Interesting behaviour report:

Matt K

Matt K

Eurycotis
I have kept Lucihormetica subsincta in a tub with a couple inches of substrate mixed up out of several ingredients, but mostly cocofiber and dead leaves with a bit of potting soil. I had read at some point that they do well in naturalistic set ups so I thought to give it a try. I used a glass tank that I put 8cm or so substrate deep (about 3 inches) with a couple live plants similar to natives in Costa Rica (commonly available in the US as houseplants). The substrate surface (mostly soil) is scattered with dead leaves, and a couple huge dead banyan tree leaves to hide under.

So they seem more active in this arrangement and have dug several tunnels in the soil. So what did I see last night? One adult was backing down into a tunnel dragging a couple of dead leaves down the tunnel with it. Front legs clutched tight on the edge of the leaves (partial oak leaves) and tugging away until the leaves dissapeared into the tunnel. I have never seen this species pull a leaf underground before (though never gave them the opportunity either). Wish I had thought to get in on video....

Thought I would share....

 
Can you see them more often? I might try that too. What plants did you use? And don't the roaches dig them up, or nibble from them?

 
I kept B. Giganteus nymphs on peat moss. They spent most of the time hidden under it and too made tunnels. I guess in the wild dirt or bat feces is easy to tunnel under? On occassion they popped there heads out from under the moss, grabbed a piece of food, and brought it under to eat.

I guess they'd rather hide and feel it's safer to eat underground than above, which makes sense.

But this caused alot of mold to grow so I switched to wood chips, although they can still burrow under to hide.

 
Matt K said:
I have kept Lucihormetica subsincta ....
Click to expand...
UPDATE: So last night I happen to look in while I was feeding the cage next to it, and I saw a male trying to mate with a female and it appeared to have involved the male trying to lure the female into the opening on the same hole full of leaves for copulation. Then just as they were about to connect, my headlamp sent them off into the leaf litter... :(

 
I keep my colony in a small terrarium with branches of dead oak leaves found in the fall. Gradually the leaves are ripped to the veins. I also keep a little log with them which I found at lumber jacking. The wood is rotten and excavated by ants. The roaches dig their way into the already present chambers by chewing on the rotten wood. They don't dig holes in the ground, but in the wood.

I haven't seen behaviour like Matt saw so far, but I've kept my colony only for a few months now.

 
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