1/28/2022: Western Florida’s pretty blue Panchlora

Since discovering that different lines of Panchlora may not be what they seem, I have made it a mission to accrue stock from multiple places in the United States. Florida is an infamous cesspool for introduced species, and there are some official and unofficial records of novel Panchlora popping up there due to its history of trade with the Caribbean and South America.

Even if many of the lines I collect end up being nivea, there seems to be great morphological diversity among Florida’s Panchlora which is favorable for us hobbyists anyways. One of these particularly enchanting strains comes from just south of Tampa, fittingly located just east of Cockroach Bay.

I collected a few adult males and nymphs from under and within logs back in March but haven’t paid much attention to the colony, being a little cynical they’d be very interesting but too obsessive to abandon the culture. This was the proper approach as it seems adults of both sexes in the F2 are maturing with a beautiful cyan tinge. I’m unsure if this is genetic coloration or influenced by my husbandry, but none of my other Panchlora exhibit a blue color with this much depth despite similar conditions. I recall the wild males being an interesting color, but not different enough to outweigh my slight cynicism at their uniqueness. It would be very neat to consistently produce these individuals as it would open the gateway to some dreamy communal set-ups featuring green, blue, and yellow Panchlora.

-Kyle