Velvet terrier
| Velvet terrier | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male of the velvet insect ( Peruphasma schultei ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Peruphasma school | ||||||||||||
| Conle & Hennemann , 2005 |
The velvet insect , velvet stick insect or red-winged velvet insect ( Peruphasma schultei ) is a species from the order of the ghost insects . The common names Peru stick insects , black pepper insects or Peruvian pepper insects are less common and refer to the animals' home and food plants.
Occurrence and discovery
The velvet insect was discovered in 2004 in the Cordillera del Condor in northern Peru . There it occurs naturally on an area of only five hectares. Since there are other endemic species in this area , it has been placed under protection by the Peruvian government. Under the direction of the German biologist Rainer Schulte, to whose name the scientific species name refers, the INIBICO NGO (a Peruvian nature conservation organization) has started a breeding program for the velvet insect as part of a benefit project for the residents of the Cordillera del Condor National Park. The aim of the project, which was scheduled to run until the end of 2007, was to release or sell half of the offspring. Thanks to the phasmid lovers , this species was probably saved from extinction and is now a very popular and not uncommon species among phasmid breeders.
A male animal was deposited as a holotype at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima .
features
The females are 55 to 70 millimeters and the males 40 to 50 millimeters long. The yellow eyes, the yellow ringed antennae and the bright red upper lip form a striking contrast to the velvety black body. The rear wings are bright red in the rear area. In the front quarter they are black with a conspicuous, white net pattern , just like the very small, tegmina -like front wings.
behavior
The animals are nocturnal. During the day they hide in the dense foliage of their food plants, representatives of the pepper trees ( Schinus ) such. B. the Peruvian pepper tree ( Schinus molle ). If the animals are disturbed, they set up their brightly colored hind wings, bend the end of the abdomen upwards or even in an arch towards the base of the abdomen and usually run away very quickly. You can also spray a defense secretion that burns for a few minutes in the eyes, on mucous membranes or in wounds, but does not cause permanent damage. It almost exclusively contains the di aldehyde peruphasmal, a stereoisomer of dolichodial .
Reproduction
When the animals reach sexual maturity, there are frequent, long-lasting mating in which the male is carried around on the back of the female. Sometimes the male does not leave the female's back for weeks. The eggs laid are about three millimeters long and two millimeters wide. The 15 millimeter long nymphs hatch from these after about four to five months . These are initially brown in color and have a wide white ring on each of the two antennae tips. After several moults, the nymphs develop the contrasting coloration of their parents, consisting of a red upper lip, yellow eyes, yellow-ringed antennae and the velvety black body. Only the wings are not formed until the imaginal molt. During the day, the nymphs often gather in sleeping societies in which several animals sit on top of each other and hang from the underside of leaves or branches. If they are disturbed, they are capable of a surprisingly quick escape for ghosts. Depending on the temperature, they take four to six months to grow into an imago .
Terrarium keeping
In captivity, the animals can be fed with privet , but also forsythia or lilac without any problems . The terrarium should due to the size of the animals have a size of 30 x 30 centimeters at least and be 50 centimeters high. Several animals can be socialized without any problems. Room temperature, i.e. 18–24 ° C, is sufficient for successful keeping. Only waterlogging needs to be avoided, which is most easily achieved by using well-ventilated terrariums (e.g. those that have a lid covered with a fly screen). The humidity should be between 40 and 60% through regular spraying (flower sprayer).
The species is listed by the Phasmid Study Group under PSG number 270.
photos
View of the underside of the body
Rear wing
female
Portrait of a female
Eggs
Web links
credentials
- ↑ Alexander Esch: Poles, ghosts, walking leaves: successful keeping of phasmids . Natur und Tier-Verlag, Münster 2012, ISBN 978-3-86659-221-6 , pp. 95–96.
- ↑ www.inibico.org - website of the Peruvian nature conservation organization INIBICO
- ↑ www.phasmatodea.de ( Memento of the original from May 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Phasmatodea page from Oskar V. Conle and Frank H. Hennemann about Peruphasma schultei
- ^ Paul D. Brock : Phasmida Species File Online . Version 2.1 / 3.5. (accessed June 14, 2009) http://phasmida.speciesfile.org/
- ↑ Uwe Dost: Fantastisch: Samtschrecken , DATZ 61 (4/2008, p. 74), Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart, ISSN 1616-3222
- ↑ Taxonomy and Information www.Phasmids in Cyberspace.com ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Peruphasma schultei page
- ↑ Oliver Zompro : Basic knowledge of pasmids - biology - keeping - breeding . Sungaya Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-943592-00-9 , p. 65.
- ↑ www.phasmatodea.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Breeding instructions for Peruphasma schultei on the Phasmatodea page from Oskar V. Conle and Frank H. Hennemann
- ↑ www.phasmida.myspecies.info ( Memento from February 18, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) - Phasmid Study Group Culture List (Engl.)
