Velvet Worms

[Bryony]

which site was it?

I have no idea now, all i did was google image search and read what was under it

 

[hornet]

yea, i was suprised to find we have the most in the world which is pretty cool, i have email the guy that breeds em, will let you know what he says

 

[Malley]

thanx angua21
My understanding of them is that they are quiet, secluded insects and each area they come from has a different colour patten

Velvet worms are not insects. They are called Onychopherans. They are a sister group to arthropods....

 

[bredli84]

we used to have a genetics lecturer at La Trobe uni who studied them but i think he left to go to monash, i think his name is Paul Sunnucks? he might be able to help u.

 

[Bryony]

Velvet worms are not insects. They are called Onychopherans. They are a sister group to arthropods....

Thanx
I do however know this but didn't really think it was necessary to mention, i was just generalizing.

Next time i am generalizing i will use my creepy crawly label

 

[Bryony]

we used to have a genetics lecturer at La Trobe uni who studied them but i think he left to go to monash, i think his name is Paul Sunnucks? he might be able to help u.

thanx for that i'll look him up

 

[Malley]

Thanx
I do however know this but didn't really think it was necessary to mention, i was just generalizing.

Next time i am generalizing i will use my creepy crawly label

Sorry, I'm just a pedantic science student. Even if you were generalising, you'd be doing so incorrectly.

 

[angua21]

well as it turns out, work was rained out today, so i didnt even get out to the forest, however i will look for some on monday, and post pics of the babies, and let you all know how i go.
they really are very cool, its a wonder more people dont know about them...

 

[Bryony]

Thanx for that

I would love to find out more about them and possibly start breeding them. The more i read about them the more interested i get

 

[hornet]

i have read they have a slow reproductive rate, that and they are ment to be rare would be why not many people keep them. Also need to be kept very cool, i'm gonna get myself a wine cooler to keep em here

 

[angua21]

yeah, all the ones i have seen live inside rotten damp logs, so need to be moist as well as cool.
I have often been tempted to bring some home for myself, but was never confident that i could keep them alive..

 

[angua21]

well today was a bit of a failure, lol. I only managed to find 1 velvet worm. I didn't have alot of time to go digging around in the rotten logs, busy day, so i will see how i go over the next few days.
here is a picture of the one i have, it is 6cm long, and not the brightest coloured specimen i have even found out there, but not too bad all the same..

 

[Oskorei]

that is so cool

 

[grimbeny]

They really seem awesome. Is it as delicate as it looks angua?

 

[angua21]

they are actually quite hardy. though they are as soft as they look. they live up to their name, thats for sure.
their defence/attack mechanism is squirting goo onto their prey. its clear, they squirt it up to 15cm away. its a clear fluid that sets almost instantly and is so strong that once they squirted it across two sticks i have near them, and trying to pull the sticks apart was like pulling a piece of hair to try to break it.
they are amazing creatures. I really hope someone has some success breeding them in captivity and can make them popular as pets.
heres another pic of him, just for kicks

 

[Malley]

There is actually pretty cool footage of one in the David Attenborough documentary "Life in the undergrowth". They show one squirting the glue like substance onto a prey item (I think its a cricket if my memory serves me correctly) in slow motion. Really cool.

 

[Oskorei]

if my memory serves me correctly

"bang of the gong we are on!"

 

[Hickson]

Bry,

One of the world's leading Onychophorologists is Dr Noel Tait at Macquarie University. He, and Macquarie geneticist David Briscoe have named many of the Australian species. When they started researching them in the '80s there was thought to be about two dozen species worldwide. Australia is now known to have about 200.

Noel successfully bred them a few years, which he was really happy about. With one of the South African spp, they mate once, and the unused sperm is retained in the body of the female to use when reproducing later in life (and considering the proces employed for mating, it's no wonder). Theres even some parthenogenetic species.

Good luck with them. Breeding them will be difficult.



Hix

 

[bredli84]

yeah, good luck Bry, please keep us updated on your progress

 

[hornet]

i do know of one breedin in the US i am going to get tips off. Might have luck, who knows.