Ornate Harvestman Under UV Light

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

Vonones ornata fluoresce nicely under UV light and are very simple to care for in captivity.

Please enjoy my newest of 100+ pet bug videos!

[YOUTUBE]aIgzuRyGaI4[/YOUTUBE]

 

[pavel]

Very nice. I was particularly surprised by how brightly the springtails fluorescence.

 

[jakykong]

I've never seen any similarly interesting opilionids around here, sadly. It looks like you might be breeding them? Awesome!

By the way, what music is that? It's fascinating.

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

They lack the interesting, fluorescing markings, but there are some dwarf (short-legged) reddish ones on the Olympic peninsula that I would like to attempt to culture. There are also some with disproportionately long pedipalps or claws from the same area that would be sort of novel to see in the hobby. On that same note, I guess there are a handful of other really interesting looking species from around the US that never seem to turn up. I had hoped to find this one as Zonbonzovi and I traveled through all the right areas, in November, but could not:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/267555

Yes, they actually seem to reproduce pretty readily in captivity, seem long-lived and are very easy to care for. I've got springtails with them now as insurance, but the current group seemed satisfied on fish food pellets alone, for many months. Traces of feeding on the humid pellets were clear to the point they might sustain them indefinitely.

You may also note the presence of mites in the enclosure. Perhaps they feed on these as well. I didn't know I had a few mites in there until I watched the video. Most people start to itch a little bit when they see mites, but sometimes they have a place in our tanks.

I don't remember exactly what the song was called. People ask this question a lot about my videos. I chose it, like I choose all the songs for the bug videos, from Youtube's list of free music during the upload/edit process. The title included the fairy name, Oberon, from A Midsummer Night's Dream. I always try to set the mood of the video with background music that suits the species (in ways not always evident to viewers).

Thanks for the replies! I really love to put these videos together and hope they are very useful ways to share the animals with people that might only be familiar with photos, or less.

 

[zonbonzovi]

They lack the interesting, fluorescing markings, but there are some dwarf (short-legged) reddish ones on the Olympic peninsula that I would like to attempt to culture. There are also some with disproportionately long pedipalps or claws from the same area that would be sort of novel to see in the hobby. On that same note, I guess there are a handful of other really interesting looking species from around the US that never seem to turn up. I had hoped to find this one as Zonbonzovi and I traveled through all the right areas, in November, but could not:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/267555

.

Bah! Among other things that refused to turn up! Anyhoo, great vid & I think the habitat on the red harvestmen is more or less pinpointed(some have outsized palps making me wonder if they are different or if the large palps are sex specific. Now I just have to convince you that coming North to find a creature is a good idea. Off to ride my man sled in the S. Cascades, hoping to see some snow-loving springtails...

 

[hamhock 74]

Wow that's sweet, I wonder what other insects glow under UV lights besides scorpions and these harvestman spiders.

 

[Ciphor]

Maybe I should start collecting the harvestmen all over my property, we have a pretty good variety in the Mt. Rainier foothills. I get all types of dwarf ones, big ones, stripped ones, etc.

I always found them pretty boring personally, and usually the ones I find become meals for pets.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

I bought some of these from bugsincyberspace.com

I have been breeding them for a while. They are very cool.

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

LOL, I have such a hard time addressing you as Mr. Crackerpants, but here we go...

You were the first of anybody I know of to mention offspring from ones sold through my site. Have yours grown up or were they cannibalized, as Orin indicates happens sometimes? I'd enjoy hearing your experiences with what you've been feeding them and anything to do with the life cycle. I believe yours were a blacker TX variant, while the ones in the video are brown from TN.

Ciphor, I consistently enjoy your identification contributions in this section of the forum, and would definitely like to see introductions of your local harvestmen to the hobby!

