12/19/2020: Ghosts of Christmas present

Considering the white wasteland outside I’m quite content to be indoors chipping away at site work. The New Species page is getting quite a few additions and my goal is to have at least a dozen shiny new things up by the end of the day. As if that excitement weren’t enough I was surprised to receive a “hold for pick-up” box on my doorstep this afternoon; thankfully the packaging was top notch so despite the mix up and the holi-delays, the contents arrived safely. I have dabbled on and off with assassin bugs over the years and though at present I only have Psytala horrida I have been considering acquiring the remaining captive Platymeris species once more. Easier said than done, as most seem to have disappeared in culture as they have a few times before. Serendipitously, I was offered some Platymeris biguttatus “Ghost” with this box, and figured I would throw caution to the wind and try a few. From the scarce pictures online I was extremely skeptical of their coloration at first, but in person these small nymphs are very unique from standard biguttatus. Care should be straightforward so I look forward to a booming colony one day!

-Kyle