Psg 278 phyllium philippinicum
Caresheet
Country of origin:
Philippines
Food: bramble and oak. In the wild they eat guava and mango. I gave the nymphs mango in the hope that there would die less animals in the nymph stage. (mango is not very difficult to keep, you can easily buy a mango in the shop, take the seed out and put it in loam. It takes time before the plant germinates, but when it grows, it has soon some leaves for your insects.) I do not think it makes much difference in this species whether they are raised with mango or not. Many people do recommend to give a combination of bramble and oak, especially for the nymphs, so there would be less deaths.
Temperature: the animals prefer a temperature that is a bit higher than the room temperature.
humidity: The nymphs do need some moisture otherwise they will have problems with moulting. If you spray every evening on the ground and on the branches, that's perfect. But watch out that the drops aren't to big, because the young nymphs can get stuck in them and drown.
Equipement:a terrarium of 30 * 30 * 30 is perfect for approximately three couples. I recommend to put paper towels on the bottom of the terrarium, because you can change it faster and easier than vermiculite or earth and you could have some mold in the terrarium due to the high humidity that you create every evening. For phyllium species it is also advisable to have more air circulation in your terrarium because they would not eat otherwise. Some extra light woud also be good for them, but direct sunlight is not recommended. Phyllium philippinicum is one of the easier types of walking leaves, and I think that they are very easy, in contrary to what many people say about phyllii. But it is clear that walking leaves are often unpredictable.
Sex determination: male nymphs are slender in shape than the female nymphs. Adult females are about 8 cm long and the males 6.5 cm.
Breeding: sexually
Incubation period: approximately 4 months, sometimes it may take a little longer. Put the eggs in a sealed container with high humidity. You can use vermiculite or a sponge, it absorbs moisture well. Watch out for mold, because then there's a chance that your eggs are lost.
Lifespan (nymph): the animals are adult after 5-6 months.
Lifespan (adult): adult females can sometimes live for six months.The males die earlier.
breeding speed: Average growth rate, you have to be patient with the nymphs, because sometimes it takes a long time before they molt and there are often a lot of deahts in the first weeks. After the second moult everything is better, and it's really not such a difficult species.
Special behaviour: if you blow on the leaves, they start to move, to walk around or to vibrate. This is often a funny sight. Do not place too many animals together, and don't place them together with stick insects, because then they will probably eat eachother.
special (outer) characteristics: Men have real wings and can fly, but they will not do this often. Females have a sort of "wings"on their abdomen to make them look more like a leaf, but they never use them.
The newly hatched nymphs are black with white edges around their body. After a few days they slowly start to become green.
For more pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.609239925761573.1073741838.441799802505587&type=3
Difficulty: Opinions differ on this, to me they were very easy, just some deaths of the nymphs in the first weeks. So I would give them a 3-4, if you take very well care of them.
PSG 278 is perhaps a very good beginner species if you start with walking leaves. But as mentioned earlier phyllii are often unpredictable creatures so it may be that you get a breeding 7-8.(1=Very easy, 10=Only for experts.)
© Made by Wietse Chanet.
Food: bramble and oak. In the wild they eat guava and mango. I gave the nymphs mango in the hope that there would die less animals in the nymph stage. (mango is not very difficult to keep, you can easily buy a mango in the shop, take the seed out and put it in loam. It takes time before the plant germinates, but when it grows, it has soon some leaves for your insects.) I do not think it makes much difference in this species whether they are raised with mango or not. Many people do recommend to give a combination of bramble and oak, especially for the nymphs, so there would be less deaths.
Temperature: the animals prefer a temperature that is a bit higher than the room temperature.
humidity: The nymphs do need some moisture otherwise they will have problems with moulting. If you spray every evening on the ground and on the branches, that's perfect. But watch out that the drops aren't to big, because the young nymphs can get stuck in them and drown.
Equipement:a terrarium of 30 * 30 * 30 is perfect for approximately three couples. I recommend to put paper towels on the bottom of the terrarium, because you can change it faster and easier than vermiculite or earth and you could have some mold in the terrarium due to the high humidity that you create every evening. For phyllium species it is also advisable to have more air circulation in your terrarium because they would not eat otherwise. Some extra light woud also be good for them, but direct sunlight is not recommended. Phyllium philippinicum is one of the easier types of walking leaves, and I think that they are very easy, in contrary to what many people say about phyllii. But it is clear that walking leaves are often unpredictable.
Sex determination: male nymphs are slender in shape than the female nymphs. Adult females are about 8 cm long and the males 6.5 cm.
Breeding: sexually
Incubation period: approximately 4 months, sometimes it may take a little longer. Put the eggs in a sealed container with high humidity. You can use vermiculite or a sponge, it absorbs moisture well. Watch out for mold, because then there's a chance that your eggs are lost.
Lifespan (nymph): the animals are adult after 5-6 months.
Lifespan (adult): adult females can sometimes live for six months.The males die earlier.
breeding speed: Average growth rate, you have to be patient with the nymphs, because sometimes it takes a long time before they molt and there are often a lot of deahts in the first weeks. After the second moult everything is better, and it's really not such a difficult species.
Special behaviour: if you blow on the leaves, they start to move, to walk around or to vibrate. This is often a funny sight. Do not place too many animals together, and don't place them together with stick insects, because then they will probably eat eachother.
special (outer) characteristics: Men have real wings and can fly, but they will not do this often. Females have a sort of "wings"on their abdomen to make them look more like a leaf, but they never use them.
The newly hatched nymphs are black with white edges around their body. After a few days they slowly start to become green.
For more pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.609239925761573.1073741838.441799802505587&type=3
Difficulty: Opinions differ on this, to me they were very easy, just some deaths of the nymphs in the first weeks. So I would give them a 3-4, if you take very well care of them.
PSG 278 is perhaps a very good beginner species if you start with walking leaves. But as mentioned earlier phyllii are often unpredictable creatures so it may be that you get a breeding 7-8.(1=Very easy, 10=Only for experts.)
© Made by Wietse Chanet.