Social tailless whip scorpions?
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mantisfan101
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No experience but I believe that Phrynus marginaculatus, some Damon sp., and Charinus sp. I don’t know if amyone’s kept them together for extended period of time except for the marginaculatus.
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I keep Paraphrynus carolynae together in small groups. I have a group of 3 that have been together for a couple of years and a pair that have been together for about a year. (There was a third in that cage, too, but it died. I don't think the others killed it, though, because it was not eaten.)
They tend to hang out together, even though the enclosures are good sized and they have multiple hiding places to choose from.
I also keep my juvenile D. diadema communally, though I do notice a bit of cannibalism from them, particularly when they hit the subadult stage.
They tend to hang out together, even though the enclosures are good sized and they have multiple hiding places to choose from.
I also keep my juvenile D. diadema communally, though I do notice a bit of cannibalism from them, particularly when they hit the subadult stage.
mantisfan101
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It seems that breeding pairs or nynphs are more commonly kept in groups or pairs.
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Hererophrynus batesii are found in groups of 2-8 in the wild. Someone mentioned that their colonies always ended up reaching equilibrium at 3-4 females and one male (the males would kill each other).
mantisfan101
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Woah, a harem/dominance order?
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I don't think it's really a harem, because the females still check out whoever's left and decide if he's worth it. But yes, basically. I would bet that in the wild it doesn't work that way because if it did then they wouldn't have the long pedipalps, which seem to be the result of intersexual selection. It's probably an artificial result of captivity.
aphono
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Related to the study of wild 'harems'- some species have the ability to 'home' like pigeons do. There's a study that marked and deliberately misplaced individuals with tracking devices & measured how long and the route they took to get back home.
As for captivity- P. marginemaculatus is commonly kept in communal set ups with generations of successful breeding. I have not seen any mention of this yet- apparently this species may engage in "sharing" prey. I've been keeping a group of marginemaculatus sac mates in their own enclosure. Observed two or three of the babies eating a good sized small cricket(bigger than an individual marginemaculatus) at several separate occasions. One would make a capture then the others would come out and start chowing on it too.
D. medius *might* engage in a pair or harem-type behavior. The males absolutely cannot tolerate each other. The dominant one will kill other males if not separated. I decided to separate all of them individually for a year just to be safe. When they were paired up, the male courted and produced a single spermatophore the first night.. decided that wasn't enough so they were left together for a week. afaik, he did not produce any further spermatophores but it looked like the male engaged in 'mate guarding' behavior- he was always within contact distance of the female throughout the week. He often would seem to often deliberately wave his whips over the female or sit right next to her when both were resting. He repeated the pattern when placed with another female.. until she produced a sac, it seemed the 'mate guarding' was not as strong but still hangs around her a lot. However have to acknowledge that may be partly an artifact due to enclosure size- they are huge creatures, not too feasible to give them a gigantic enclosure to see if this was truly a behavioral pattern or not. Both of those enclosures have a whole cork bark flat propped diagonally in a tall reptile tank, if the female moved to one side, so would he. After she produced a sac was the only time I'd notice them on opposite sides of the cork flat.
As for captivity- P. marginemaculatus is commonly kept in communal set ups with generations of successful breeding. I have not seen any mention of this yet- apparently this species may engage in "sharing" prey. I've been keeping a group of marginemaculatus sac mates in their own enclosure. Observed two or three of the babies eating a good sized small cricket(bigger than an individual marginemaculatus) at several separate occasions. One would make a capture then the others would come out and start chowing on it too.
D. medius *might* engage in a pair or harem-type behavior. The males absolutely cannot tolerate each other. The dominant one will kill other males if not separated. I decided to separate all of them individually for a year just to be safe. When they were paired up, the male courted and produced a single spermatophore the first night.. decided that wasn't enough so they were left together for a week. afaik, he did not produce any further spermatophores but it looked like the male engaged in 'mate guarding' behavior- he was always within contact distance of the female throughout the week. He often would seem to often deliberately wave his whips over the female or sit right next to her when both were resting. He repeated the pattern when placed with another female.. until she produced a sac, it seemed the 'mate guarding' was not as strong but still hangs around her a lot. However have to acknowledge that may be partly an artifact due to enclosure size- they are huge creatures, not too feasible to give them a gigantic enclosure to see if this was truly a behavioral pattern or not. Both of those enclosures have a whole cork bark flat propped diagonally in a tall reptile tank, if the female moved to one side, so would he. After she produced a sac was the only time I'd notice them on opposite sides of the cork flat.