Small, prolific, extremely easy to manage, and appreciated by practically any species capable of catching them.
Over the past year, they’ve become a staple of my farm’s diet, and today I find it hard to imagine managing certain species without them.
Before I begin, however, I’d like to clarify something. All the information that allowed me to start my first colonies came from an article published on the Scolopedia website, which unfortunately is no longer available online. Although over time I’ve adapted various aspects of their management to my needs, a significant part of what I know about this species stems directly from that educational piece. I’d also like to thank my friend Giuseppe for giving me his valuable starter cultures so I could begin working with this fantastic species!
Their size is probably their main strength; newly hatched nymphs are tiny and are perfect for baby microgeckos, small species, and particularly picky animals.
Furthermore, unlike fruit flies, they are more substantial and nutritious prey, which is why they are one of my favorite options when I want to promote rapid and steady growth.
Paraplecta do not require particularly elaborate setups.
My colonies typically live in simple fauna boxes or plastic containers measuring about 20x30 cm, filled with 5 cm of moist coconut fiber, scattered dry leaves, and pieces of cork that serve as hiding spots and are very convenient for gathering many cockroaches at once when it’s time to feed them to the geckos.
The most important thing is to ensure good ventilation, a stable temperature, adequate humidity, and plenty of hiding spots. It is extremely important to replace 50% of the substrate every six months, adding fresh substrate. Otherwise, the cockroaches would end up living in their own feces, which is unhealthy for them—let alone for the reptiles that will be eating them.
The colonies are much more productive when kept warm; in fact, I personally try to keep them at around 28–30°C. In the winter, I use a heating pad placed against one side of the container; in the summer, the ambient temperature is sufficient to ensure adequate warmth.
At lower temperatures, they generally continue to live without problems, but reproduction tends to slow down significantly and may even stop completely if it gets too cold.
They readily accept a variety of dry and plant-based foods and are not particularly picky.
In my breeding operation, I mainly use a dry feed specially formulated for feed insect colonies, made with various organic grain flours and supplemented with spirulina, pollen, calcium, and vitamins. For more information on this topic, you can also read the article dedicated to my feed for feeder insects.
Except for some occasional vegetables, I don’t give water to my P. minutissima colonies at all. Since they need constantly moist soil, they get water and condensation directly by burrowing into it.
It’s very important to maintain a good level of humidity without soaking the soil; to do this, simply mist the container a couple of times a week.
Once properly established, a colony requires very little attention, as routine maintenance consists mainly of:
periodically adding dry food to a small bowl that remains dry
misting weekly to maintain a good level of humidity
removing any spoiled plant matter
collecting the specimens intended for feeding
replacing 50% of the substrate twice a year
It is precisely this combination of convenience, productivity, and small size that has made Paraplecta one of the feed insects I use most frequently.
Absolutely!
They aren’t always easy to find and are often overlooked in favor of more common prey, but I think they deserve much more attention than they get.
For those who keep micro geckos, they’re probably one of the most useful and versatile resources available today, considering that they reproduce very quickly, don’t climb smooth surfaces, aren’t pests (so no need to worry if a container happens to tip over in your home), and remain a suitable size for microgeckos practically their entire lives.
If you’ve never tried them, they might surprise you.