INVERTEBRATE HUSBANDRY

The foundation of Orin McMonigle’s expansive guide to the practical husbandry and reproduction of milliped species from around the world rests on decades of hands-on research. Milliped Zoology directs both enthusiastic amateur naturalist and professional laboratory animal caretaker to those species which are best suited to thrive in and populate a captive environment. Building on the 2012 Millipeds in Captivity, this updated volume includes numerous species that have engendered captive interest since that time. Successful reproductive efforts for previously scarce species are also recorded. Millipeds are fascinating subjects for educational study, and with proper care and attentiveness to basic requirements may offer years of enjoyment. Different shapes, colors, and behaviors contribute to the appeal of these understated creatures. Such attention given to small creatures like millipeds enriches our regard for the natural world at large.

Multi-hued grasshoppers, burrowing crickets, thorny katydids, and camouflaged leaf katydids are just some of the fantastic members of the Order Orthoptera. Grasshoppers and their kin include many of the largest and most flamboyant insects, favored by entomologists and insect lovers around the world. They play heavily in dried insect collections, zoological insect displays, and the feeder insect trade. Orthopteran Zoology is the first book dedicated to the husbandry requirements needed to successfully maintain these intriguing creatures in artificial habitats over successive generations. Those who read this text will acquire a greater appreciation and understanding of this spectacular order of insects. Beginning enthusiasts and experts alike will enjoy this journey through the living biology and requirements of North American natives, incredible exotics kept in zoos across the globe, Asian and African singing crickets, and kaleidoscopic exotics maintained in European collections.

Own the ultimate crabber resource! Here you will find detailed husbandry experiences for a wide variety of fascinating pet crabs. In-depth reproductive data for the popular vampire crabs are presented, while many other beautiful and fascinating species are discussed and depicted. Crabs are arguably the most widely kept group of pet invertebrates. They are integral to the marine aquarium hobby as clean-up crews and display animals. Fiddler crabs have been a mainstay of the hobby for half a century. Larger terrestrial species, including moon crabs and hermits, have been fostered as small terrarium animals nearly as long. Exotic beauties like the vampire and panther crabs are encountered at well-stocked freshwater shops today. Although crabs have been widely cared for, reliable literature on captive husbandry and reproduction is scarce and scattered. Breeding the Vampire and Other Crabs is a compendium designed to look at these widely loved creatures as a whole and is molded by the experiences of a life-long crab enthusiast.

The pillbug and its relatives are beloved the world over by children—in this text they get their due for adults. Spectacular cultivars and amazing species represent an often forgotten group of backyard arthropods. In recent years the beautiful peach pillbug, zebra armadillo-bug, and Dalmatian isopod, among others, have burst on the scene in a growing hobby. Their use as feeders for herps and invertebrates combined with spectacular clean-up crew attributes for terrariums and paludariums may be the main assets of the isopod, but after learning about these spectacular beauties, their simple husbandry, and historical cultivation, the child inside may fall in love again.

A decade ago, there wasn't a hint that isopod husbandry would develop into one of the most popular niches in the invertebrate hobby. Now, Orin McMonigle has added yet another volume on keeping and breeding exotic isopods from around the world, updating and expanding his popular manual, Pillbugs and Other Isopods. New species have entered the trade, and breeders have developed some fascinating cultivars to add to your terrarium. Everything you need to know to develop healthy cultures of both popular and uncommon species are included in this reference guide.

Stories about sinister centipedes are legendary but behind the myths lie an important, valuable, and harmless group of invertebrate predators performing a vital service to ecosystems by helping to keep plant-eating pest populations in check. This text details the five chilopod orders, highlighting the biggest and most beautiful species commonly kept in captivity. Those who want to learn more about these magnificent creatures, their toxicology, biology, and variety will find the accounts just as useful as those interested in containing, mating, and successfully reproducing the more spectacular centipedes in the laboratory, or at home.

Millipedes (or millipeds) have traditionally been acquired as impulse purchases, strange little creatures tucked in the corners of reptile shows and pet shops. For years, there was very little information on keeping them, let alone breeding them. The African giant black millipede (or similar large tropical species) was commonly seen, but rarely lasted long in a simple terrarium, and misinformation was rampant.

Today, that has all changed. Unfortunately, far too stringent USDA regulations (publisher's opinion) mean that tropical millipedes can not now be imported into the U.S., but we have the benefit now of a wealth of information, through the efforts of experienced invertebrate hobbyists like Orin McMonigle, which we can use to preserve and propogate those species we still have. Both exotics and native U.S. species are included, with a wide range of details regarding caring for them through their entire life stages, with discussion of key factors for reproductive success.

