4/15/2022: Welcoming home Masoala hissers

by Kyle Kandilian · April 15, 2022

Jumping back into the blog-o-sphere, this week famed Invertebrate Dude TJ sent me a lovely box of new roach goodies, many of which are gracing my presence for the first time.

Among those goodies is a gem I’ve been waiting for with baited breath for many years: a locality strain of Gromphadorhina portentosa.

The last few months have been wonderful for new presumably pure hisser lines with “UCR” joining the ranks in March, but these “Masoala” are only a few generations removed from their wild kin.

The weight of the world has been set on my shoulders as this locality is in very few hands in the United States, though if they’re like all other portentosa/hybrids they should be quite fecund and sturdy. It is an honor to have the chance to make these available and I hope a year from now many other keepers will be able to experience Gromphadorhina portentosa in its fullest natural glory!

This male Gromphadorhina portentosa “Masoala” nymph may look unassuming, but it will be one of just a few that create the founding stock of the culture in the United States.

-Kyle