White Spot Assassin Bug Breeding Questions

[Tellorcha]

Hey guys,

I've got 3 adult white spotted assassin bugs I have been hoping to breed to start a colony. I got them as nymphs, but they've all been mature adults housed together for at least 2 months now. I have been incredibly excited for them to start laying eggs, but so far, no such luck. Aside from the possibility that all 3 are male, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

I have them at room temp (about 74-80 degrees) in a small 1 foot x 1 foot glass exo-terra enclosure, feed them plenty of dubias weekly (which they have been eating voraciously), and have them on about a half inch of sand as substrate. They have three pieces of cork bark propped up against the walls to climb on and hide.

I've done some reading before posting this that says I should have them on 1-2 inches of sand and provide a small dish of damp substrate for egg laying; however, a poster I spoke to on here many months ago claimed to have tons of eggs while keeping theirs on just sand with no humidity. I am going to add a bit more sand for a deeper substrate after posting this, and lay a piece of cork bark on the floor for added hiding space, but otherwise I'm not sure what else to try.

Anyone have any advise or input on how to get Platymeris breeding? Does it take a few months of adulthood before they begin breeding? Should they be kept at a slightly higher temp? I'm at a loss here, and would love some suggestions! Thanks for reading!

I'll attach some pics of enclosure in a follow-up comment.

 

[Tellorcha]

Here are some pics of their enclosure, excuse the mess in the background; it's animal tank cleaning day.

Here is the front view of the enclosure:


Here's the top down view:


Here's the backside (Assassin's are hanging out on the very bottom of the underside of the big cork bark):


Let me know what you think, thanks again!

 

[chanda]

I have mine in a similar setup, with a couple of inches of coconut fiber substrate that's mostly dry (I do mist maybe once a week or so - the bugs will drink water droplets off the glass sometimes), and cork bark slabs and cork rounds for hiding places. The ambient humidity in the room is probably around 50%-60% (we keep a small humidifier running in our bug/reptile room). They don't seem to really care where they lay eggs - I find them all over the substrate and even in the nooks and crannies of the cork bark. It did seem like it took a little while for them to start laying eggs after they matured - but it could also have been that they were laying the eggs but I just didn't notice them until the nymphs started hatching. The eggs do take a month or two (or even longer) to hatch.

 

[Tellorcha]

I have mine in a similar setup, with a couple of inches of coconut fiber substrate that's mostly dry (I do mist maybe once a week or so - the bugs will drink water droplets off the glass sometimes), and cork bark slabs and cork rounds for hiding places. The ambient humidity in the room is probably around 50%-60% (we keep a small humidifier running in our bug/reptile room). They don't seem to really care where they lay eggs - I find them all over the substrate and even in the nooks and crannies of the cork bark. It did seem like it took a little while for them to start laying eggs after they matured - but it could also have been that they were laying the eggs but I just didn't notice them until the nymphs started hatching. The eggs do take a month or two (or even longer) to hatch.

Thank you for your reply! The ambient humidity in my house is usually between 40% and 60%, but the assassins are located on a shelf right next to several critters that do get misted daily... so it may be slightly higher for them. While they were nymphs I provided too much humidity for a while which seemed to severely hinder their growth until I fixed the problem, so I'm a bit paranoid to mist them at all. I did add a few more cork barks as well as another inch of sand tonight, so I will see if that makes a difference. What do the eggs look like in your experience? I have been cleaning out their enclosure of dead corpses and "waste" every week or two, but now I'm hoping I haven't been throwing out eggs! Their waste seems to just be hard clumps of sand so I'm fairly confident they aren't eggs, but the thought has crossed my mind.

Oh, also, what temp do you keep your assassins at?

 

[chanda]

Thank you for your reply! The ambient humidity in my house is usually between 40% and 60%, but the assassins are located on a shelf right next to several critters that do get misted daily... so it may be slightly higher for them. While they were nymphs I provided too much humidity for a while which seemed to severely hinder their growth until I fixed the problem, so I'm a bit paranoid to mist them at all. I did add a few more cork barks as well as another inch of sand tonight, so I will see if that makes a difference. What do the eggs look like in your experience? I have been cleaning out their enclosure of dead corpses and "waste" every week or two, but now I'm hoping I haven't been throwing out eggs! Their waste seems to just be hard clumps of sand so I'm fairly confident they aren't eggs, but the thought has crossed my mind.

Oh, also, what temp do you keep your assassins at?

The eggs are small, round/oval, brown, and kind of shiny - particularly if you hit 'em with a flashlight. They are usually just mixed in with the substrate. The assassin bugs' waste is liquid, so if it was in the sand it would cause the sand to clump up - but you could have eggs mixed in with the clumps of sand or even stuck to the corpses. Any time you clean out your cage, you should check the waste carefully for eggs - and stick it in a plastic bag in the freezer for a few days, just to be on the safe side. This will kill any eggs so you don't accidentally release any.

