Waxmoth Larvae

The greater waxmoth (Galleria mellonella) and the lesser waxmoth (Achroia grisella) can both be cultured in the same way.
What's the difference? Galleria reproduces explosively, taking a long time to get going, then producing a very large number of 3-4 cm long larvae. Achroia grows faster initially but more steadily, with larvae and adult moths present in the culture at most stages, producing steady supply of 2-3 cm long larvae - more useful for dendrobatid keepers:

Both types of waxmoth can be cultured on a medium consisting of approximately:

• 3 parts wheatbran
• 3 parts wheatgerm
• 3 parts ReadyBrek
• 1 part dried yeast
• Enough honey and glycerin (=glycerol) to produce a dry, crumbly mixture (*not* sticky).

Add lots of crumpled up paper towels to the culture for pupation. Cultures need lots of ventilation or you get condensation and they go moldy. I use plastic food storage containers the lids of which have a section removed and replaced by metal gauze glued in place with silicone adhesive, or better, melted into the lid with a soldering iron. Whatever culture vessel you use, bear in mind that the larvae have an amazing ability to chew through almost anything that is not made of either glass or metal.

When first set up, the culture appears to stand still. The original moths, however, will have laid thousands of eggs, and the larvae which hatch from these are extremely tiny, remaining well hidden for a few weeks. Then, suddenly, they seem to appear from nowhere and chomp through the food at an alarming pace. At the same time they generate a tremendous amount of heat, and the base of the culture will be distinctly warm. Not only that, but water produced from respiration will condense on the inside of the lid and sides of the container, even if it is well ventilated. This can cause the medium to become rather too wet and soggy if there is insufficient ventilation.

To feed, just pick the larvae out of the medium and offer them to your animals.

Dominance

In most species of Dendrobates, the males tend to get along, although they will compete with each other by calling. With females however, it's a different matter. Two female Dendrobates will rarely tolerate each other in the same territory - and bear in mind that in the wild, Dendrobates territories are several metres in diameter (and in height), and probably separated by visual barriers. In a vivarium, more than one female usually results in the death of the weaker of. this is usually caused either by the stronger female droning th weaker one by pinning them down in water, or eventually by a stress-related condition brought on by constant harassment. This great video by stemcellsareawesome shows juvenile Dendrobates auratus beginning to sort out dominance by wrestling. At this stage, the females need to be separated in different vivaria:

A surprise egg

At last this year's Mesotriton alpestris apuanus larvae have metamorphosed. Not too many this year, but this is where the fun starts! At this stage, these rather small (~3cm) metamorphs are the best escape artists I know, capable of squeezing through the tiniest cracks and incredibly persistent. For a few weeks after metamorphosis, they are quite hydrophobic and have a pronounced tendency to climb, so the lid of their mostly aquatic vivarium is now sealed with tape all the way round! Fortunately, this stage passes after a few weeks, and with good feedings of springtails and Drosophila, they soon lose interest in climbing and become more aquatically-oriented again.

I thought that was going to be the major interest for the day, but to my surprise when I was cleaning the Neurergus kaiseri vivarium, I discovered a lone egg. In February I moved my group of 2007 sub-adult Neurergus kaiseri from a terrestrial setup into a semi-aquatic vivarium with my adult pair. Although they have not been temperature-cycled, it seems as though the move from a terrestrial to a semi-aquatic setup was the trigger for this, and it seems to be one of the younger females which is laying. This tends to support my theory that cycling between terrestrial and aquatic phases as happens in their natural habitat is important for this species, possibly more so than temperatures.

Although I have seen male courting behavior, I can't tell yet if the egg is fertile, so the wait over the next week or so is going to be interesting...

Fighting Back

In southeast Wyoming's Mortenson Lake, there's a death match going on between the amphibian chytrid fungus and the Wyoming toad, one of the most endangered amphibians in the United States. Observers had expected the fungus to kill off the species, but, while many toads have died, the population is slowly growing again...

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