can be a little clumsy when it comes to taking down prey. For a while I fed mine off the tongs or removed jumping legs from their cricket prey. They are however pretty easy to breed so getting a colony going is feasible. Anthia are much much rarer in the states, and while I haven't had mine long I'd much prefer them to Psytalla, they're a blast and very active. They are however very very difficult to breed, and young/eggs can not coexist with adults, thus making a functional sustaining colony very difficult.

TLDR I'd choose Anthia, but it depends on what you're looking for.

 

[BobBarley]

For a colony, Psytalla works like a charm. Anthia can be kept communally, but chances are you won't have any breeding in a colony setup.

 

[Francesco]

How would you breed Anthia sexmaculata?

 

[Dennis Nedry]

How would you breed Anthia sexmaculata?

You'd have to observe them mating and move them to a breeding enclosure, remove the male and once the female has laid eggs remove her. Once the larvae hatch seperate them.

Something along those lines

 

[Francesco]

Oh. Sounds easy. I read you need an ant colony. I mainly keep ants, but I would not stick any predatory larvae in them.

 

[BobBarley]

Oh. Sounds easy. I read you need an ant colony. I mainly keep ants, but I would not stick any predatory larvae in them.

Getting the beetles to ovisposit can be a tough challenge, do a quick search and you'll find out. I have also read the last 3rd instar stage is immobile and hard to feed.

I doubt there are any breeders of Anthia even in Europe that have a strong CB line of them. Though, if I'm wrong I'd be pleasantly surprised.