RELEASING # 1

First such an experience for me and the guys on the trips with me is that big releasing we made 2 days ago on late afternoon at Ilanin Forest (west-Luzon) !! Released where 20 adults Mnesilochus capreolus (the same ones I got at the same place as L1-L2 babies 6 months ago......) and especially 400+ L1-L2 and L3 Sungaya inexpectata babies. Additional to those was released as well, almost a thousand eggs of sungaya inexpectata and several hundreds eggs of Phyllium sp. !! Of course the releasing sites were carefully chosen, according foodplants availability and history of such species present already at the sites. Very nice feeling indeed watching all those hundreds phasmids walking slowly away underneath leaves, giving all of us a lasting feeling of something achieved and hopefully contributing, even so slightly, to keep those species (for) ever present in those areas. Definitively an experience to renew some day !!! :))

Pictures of Sites # 4

ILANIN FOREST (Bataan Province) > North-West Luzon
Nice dense forest, definitively much more dry than the east coast forest (Quezon National Park for example). Much fewer rainfall here, perfect biotope for Sungaya inexpectata, Mnesilochus capreolus, Clitumnus nematodes (I found a nice number of those yesterday 30.12.08, all on a bamboo species with small leaves).
Two first pictures are from the lowest part of the forest close to the sea, all others are from an area called "Hill 394", the highest mount of the forest (394 meters) ! Called that way by the American army troups that were station here for 50 years (the biggest military base in the Pacific), hill 394 was a helipad for military exercises, etc....! Today it's a beautifull flat spot from where you can enjoy a wonderfull view of the nearby bay , the Zambales and the Bataan mountains arround.

MNESILOCHUS CAPREOLUS [?]

Nice, medium size species I found on the west coast of Luzon several months ago. They belong to the Lonchodiinae family. Nice attitudes, often still in very pretty/extraordinary positions. Here in Quezon City I feed them with leaves of an African Tulip tree (imported) / Spathodea campanullata (Bignonaceae) with good results.

While the above male are all looking pretty much the same, the females they, come in several forms - have 4 pictured here > the plain brown, the plain (nearly) black, the mosaic and the striped. Beautiful .....!

EUCARCHARUS FERULOIDES SP. New Variation

Have breed Eucarcharus feruloides before, this ones somewhat different with its white median line and white scattered dots !! Same foodplant however > guava. Also same attitude toward nightfall and/or spraying water ---> female then changes body color to purple/violet.......nice change ! how and why it happens I don't know.......whoever knows please post on clicking "comments" on the bottom of this post, thanks !
Specie originating from South-Cotabato Province / South-Mindanao.
Thanks to Ben (Benjamin Mabanta / Quezon-City) for handing me over 2 beautiful couples :))

STENOBRIMUS BOLIVARI

What a beautiful and elegant species isn't it ?
Found that pretty rare species in South-East Luzon on a rainy night, enjoying the wet ferns, which they feed on exclusively. They come in 3 different "forms", the black/brown one (I also found on Mt-Cristobal / Laguna Province) is the adult , the black one with green spines is the subadult and finaly the most nice one mostly green with black stipes are the nymphs L1 to L4.
Long legs / weightless they move so elegantly in the wind on the ferns > love that species !

ASCELES SCABRA

Found that specie in Atimonan (South-East Luzon) exactly 2 weeks ago, a single female with missing front leg ! Still have her alive today because this time, lucky I was, she was sitting on her foodplant - yes !
A medium shrub about 1.50m high with medium/large leaves. She was sitting underneath a leaf, making it pretty hard to see as "usual" catches are mostly on top of leaves or on open twigs.
That foodplant is the "important" thing as if propagated it can (hopefully) stop my current problems with that genus feeding after the first two species died out.

ASCELES ICARIS (?)

Another - rare - specie of that genus, this one from Laguna Province (south-Luzon).
Again like the previous one, found 2 couples (matting) on a dried twig, could not as well identify the foodplant and both couples died quickly within a week !
Again, I remember the exact site where I found those and some day I'm back there looking for new ones > that said, only, when I have an identified foodplant for Asceles species and nicely growing here in Quezon City ......!
What to say about the eggs of that genus ..... just extraordinary how the female drills the underleaf of the plant and deposit each egg upside down, all ready for the babies to hatch and immediately be at the food source !!!

ASCELES SP "Baras"

Found that beautiful and especially "new specie" in Rizal Province in the same place as the Sungaya inexpectata (highlands) featured earlier post. Unfortunately I was not able to keep her alive long as I could'nt identify her foodplant on the site...... tried everything I possibly could, but she refused all plants I brought to her ! May be one day I go back there and I can find that specie again......who knows, fingerscrossed !