I keep them at room temperature - usually in the low to mid 70's, though that does change a little seasonally. During the summer it might get up into the low to mid 80's, and in the winter it might occasionally get as low as the mid to high 60's. (We do have a small space heater in the room to prevent any major temperature drops.)

 

[Tellorcha]

The eggs are small, round/oval, brown, and kind of shiny - particularly if you hit 'em with a flashlight. They are usually just mixed in with the substrate. The assassin bugs' waste is liquid, so if it was in the sand it would cause the sand to clump up - but you could have eggs mixed in with the clumps of sand or even stuck to the corpses. Any time you clean out your cage, you should check the waste carefully for eggs - and stick it in a plastic bag in the freezer for a few days, just to be on the safe side. This will kill any eggs so you don't accidentally release any.

I keep them at room temperature - usually in the low to mid 70's, though that does change a little seasonally. During the summer it might get up into the low to mid 80's, and in the winter it might occasionally get as low as the mid to high 60's. (We do have a small space heater in the room to prevent any major temperature drops.)

Okie dokie, thanks for all your advise and input! I think I'm doing everything correctly based on your experience, so hopefully there will be eggs soon! Otherwise, maybe I just got super unlucky and have 3 males. -.-

I will definitely look more closely next time I clean out the enclosure.

 

[zuckuss]

My setup looks similar to yours with coco fiber instead of sand. I keep a deli cup of moist substrate at the front of the enclosure and which they tend lay their eggs in. I sift through this periodically and keep the eggs separate to hatch. When the substrate dries out, they'll lay them anywhere but the eggs would be shriveled when I found them and wouldn't hatch. They're at room temp which is probably low 70s most of the time and I've never worried about humidity. I started with six and got over 100 nymphs from them growing up now. You can check the sex of them by putting them in a clear deli cup and looking at the last segment of their abdomen. Females have one large segment and males have a divided one. With only three its definitely a possibility they're all the same sex.

 

[MasterOogway]

When the substrate dries out, they'll lay them anywhere but the eggs would be shriveled

They will still hatch; you just need to mist the eggs. Platymeris eggs are very resilient to desiccation; I have a paper somewhere on the survival rating of eggs even after 'dimpling' but would have to scrounge to find it. If anyone is interested I can do so though. Also, please bear in mind keeping these legally requires a PPQ 526 permit so advertising the fact that you have them on the internet isn't ideal. Please follow all legal containment regulations and dispose of your waste properly by double bagging and freezing at -20F, incinerating, or submerging in 70% alcohol.

 

[Tellorcha]

My setup looks similar to yours with coco fiber instead of sand. I keep a deli cup of moist substrate at the front of the enclosure and which they tend lay their eggs in. I sift through this periodically and keep the eggs separate to hatch. When the substrate dries out, they'll lay them anywhere but the eggs would be shriveled when I found them and wouldn't hatch. They're at room temp which is probably low 70s most of the time and I've never worried about humidity. I started with six and got over 100 nymphs from them growing up now. You can check the sex of them by putting them in a clear deli cup and looking at the last segment of their abdomen. Females have one large segment and males have a divided one. With only three its definitely a possibility they're all the same sex.

Thanks for the reply, sorry for late response. I have been quite busy. I'm cleaning their enclosure again tonight, so I put all three in a clear deli cup and tried to tell the difference in sex as per your suggestion. It's hard to tell exactly what I'm looking for. I think at least one has a bulbous looking final segment that is not divided, but the other 2 may be divided final segment? Really hard to tell without a reference, so if there's any chance you could post example pics I would be super appreciative! I am about to sift through the sand again now, fingers crossed for eggs!

 

[Tellorcha]

They will still hatch; you just need to mist the eggs. Platymeris eggs are very resilient to desiccation; I have a paper somewhere on the survival rating of eggs even after 'dimpling' but would have to scrounge to find it. If anyone is interested I can do so though. Also, please bear in mind keeping these legally requires a PPQ 526 permit so advertising the fact that you have them on the internet isn't ideal. Please follow all legal containment regulations and dispose of your waste properly by double bagging and freezing at -20F, incinerating, or submerging in 70% alcohol.

Thank you for the reply and the info regarding their eggs' survivability (is this even a word?). I would be very interested in reading your paper if you can find it, but no biggie if not. Thank you for the heads up on the permit requirement, I am aware they require a permit; however, I've heard many people say it is not a huge deal as long as you have no intentions of selling them. I will look into the permit though, as I've wanted to get one either way.

 

[KevinsWither]

That should do fine.

 

[scoloclown]

you need a permit to keep assassin bugs? never heard of that.

 

[MasterOogway]

you need a permit to keep assassin bugs? never heard of that.

We are required to have them on our 526 permit, yes.

 

[scoloclown]

We are required to have them on our 526 permit, yes.

I've applied for the USDA level 2 access, but want to make sure I'm filling out the right form. Do you have a link to the form I need by chance?