vic brown Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 I was quite shocked when I got home from the EEE in Prague yesterday to find my newly purchased Roridula gorgonias heavily infested with pests!! Not the best photo because it is a very cloudy day here in the UK, I will try to post more later. OK, feeble attempt at humour over, I was pleased to bits, not only to get hold of a nice, large plant with a thriving colony of Pameridea roridulae living on it, but also that I'd managed to get them back home alive! I had fun transporting them as hand luggage on the flight back; I refused to put them in the overhead locker and the wonderful Easyjet stewardess kindly placed them very carefully in her small personal locker; I hadn't the heart to tell her the 'very rare and delicate plant' was covered in living insects! I've placed my new plant next to my other R. gorgonia plant and the bugs have wasted no time in colonising that too. I know the key to success is to keep them well fed with insects over the colder months and not to let them get too cold. Are there any other tips to ensure I keeping them alive long-term? I know there are quite a few Roridula growers in the UK that would like to try Pameridea on their own plant; please don't email me for any for at least a year, I'd like to get them successfully through their first winter and then I have several friends that will be getting any excess bugs first. Time to go back to watching my new pets! :) Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanW Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Congratulations, seems like you have made a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Could've made for an amusing situation had a stewardess looked a little closer! Nice to see that Customs are being as vigilant as ever against the risk of importing agricultural pests or other nasties.... ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Vic sounds like you will need to freeze a good supply of wasps!!! I wouldn't mind a few of your bugs sometime if you have spare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic brown Posted September 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 I don't think there are any restrictions on bringing exotic pet invertebrates across EU borders; spider and scorpion collecters do so all the time without restrictions, you can also import live insects as food for pets within the EU. Pameridea pose absolutely no risk as they can't survive away from Roridula plants and there is no native UK population of this plant or anything closely related. Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Absolutely Vic. But of course Customs are not necessarily to know that. Or did they inspect them and pass them off as inoffensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic brown Posted September 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 They don't inspect plants coming from other EU countries; likewise the thousands of CPs arriving in Prague from Germany, Poland, Holland etc won't have been inspected on arrival in the Czech Republic, wheras Borneo Exotics had to obtain Cites certificates and undergo phytosantiary inspection so that they could bring plants to the EEE. It would have been a very different matter if the Czechs hadn't joined the EU recently though. Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogier Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Hi Vic, Congrats with a good buy like that! I heard a good tip from Phil Wilson some time ago that it can be necessary to mist the plant often with rainwater, as a watersource for the bugs. Although I can imagine that when supplied with enough insects they obtain their need for water from the insects. You might want to verify this. I am curieus by the way what is best. Perhaps a combination of both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 What fun! Mine's growing at the rate of about 1 mm per 6 months, so I don't believe I'll have to worry about a supply of those bugs for awhile. Interesting idea about misting with rain water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 what is the correct spelling Palmeridea or Pameridea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic brown Posted September 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Whoops, erroneous 'L' now edited out! :) It's Pameridea roridulae, I got it right in the first post! Thanks Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan-Carlos Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Good day, Congratulations! What more satisfaction than watching the symbiosis first hand!! On a further note, Do any of you know where I could possibly find some Roridula seeds or plantlets? I have been looking for months with no avail, and honestly I've gotten very discouraged. Perhaps some of you can pint me in the right dirrection either for sale or for trade. Again congrats on the safe and successful trip home!! Regards, Juan-Carlos Munoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Not the best photo because it is a very cloudy day here in the UK, I will try to post more later. Very impressive purchase! How have they been this winter and have you taken any more pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic brown Posted January 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Most of the the original adult bugs have now passed away, but not before at least one pair mated a few months ago ... ... and their resulting progeny are doing quite well. Here's a photo taken this morning of a couple of young ones on my first Roridula flower. :) It's very tricky to photograph them, as soon as I approach with the camera they run quickly for cover! It's amazing how fast they can move on such a sticky plant! I've been feeding the bugs all winter with fruit flies, which I'm culturing and larger insects such as wasps, which I froze in the fall. I don't know if I'll be able to successfully maintain the bugs long-term (years rather than months), but so far so good. Cheers Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanW Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Congratulations! I wonder who brought the bugs to Europe in first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byblis Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Paul Debbert decades ago. Together with the brown ones and Roridula spiders. It always was a pleasure to watch that insects back in the 80Ães ... Stefan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanW Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Thanks for info, Stefan! The spiders aren't still in culture, I suppose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 lets hope they keep doing well! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Hi All, I was fortunate to have a few bugs from Phil Wilson after the EEE, and like Vic I have seen them mating on a few occasions, and have also seen them laying eggs under the bark of the plant. One of them seems to have died in this position! I haven't had any hatch yet, but hopefully when the weather improves they'll make an appearence, and I'll infect the rest of the plants with them. Nigel H-C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drosera36 Posted February 5, 2007 Report Share Posted February 5, 2007 I don't suppose there are any updates on this? -Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted February 5, 2007 Report Share Posted February 5, 2007 Hi Ben and all, Yes, they did hatch and I had a very healthy population on the pants all summer. The majority of adults died in the autumn, but I'm now finding many juveniles which, as in Vic's photo have been pollinating the R. gorgonias. I guess the life cycle of the bugs matches that of the seasons. One interesting observation, I found an adult on a Drosera platypoda last week, moving quite freely around! The puzzle is how it got there as although the Drosera is opposite the Rori's, there is a path in between, and as I understand it being hemipterans, they can't fly? I also can't see how they climbed/fell down one bench and up the other. Nigel H-C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petesredtraps Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 My Roridula is only 4" tall at the moment,but it is growing steadily.The time will come when I'll want to infest it with the bugs. Can anyone suggest as to how to best go about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Did anyone spot the deliberate mistake. I seem to have a faulty keyboard and have to be really careful what I write!!! Pete, the best way to infect a plant (not recommended to infect pants) is to manually remove individual bugs and transfer them directly from one to another. Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 My Roridula is only 4" tall at the moment,but it is growing steadily.The time will come when I'll want to infest it with the bugs. Can anyone suggest as to how to best go about this? find someone with bugs and put your plants next to it! i am still hoping to do this in the summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aidan Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Did anyone spot the deliberate mistake. I seem to have a faulty keyboard and have to be really careful what I write!!! Nigel - It's probably best to keep the crabs away from your Roridula... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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