1/11/2022: Bug room restructuring

We’ve hit the dead of winter, and that usually means I get antsy and want to reorganize everything. I’ve put off organizing racks by taxa, but with the growing additions to the bug haul this is becoming a necessity.

First on the working queue after the new isopod enclosures is a designated beetle shelf. As I continue adding heat lamps to miscellaneous species I feel need them, such as my cetoniines, I can’t help but wonder what the power company thinks when they see my expanding electric bill. I do feel it’s worth it to get to see all my pretty day-active beetles, but I’ve also been processing just how safe and reliable the future bug facility will need to be with so many things plugged in. Worries for the future.

Next up and growing ever-so-steadily in the shadows has been the orthopterans. I’ve fought the urge to keep the basking species on the same rack as the cursorial ones, but I will probably end up giving in and doing this as I can use the extra rising heat from the grasshoppers to supplement the Gryllus among other things. The next year should be an interesting year for the non-existent orthopteran hobby, and I’m hoping some new species with practical care requirements will contribute greatly to that change.

Finally (for now) will be the mantid and arachnid racks, which should be straightforward and will inevitably become a logistical mess with all of the small containers involved. Why I do this to myself, I can never ascertain, but popping open a culture of whips or seeing mantids pairing communally are feelings too addicting to ignore.

Once order is restored, I’ll end up doing a livestream tour when I figure out a means to do so.

-Kyle