Whipscorpions, or vinegaroons, are fascinating arachnids with several qualities that make them attractive pets: their large size, their strange appearance (though harmless to humans), and their interesting behavior. Not to mention, one of the largest species is native to Florida and the southwestern U.S.

Orin McMonigle has produced another informative guide that is packed with details: everything you want to know about whipscorpion biology, behavior, husbandry, and captive reproduction. It is well illustrated with color photographs (including SEM photos) throughout. This is the perfect gift for your favorite exotic animal enthusiast.

Formerly known as tailless whipscorpions, amblypygids or whipspiders can be large and fierce-looking, but they are actually gentle giants of the arachnid world. Timid, often skittish, several species are commonly imported, but there is little reliable information on their husbandry or reproduction. Orin McMonigle solves this problem with an extensive and detailed look at these fascinating creatures. Filled with photos of species from around the world in various life stages, this is an important volume for the arachnid hobbyist's library.

This book brings together detailed husbandry and breeding information on the most popular beetles for the insect hobbyist. There are full chapters on rhinoceros beetles, flower beetles, dung beetles, jewel scarabs, stag beetles, and darkling beetles. Details are also given on such groups as diving beetles, glowworms, dermestids, carrion beetles, ground beetles, passalids, and longhorn beetles. Included are topics like caging, substrate, larval and pupal rearing, feeding, and inducing breeding.

The amazing diversity of color and form in cockroaches around the world has rarely been displayed to the average animal enthusiast. Several well known species have been bred for decades as feeder insects for reptiles and other exotic pets, but there has only been a handful of dedicated blatticulturists keeping and breeding a wider range of species for sheer enjoyment. As exotic cockroaches receive more attention, more and more people are trying their hand at them, but with very little attention given to these creatures in the popular literature. That changes now, as Orin McMonigle shares his enthusiasm and wealth of knowledge in this new book, For the Love of Cockroaches. Orin provides experienced instruction for proper housing, feeding, and breeding cockroach species, followed by details on the many species available to enthusiasts (illustrated in full color). At 350 pages, this is the definitive cockroach manual for anyone branching out into these fascinating insects.​

Prepare to be enchanted with an in-depth and up-close view of the most loved of all invertebrates, the praying mantis! Keeping the Praying Mantis is a huge resource designed to give mantis enthusiasts every tool needed for feeding, housing, and rearing these magical (almost mythological) creatures. Details on their biology, relationship with man over the ages, behavior, and captive husbandry will give you a solid foundation for successfully keeping fascinating species from around the world. From ant mimics and unicorn mantids to Devil’s flower, orchid, and ghost mantids, there are species to entice every insect hobbyist.

Giant water bugs can be as large as a man’s hand, big enough to readily dispatch fish, snakes, and small turtles in the wild. Large assassin bugs kill and eat massive armored beetles that the world’s largest scorpion, tarantula, or centipede would run from. Beautiful metallic shield bugs band together to take down prey a thousand times their mass without the use of venom or jaws. Others species hunt on the open ocean or feed on plants, reserving their spines and vicious attacks for battle over mates. Despite such endearing qualities of this widespread and common group, the only impressive aspect of true bug literature is its intense insufficiency. Even common laboratory species generate little writing. This book is the first and foremost attempt to provide a large format presentation on the biology of true bugs, represented in direct observations and repeatable husbandry guidelines for the largest and most formidable species. A full-color, pictorial essay accompanies this detailed text, highlighting the variety and design of this breathtaking group of insects.

Orin McMonigle turns his eye towards some of the most popular insects, the moths and butterflies. Children everywhere have collected caterpillars in jars or watched in delight as exotic butterflies flit their way around a professional butterfly house. Now, they can experience rearing butterflies and moths through entire stages (though as Orin points out, the often colorful and sometimes strange-looking caterpillars are the stage that usually lasts the longest). Orin offers advice from personal experience with a wide range of native and non-native species. This book is a perfect gift for budding young entomologists or school science classrooms.

There are a wide range of insects, arachnids, and other invertebrate species that can be maintained and exhibited alive for the public or small groups. Orin McMonigle has displayed numerous invertebrates since the early '90s, and offers a wealth of experience and practical advice in this book for those who would like to incorporate these spineless wonders into their displays. Husbandry, display, and breeding advice is accompanied by numerous full color images of these species in various stages of their life cycles. This is a fascinating book for teachers, small museums, or even the casual pet lover who would like to add some interesting inverts to their collection.