Microtomus purcis

Wow, they are still nymphs!? Well still cool nonetheless, nice to this generation is doing well.

 
Wow, they are still nymphs!? Well still cool nonetheless, nice to this generation is doing well.
Yep. They've been growing slowly over the past few months probably due to cold weather. Hopefully they'll mature soon since the weather is getting warmer now :)

 
Had some adults emerge lately :)

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Those guys are so excellent. I only have 2 colonys of assassins but they are by far my favorite predators. Im glad they are doing well for you hopefully these will be more available in the future. :)

 
The melanistic individuals are neat. Funny how some pictures on google show adults that lack the red stripes on their hind femora, yet that one has them despite everything else being black.

Do you keep all the adults communally? Do they cluster together on bark and other surfaces like Platymeris?

 
The melanistic individuals are neat. Funny how some pictures on google show adults that lack the red stripes on their hind femora, yet that one has them despite everything else being black.

Do you keep all the adults communally? Do they cluster together on bark and other surfaces like Platymeris?
The one without red coloration is probably another species, Microtomus luctuosus. They look nearly identical to purcis but lack the red coloration on their femur. Interestingly they seem to be able to hybridize together cause a friend of mine found several specimens in his area that looked like a mix between purcis and luctuosus, and he finds both species in that area. 

I keep my adults communally with a piece of egg flat. They aren't entirely communal but adults get along fine with each other as long as they are well fed :)

 
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