Hamhock 74, a few others are flameleg millipedes and most of the larger and pet-worthy polydesmid/flat millipedes. Pavel had mentioned the springtails fluorescing, but I'm not so sure it wasn't more an artifact of them being white and being slightly reflective. I am not familiar enough with the science of light to expound. I'd like to see some discussion on that if anybody happens to understand the finer points of it all.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

LOL, I have such a hard time addressing you as Mr. Crackerpants, but here we go...

You were the first of anybody I know of to mention offspring from ones sold through my site. Have yours grown up or were they cannibalized, as Orin indicates happens sometimes? I'd enjoy hearing your experiences with what you've been feeding them and anything to do with the life cycle. I believe yours were a blacker TX variant, while the ones in the video are brown from TN.

Ciphor, I consistently enjoy your identification contributions in this section of the forum, and would definitely like to see introductions of your local harvestmen to the hobby!

Hamhock 74, a few others are flameleg millipedes and most of the larger and pet-worthy polydesmid/flat millipedes. Pavel had mentioned the springtails fluorescing, but I'm not so sure it wasn't more an artifact of them being white and being slightly reflective. I am not familiar enough with the science of light to expound. I'd like to see some discussion on that if anybody happens to understand the finer points of it all.

Peter, Sorry about the MrCrackerpants. It seemed like a good idea at the time. : )

I am not sure about the cannibalization. I put the ones I bought from you in a upside down sealed deli plastic deli tray from Walmart. I added a small amount of moist compost substrate, a cardboard egg carton and isopods. I would throw in fresh killed roaches and a few pieces of dog food once a week. The humidity had to be near 100% since the substrate was moist and the top had VERY minimal ventilation (a few holes with a needle for O2). Within 3 months I had babies. They looked just like the adults but were about a mm in length. Over time the population grew from 10 to 20. This is where I am currently at. They do not reproduce as fast as many of my roach species or my earwigs.

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

They seem pretty long-lived, don't they? I believe yours are the darker version we had available, while the ones in the video were the paler brown version. Thanks for the follow up info. I moved them to a new bin recently and was surprised to see them resting on the plastic walls. They almost seem to prefer being on the walls to the substrate or egg cartons, although I guess it is not uncommon to see harvestmen on walls outdoors.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

They seem pretty long-lived, don't they? I believe yours are the darker version we had available, while the ones in the video were the paler brown version. Thanks for the follow up info. I moved them to a new bin recently and was surprised to see them resting on the plastic walls. They almost seem to prefer being on the walls to the substrate or egg cartons, although I guess it is not uncommon to see harvestmen on walls outdoors.

Yes, they live a long time. Mine are the darker ones. Most of mine are under their cardboard egg carton when I open the lid. A few are on the walls.

Have you ever tried raising earwigs? I found one in my house last year and now I have hundreds. I feed them dog food. They are very cool to watch and they are super low maintenance.

 

[Arachno Dano]

Yes, they actually seem to reproduce pretty readily in captivity, seem long-lived and are very easy to care for.

I have been wanting a Harvestman for awhile! I love how different they look. :biggrin:

Have you ever tried raising earwigs?

This is something you don't hear everyday!

~Dano

 

[mindstorm]

Have you ever tried raising earwigs? I found one in my house last year and now I have hundreds. I feed them dog food. They are very cool to watch and they are super low maintenance.

Cool... do you keep your earwigs with substrate or any other kinda of housing structure? Do they just breed on their own? The dog food you feed..is it wet or dry?
Thanks!
ps Got any pictures of your earwigs in their housing?

 

[MrCrackerpants]

I don't have a way to upload pictures so here is a description: I have them in a Walmart clear cake container upside down. I have a 1 inch layer of soil substrate that I keep moist. The lid has a few pin hole in it so the ventilation is extremely minimal. The temperature is 70-75 F. I throw dry dog food on the top of the substrate. The females lay white eggs under the substrate and you can see the clusters through the clear floor. Enjoy.

 

[Arachno Dano]

How many earwigs did you start with? Did you only need the one earwig?

~Dano