The cave cricket (Phaeophilacris bredoides) – is for me one of the most extraordinary crickets in the world. <\/span>Its appearance is so peculiar that at first glance you might think it is not a cricket but a kind of spider. Their <\/span>Antennae and legs are extremely long, the cercus at the end of the abdomen is also elongated. <\/span>The general color of the cave cricket is yellowish-grey, the legs are covered with small dark spots. The length of the body is 1.5 – 2 cm, the females are slightly larger than the males. <\/span> Both sexes have no hearing organs. <\/span>Female cave crickets are completely wingless and have a long needle-shaped ovipositor (ovipositor spine). <\/span>The males also lack the lower pair of wings. <\/span>In contrast to other cricket species, the upper pair of wings of males has a smooth surface. This means that the male cave crickets cannot chirp, which makes them a pleasant food insect that can also be bred silently in the home. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n Here you can see how I unpacked the cave crickets and placed them in a BraPlast tin:<\/p>\n\n You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Default<\/strong>. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.<\/p> At the moment I still use a BraPlast box with a capacity of 5.8 liters for breeding, but I noticed at the beginning that it would be better to double the size of the breeding box. Adequate ventilation is achieved by attaching a large gauze surface to the lid. This should be drosophila-tight, as otherwise fruit flies will be in the breeding box and the newly hatched cave crickets, which are very small, will escape. The cave crickets like to climb along the gauze at night, so you also increase the walking surface of the container. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n I use cardboard rolls as hiding places in which they like to hide during the day. I will also try inverted flower pots later and see what they accept better. Clay pots for the reason that the clay can soak up water and thus increase the humidity in the breeding container. However, as I said, this is still pure theory. <\/p>\n\n I am currently heating the side of the breeding tank with a heating mat so that there are different temperatures in the tank. At the moment they prefer to stay in the 28\u00b0C<\/span> range. The humidity is between 50-75%. I have created a more humid zone in the tank with an egg-laying box, but they rarely visit it. They prefer to stay at 60% humidity. I achieve this value by spraying lightly every 2 days in the egg-laying box and once briefly on the cardboard rolls. As Phaeophilacris bredoides live in caves in the wild and are also nocturnal, additional lighting is not necessary for the animals. In nature, crickets only come out into the light to mate. <\/span>However, this is not a prerequisite for the act of mating itself. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n So far they have eaten everything I have offered them. Oat flakes, bran, fish flake food, chick starter, dry food for cats and dogs (increases the fluid requirement), carrots, cucumber, apples and dandelion leaves.UNBOXING! | What the hell is that grilling? <\/h4>\n\n
Breeding:<\/h2>\n\n
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