Welcome fellow insect nerds!
Hello and welcome to Insectnerd! We're super excited to dive into the fascinating world of insects, invertebrates, and all sorts of amazing animals with you!
Explore our care sheets filled with essential info on a variety of inverts, including ladybirds, butterflies, mantis species, stick insects, leaf insects, and so much more! And don't miss out on my thrilling vlogs over on YouTube—there's always something new to discover!
Welcome to the galllery This page is all about the animals/insects I have kept over the years and ones that I currently keep. I have included some lovely photos, and a short summery about them.
Some old favourite insects and animals....
Avocado: A Giant Bean Insect( Diaphrades Gigantea). I brought from a breeder. A partner for my lovely Stanley . Sadly, she was a lot older than Stanely. Avocado bred, laid some eggs, and past away from old age only a week ago.
Stanely: He is a Giant Bean Insect( Diaphrades Gigantea), which I raised from an L2 nymph. He is now an old man. He has fantastic wings, and for an elderly gentleman, he is very active.
Leaf Insect Male(Phyllium Phyilippinnicum) : One of my old male leaf insects. He loved to fly around my room and sit on my wardrobe. I tend not to name my leaf insects as I can never tell them apart, unless they have different patterns or colors.
One of the many Giant Flower Beetle Larvae( Mecynorrhina torquata) I am currently keeping. They are in larval state at the moment, but will one day turn into lovely, colorful beetles.
Henry the Giant Asian Mantis( Hierodula Membranacea). He died of old age. I had him for six and a half months.
One of my newest additions. I have a small collection of Chinese Moon Moth.
The Painted Lady Butterfly(Vanessa Cardui). I kept these during the summer and released them.
The Peacock Butterfly(Aglais Oi). I kept these memorizing butterfly in the summer. The emerging rate of these butterflies was a success. I released ten out of twelve.
The Seven-spotted Ladybird(Coccinella Septempunctata). I kept these and bred them in the summer.
Giant Leaf Insect Female( Phyllium Gigantea). There are only females in this species. Males are almost non-existent. This is one from half a year or so ago. She died unfortunately from a bad shed. They, as a species of leaf insect, are difficult to care for. Many reputable breeders and keepers struggle to raise this species.
Autumn: Phyllium Phyilippinnicum female. She was the one recognizable leaf insect out of my colony. She is long gone now, but forever remembered.
Luna: One of my beloved White Tree Frogs. She is greedy, friendly, and active.
A photo of both of them together. Neville is at the top and Luna at the bottom.
One of my male Ghost Mantis( Phyllocrania Paradoxa)
Trixie is one of our beloved house cats. We have had her since 2006. She is cheeky and greedy. She steals cocktail sausages at a BBQ and once stole a slice of ham from my Granddad's sandwich.
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Her hobby is sleeping, but she does like a good game of Pokemon on the 3DS too :-) lol
Stripes is Trixie's twin sister. They were actually triplets, but we couldn't take the third kitten unfortunately. Stripes likes food just as much as her sister, however she loves the outdoors. She once loved to hunt, but in her old age she mostly likes to snooze and sit on laps.
Primrose the Syrian Hamster. I brought her in July. She is a cheeky, friendly hamster that loves to chew cardboard and run in her wheel( I think all hamsters like that). At first, she was shy, but now she is so good at being handled and viewed by other people.
Horatio the Indian Flower Mantis( Creobroter pictipennis). Unfortunately, he is no longer with me. He died of old age many months ago. He was so sweet, and for a mantis very interactive. Horatio used to take flies from my fingers as nymph.
Moonlight , my other Giant Asian Mantis( Hierodula Membranacea). As a nymph, I thought he was female and ever since I haven't bothered to change the name. This is a photo of him pre-adulthood.
My North American Bullseye(Automeris Oi) Moth larvae. Oddly, these are supposed to be the easiest to rear out of the two moth larvae species I am keeping, but they are very delicate and sensitive, so I have been struggling to raise them.
The Leaf Insects I currently keep. I keep a mixture of Phyllium Tobeloense nymphs, Phyllium Gigantea, and a Phyllium Phyilippinnicum adult.
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I will separate them as they age. I do not want interbreeding to occur. However, keeping them together when they are the same or similar stage is acceptable. As adults, Giant Leaf Insects tend to have a habit of nibbling other species so never keep them together with younger nymphs.
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My adult Ph.P is very good with the little ones and sometimes gives them a little ride on her back! Older leaf insects are good at helping younger nymphs to fed. By biting into the food plants themselves, they create a cut in the leaf that the young nymphs can get their mandibles stuck into.
Below is a selection of newer photos mixed with older photos. Listing everything would take up too many pages! Here is gallery part 2!!
