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Raising brown Pediodectes spp. (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) Nymph to Adult




I wrote a fairly detailed article on Caring for Pediodectes haldemanii in January of 2023 and then updated it after a second season with the species. However, in addition to P. haldemanii, I cared for some other brown Pediodectes species whom I have not identified. I am pretty sure that the ones I collected were at least two and possibly three different species. I have been told that the species are not well worked out in Texas, so I am leaving my non-haldemanii Pediodectes at the genus level. One of my species is very likely Pediodectes bruneri, but I will leave it to the experts to sort out the various species that occur here in central Texas.

I wanted to add this generic Pediodectes article because I find these katydids to be quite interesting and also very easy to raise.



Introduction


I have not made any serious effort to rear these brown Pediodectes from eggs. Most of the ones that I cared for I simply raised from nymph to adult and then released.

The first Pediodectes I got to know was most likely P. bruneri. I found a nymph named Petros in my yard in June of 2020 and raised him to adult before releasing him. These images show him as a nymph and then adult:


After Petros, I continued collecting the occasional Pediodectes, usually while I was out looking for someone else. I released most of them but kept just a few adults in 2021 and 2022. I held on to a couple of the potted plants and substrate dishes that my 2021 and 2022 adults used, but didn't pay close attention to them. To my surprise a single F1 hatched out in 2023. I now think that if I had been focused on raising these brown Pediodectes, I probably could have gotten more nymphs by keeping more of the substrate in which they laid eggs. If I had intended to rear an F1 generation, I would have kept my adults (rather than releasing almost all of them) and carefully overwintered the substrate dishes.

But even with my limited experience with non-haldemanii Pediodectes, I was able to learn a bit about them and observe their interesting behaviours.

Since my Pediodectes haldemanii article includes some level of detail, I will keep this article quite short with the following sections: 1) Housing and Care, 2) Eggs, Nymphs, Adults, 3) Moulting, 4) Mating, 5)Laying Eggs, and 6) Geriatrics.




Housing and Care


Fortunately, these species do not tend toward cannibalism and play quite nicely together. It is easy to keep multiple Pediodectes species in one large cage. Even when combined with the larger Pediodectes haldemanii, the nymphs and adults practiced professional courtesy within the genus, generally not eating each other except on a few occasions when one had already died naturally in the cage. I recommend, however, that you keep a close eye on your Pediodectes and separate them if necessary. Be sure to keep a good supply of live prey and protein-based foods along with the usual Orthoptera foods that are listed in the Food section below.


CAGE

The cage for Pediodectes spp. will be similar to that of Pediodectes haldemanii. I use large butterfly habitats measuring 36"x24"x24". Add potted plants for the katydids to climb on, soil substrate dishes when your adult females are ready to lay eggs, and plenty of food (detailed below).



FOOD

As with P. haldemanii, I use a variety of foods including some live prey (millipedes, mealworm, and Acheta domesticus). The other foods for Pediodectes include organic Romaine lettuce, apple slices, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato, pecan/walnut/almond bits, cricket powder, tropical fish flakes, rolled oats, seed mixes, wheat bran, original Cheerios, trail mix, mealworm and woodpecker suet (for birds), wet and dry cat food, bearded dragon pellets, fresh flowers, butterfly sponges, and fresh water. I also provide meats, such as cooked chicken pieces, lunch meat, and similar. My brown Pediodectes seemed to especially like fish flakes, cricket powder, and rolled oats along with apple and lettuce.

young nymph eating lunch meat:


adult female eating fish flakes:


adult female eating apple:


adult female eating suet:


adult male on butterfly sponge:


senior female eating lettuce:


senior female drinking water:



VIDEO of adult female munching suet

VIDEO (continued) of adult female munching suet

VIDEO of senior female eating cricket

VIDEO of adult female eating lettuce (Note that she has a spermatophore attached.)



Eggs, Nymphs, Adults


EGGS

Eggs of the Pediodectes species that I cared for are beige to light tan, oblong, and measure around 5 mm.



NYMPHS

For my very young nymphs, I used a smaller, simpler cage so that I could be sure to find everyone:


While I cared for several collected nymphs, I had only one F1 nymph whom I raised to adult alongside the collected nymphs. My F1 nymph was born on April 4, 2023, and I am including a few images below.

My F1 nymph at two days old on 04.06.2023:


My F1 nymph getting bigger at two weeks old and five weeks old:


My other nymphs were collected and raised to adult. I kept them all together in one cage and they did well.

You can get an idea of this little guy's size compared to a Cheerio:


Older nymph with pinkish tint:



ADULTS

As mentioned earlier, these are different species of Pediodectes. A few adult images are included here.

Adult male:


Adult female:


Adult male and female:


Adult male and female:


Adult females:


The female on the bottom right appears to be of a species different from the other three:


Adult males and females:




Moulting


These smaller and lighter Pediodectes moult with considerably more ease than their congeners, Pediodectes haldemanii.

This series shows a male moulting with no difficulty:




female nymph moulting:


female moulting to adult:


male moulting to adult:


VIDEO of freshly moulted Pediodectes eating exuvia



Mating


Similar to Pediodectes haldemanii, these brown Pediodectes often sing to their lady while wiggling their abdomens.

VIDEO of a male flirting with his beloved.

Unfortunately, I never got to see these brown Pediodectes in copula as they tend to be one of the more cryptic of the katydids. However, I did sometimes see females with spermatophores attached.

Female with spermatophore attached:


While these guys do sing, I can see their singing more easily than hear it. The sound is very soft and to me is more like a puff of air than a sound audible to my (old) ears.



Laying Eggs


Pediodectes lay their eggs in soil, and in captivity, they used the soil substrate dishes that I provided for their cages. Occasionally, they would lay an egg in the soil of a potted plant in their cage.

Female laying egg in soil of potted plant:


Female laying egg in soil of potted plant:


Female laying egg in soil substrate dish:



VIDEOS of Female Laying Eggs

Here you can see the female insert her long ovipositor deep into the soil:
VIDEO of female laying egg (potted plant)

VIDEO (continued) of female laying egg (potted plant)

VIDEO close-up of female laying egg (potted plant)

VIDEO of female laying egg (soil substrate)

VIDEO (continued) of female laying egg (soil substrate)

VIDEO (continued) of female laying egg (soil substrate)

VIDEO of female laying egg (potted plant)



Geriatrics


The brown Pediodectes species that I raised lived longer than did my Pediodectes haldemanii, often surviving well into winter.

As with Pediodectes haldemanii and other species of katydids, these brown Pediodectes show clear signs of ageing. Limbs and antennae begin to break off and it's not uncommon for the ovipositors of very old females to break. As my Pediodectes age, I transform their cages into assisted living cages where their food is very easily accessible and their mobility is not impaired by potted plants.



This very old female has lost part of her ovipositor:


This very old male has lost limbs and limb parts:


Elderly females who are no longer able to climb up to substrate dishes (even after I've added steps for them) will sometimes lay eggs in cricket powder or in rolled oats.

Eggs laid in cricket powder by senior female:


This very old female died with an egg still in her ovipositor:






Pediodectes species are very interesting katydids to rear, and among the predaceous species that I have raised, these smaller brown Pediodectes are the gentlest. I recommend using large cages and providing an abundance of food along with regular cage cleaning and daily care. With this you should have no problem raising this species. If you want to rear an F1 generation, be prepared to save your soil substrate dishes and potted plants for at least one and possibly two winters. Be present when the nymphs begin to hatch to offer appropriate foods and care. With a bit of understanding about this genus, you should find these katydids quite easy to keep and rear.




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