vfox

I'll see what pics I can grab shortly lol.

I like the tangent this has taken. You're doomed @Hisserdude

XD I have all 5 in the hobby right now, plus Blatta orientalis. Cmon @Hisserdude join in.

Interesting topic but without specimens being dissected or genetically checked there is literally no evidence of hybridization. Color morphs and abnormalities are common in captive colonies, especially when new specimens are introduced. Even if they come from the same genetic ancestors from the original import, separation of even a few generations can show great variation within a species of cockroach. I don't know of any evidence of another Blaptica species being imported, even accidentally. So the likelihood of any of our captive bred colonies being hybrids is next to nothing. But please, if I'm wrong I'd love to read about others being imported or of known Blaptica hybridization.

Periplaneta is still my favorite genus, Blatta orientalis is also fantastic if you like personality. But for a large enclosure I wouldn't recommend them, too many chances to escape. Lats wouldn't be a bad choice though because they can't really do more than flutter fly and can't climb smooth surfaces.

Yep. They help keep mold and decay away but are annoying. Glue traps near lights work well, vinegar traps sometimes help but in the end its just cleaning the bin substrate and starting fresh that will get rid of them.

They do!? I need to test that out on some dead specimens I have. I only have 5 small nymphs at the moment.

Blaberus and Archimandrita have very similar care, grow at a moderately slow pace and aren't ootheca bearing so they can be housed together without much of an issue. The Gyna genus and N. rhombifolia have pretty specific care so I wouldn't combine them. L. verrucosa can probably be housed with smaller Blaberus species like discoidalis but they will be out-competed/bred by them as well.

I live on a farm, manure is a constant. Pigs basically live in it. Cows stroll through it constantly. Chickens dust themselves in it. Tons of insects love it and predators will roll in it to mask their own scent. If you think eating vegetables is safe, think again, we spread that sh!t everywhere, literally. All the fields, liquid and solid. Like food? You've enjoyed the benefits of poop. Also look up bat guano fertilizer, it's some of the most fertile poop in the world and is a hot commodity for fertilizer mixes. You've very likely eaten food grown in it. I figure newly imported roaches may harbor some of the bacteria but it'll eventually work its way out of the colony since the conditions of captivity are different than any cave.

Technically as soon as a cockroach molts it has left all of the bacteria, fungus and parasites on its old exoskeleton behind. So if they are kept alone, molt, and are placed in a colony with others that molted then the colony would be clean after just one molt cycle.

I remember when I had room for nice setups like that, lol. With 3 kids my critters are now in the laundry room... So plastic bins and little room for massive colonies. But I'll be happy to add another shelf or so in there for now.

One of the many reasons that genetic charting is important for species identification. Again, going back to the US black winged Blaberus craniifer vs the European brown winged Blaberus craniifer. The original specimen in the books shows brown wings but it's unknown if that specimen has the same genetic makeup as the black winged versions found native in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. Most folks in the hobby view them as two distinct species with the black winged being the true phenotype while the brown winged is a close relative (possibly a natural hybrid) but a different species. The hairs on the elytra are where most of the confusion stems from. It's possible they are the same species but just different color morphs that naturally occurred, similar to the random yellow Gyna lurida or black Periplaneta americana. Again, roaches are horribly under studied.

When you start a colony of thousands from 2 individuals and there are no weird issues you've gotta assume inbreeding doesn't really affect them. That being said I have noticed that not all breeders have the same sized stock. Not that they are unrelated but that their specific strain may have been primarily smaller/larger/lighter/darker. So if you're looking for certain traits it may be worthwhile getting several strains regardless if they are related from the initial imports. As for sizes to add, not sure, adults probably for the fastest results.

Up north here in Pennsylvania there is commonly only 4 pest species, Periplaneta americana, Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica and Supella longipalpa. The only one that really lives in homes beyond the odd damp basement or boiler room is Blattella germanica. So other than keeping them there is little concern of infestation. I've kept most of the known Periplaneta species over the part 6 or 7 years and never once felt concerned. I wish I started with them like 10 years ago when I first started keeping roaches. Lol.

I was in pest control for 5 years, there isn't a safe place for pesticides in the building. We sell lots of invertebrates and if one entered a terrarium with -say- a N. chromatus and transfered the insecticide we'd be pretty unhappy. Lol. Glue boards and pitfall traps are the safest options for control. We cannot dry the humid and damp fish room to gain control either. If I find enough I'm sure I will have a booming colony again shortly, lol.

I work at a small pet store on the weekends and someone mentioned they found a "big roach" on a glue board in the back fish room. I went to check it out and found an adult male Periplaneta americana stuck lightly to the glue. I removed him and an adult female from another, both suffering leg loss from being removed but not worse for it. The nymphs were found under buckets and other things. A total of 4 adults 2.2 and at least 5 nymphs. I'll be going into the back room periodically to collect more and to help remove them from the store as the pest control company is not allowed to use pesticides inside. These are also my first wild caught, non-pesticide ridden Americans. But they will be kept separate from my existing colony for 2 weeks before being introduced into them. (just in case)

Cmon @Hisserdude, become "one of us, one of us, one of us!"

Nice pictures; I love keeping Periplaneta. In general americana are my favorite but australasiae are a close second. They seem like the Americans sleeker, more athletic cousin. Lol

I kept mine relatively low on the humidity end but kept the substrate pretty moist on one side and dry on the other. They do well with water gel and occasional misting too in my experience.

It's all downhill from here. Lol! Welcome to addi(hobby)ction.

I stepped my numbers back for a few years because of work and life but now things are nice and calm and I'm ramping back up. These will be a "must have" once they are more common/reasonably priced for a rare species.

Holy cow, those are awesome. Paint me jealous. Lol

I love seeing the excitement of a new keeper seeing their nymphs grow. Just wait, 6 months from now you'll be as bad as the rest of us with 20+ species numbering in the thousands lol.

Multiple barriers are the only way to deal with them in my opinion. Vaseline row and insectaslip row around the rim, 2-3 inches of Vaseline and 1-2 inch of insectaslip. How large are your colonies, what type of enclosures, how tall are they?

I've never used anything besides cocofiber in my roach bins. If you buy the pressed hard block 3 packs they are super affordable and makes a ton of substrate. It holds moisture well, is safe for the roaches and has an interesting, almost minty aroma. However if you're putting live plants in the enclosure be sure to give a layer of sterilized soil beneath or they won't root well. (I suggest air plants because of this)