Ischnoptera deropeltiformis

Thanks to Brandon Maines for info on growth rate and adult lifespan times!
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Housing:

Something like a gallon plastic container works well for a starter colony, eventually you'll want to upgrade their enclosure size to a five gallon bin or something when they fill up their old one. Adults can climb and males can fly, so a tight fitting lid is recommended.

An inch or so of substrate should be provided, such as coconut fiber, potting soil, peat moss, etc., they don't particularly like touching loose substrate, so chunks of bark and such should be scattered on top of the substrate so they are more comfortable moving around. Hides such as leaf litter, bark slabs, paper towel rolls and eggcrates all work nicely for this species, the more surface area, the better. This species enjoys high humidity and moderate ventilation.


Diet:

Dog/cat/chick feed, fruits and veggies work well for the staple diet of this species.


Temperature:

This species will breed when kept at temps anywhere from 70-85F°, they aren't picky.


Breeding/Life cycle:

Adult females can live up to 5 months, whereas males usually only live for about 2-3. Females produce one slightly curved ootheca every week or so, which take 3-5 months to hatch. Oothecae are normally buried, often underneath bark pieces on the ground, and each ooth contains a dozen or so eggs. The resulting nymphs take 5-10 months to mature, all depending on temperature. Northern strains may require a diapause to develop properly, most southern ones don't.

There are two color forms, the normal black one, and then the rare "Ruby Red" form, which produces adults with red wings. Both color morphs have the same care needs.
Overall this is a neat US native species that deserves a spot in any enthusiast's collection!