1/4/2022: New Arenivaga culture updates

Almost four months have passed since the Arizona collecting blitz trip, and I have some mostly positive updates regarding the very reason I went: Arenivaga!

I don’t think I ever put out a full list of locales I found, so here’s one now:

Arenivaga sp. “Animas”
Arenivaga sp. “Sahuarita”
Arenivaga sp. “Deming”
Arenivaga sp. “Las Cruces” (aka “Bowlin’s Old West Trading Post”)
Arenivaga sp. “Amado” x 2 (two species found together!)
Arenivaga sp. “Cave Creek Canyon”
Arenivaga sp. “Texas Canyon” (already sparingly cultured)
Arenivaga sp. “Florida Canyon”
Arenivaga sp. “Rodeo”
Arenivaga sp. “Fort Hancock”
Arenivaga sp. “Monahans”

I was and continue to be extremely satisfied with this haul, and this leaves maybe one or two old species/localities I once had to be re-collected (hopefully this upcoming summer!)

TJ Ombrelle and I have been discussing some possible identifications, and it seems “Cave Creek Canyon” may be apache, sp. “Animas” tenax, and sp. “Rodeo” erratica. I would absolutely love to find out that most of the localities collected are unique species, and it seems the chances for this are pretty good. I’ll be waiting to cement any IDs until I have a good crop of new adults of each, just in case some of the adult females collected ended up being different species. So far the only locale this is confirmed for is “Amado”, but the two species are quite dimorphic there so it’s easy to tell.

Most of the colonies are thriving despite a few grain mite issues here and there due to my set up choices. Other unintentional pests included some flies which almost certainly are parasitic. This is the first time I’ve had parasitoids emerge from wild caught Arenivaga, and I’m wondering if that’s due to the time of year they were collected. Regardless, it seems to be a one-fly-per-roach scenario, so I don’t think there will be any long-term issues.

“Deming”, the spot where I flipped concrete slabs while Will sat dying and internally complaining in the car, seemed like it could be a fruitless locality, however of the 4-5 nymphs I collected, it would seem I will have synchronous adults maturing. “Monahans”, despite having a large starting number, does not seem to be producing many babies yet which is a touch disheartening. I think part of this involves adults at fair densities eating ootheca, which means I need to feed the colonies more. This in turn can create grain mite issues in these smaller set-ups, and thus the delicate and difficult balance must be struck until the colony gains some size.

I have been shocked at how quickly these roaches can grow, as “Las Cruces” were all collected as first to third instars and they are rapidly approaching or at adulthood. This general trend has me optimistic about having good colonies established by one year from the initial collection date, which means Arenivaga may become the best-represented roach genus in the US hobby in a very short period of time.

Now, time for some unfortunate news. While all of the Arizona trip Arenivaga are doing well, some of my others are not. All floridensis colonies seem to be struggling to produce, and I’m thinking there’s some husbandry quirk I’m incessantly overlooking. To that end, I’m trying out some new set-ups and diets, as Arenivaga floridensis lines are very important to me.

A line of Arenivaga from California, the first I’ve been able to work with in a long time, is also fairing so-so. This strain didn’t like the moderate neglect over the summer, and despite receiving two fertilized females initially, what should have been a recipe for success has been a reminder of previous failures. Still, I will remain optimistic for as long as possible; two nymphs were salvaged and if it’s a pair, then I can redeem myself.

Other Arenivaga which Alan Jeon had entrusted to me are doing quite well too, so I can feel content with those results.

I think in a few months I may do an Arenivaga based livestream, if I can find an effective way to show off each culture. For now I’m just happy to present the good news!

-Kyle