Termite48

I had a small colony of Madagascar Hissers, G. oblogonata, I believe co-existing with a few dozen Discoids in a Sterlite container. Since it has been so warm here in the Los Angeles area, I have kept them outside most of the Summer. Two nights ago, the container was visited by a mother Racoon and her brood of two and she showed them how to convert my roaches to a quick meal. The smallest of the Discoid nymphs scampered away in time to survive under a floor mat. Today I am borrowing a Have-a-hart trap from a friend and setting it with bait so that I can catch this marauder and place here somewhere where she is not quite the menace to my neighborhood. She has been seen also at the home of my neighbor feasting on his persimmons yet unripe.

All are nice, man. Good luck with them and I hope they do well for you.

You can lure ants with corn syrup laced with boric acid. You can disolve the boric acid (actually orthoboric acid) in the corn syrup and make sure that your desired insects cannot get to it. This will work on termites and any other kind of insect without any toxicity.

I had my first adult molt today unsuccessfully. It had exuvia attached to the rear parts. I tried to remove it after moistening it with pure water, but to no avail. Is there a typical reason for the mismolt?

Get out the Boric acid!

Nice color variations among the species.

There are several variables that affect the waiting time between birth and the 1st molt. The obvious ones are: temperature, humidity, light or dark conditions, density, food amount and desirablity. If all things are perfect, it would not take more, usually, than two weeks for that 1st molt and quicker, most likely.

This methid that Doc shows above is very reliable. Especially if you have several and can compare what the narrow segment of the male looks like alongside the female's end segment being so much wider. It also works for othe insects like Praying Mantids.

I have not shipped roaches too many times but I think the principal is the same as in shipping mantis insects. IN the warmer months, the matter of ventilation is of prime importance as the insect needs an exchange of air. In the colder months when one is trying to make the package as warm as possible, a heat pack is a good thing, and again this will require ventilation holes. Obviously if the buyer agrees to the higher shipping cost, a mailing using Priority Service is the best. Most places in the U.S. can be reached with two days in the mail. This will lessen exposure to weather and poor handling. If one is mailing using 1st Class there will be some more exposure during the longer time in the mail. My experience is that the addition of some wadded tissue paper or less nice, wadded newspaper, will add insulation since a heat pack is too heavy for 1st Class. In the months when the weather is mild, a smaller package and less insulation is possible. I hope this helps the beginners.

I have a small nut grinder (electric). It handles about one-half cup of kibble at once. It takes a half-minute to grind the kibble into usable form for the roaches. They are inexpensive and can be cleaned easily after each use.

If you use egg crates for the perching material, they can be stacked in such a way as there would almost never be too little room.

When I was raising that species, I kept mine in a Sterlite box with a screened lid. This gave them much ventilation and they met their death by an opossum raiding their habitat and eating everything except the very few that escaped. You should at least try a screened lid to see if the dying off improves.

Just a frequent spraying, a good amount of substrate, and a lid really keeps the humidity high enough. Also the presence of fruits helps.

If they hybridize, then it makes one wonder about the definition of a species. There could possibly be an obliteration (in nature) of many species, should insects or other organisms hybridize all the time. I know that is not the issue here. It is whether you can get an offspring from some of the closely related species. My hope it that the answer is "no". Otherwise it can become a mess.

From my colony of Lobster and Giant Cave Roaches, I have not witnessed the stridulaion behavior at all. I spend a few hours per day within a few feet of the container in which I house these roaches. I have noticed the "Chili-like" odor emiited by the Giants as I try to pick one up or move it to another spot for feeding purposes. I have Hiisers also but I think they are too young to hiss yet.

I keep Dubias as well and I have never seen an evidence of this cannibalism which you described. Are you sure that it is a live roach that is being partially consumed. Roaches, of course, commonly eat dead insects and meat. I would be surprised if you find this to be a real case of cannibalism with the nutrition you are providing. It is possible that during a molt, there was an incident, but it would be rather rare and not a regular thing.

No, this is not the dessicating agent like some of the salts that are placed in the packaging of photographic equipment, etc. The reason it kills the bug is that is scratches the sealed surface of the exoskeleton and therefore allows the moisture of the organism to leave. For drying the specimen, you might try placing it in borax, and there are other salts you can use. There is a few presentations on You tube showing the efficacy of diatomaceous earth. This stuff is easy to find online or at any well stocked Nursery.

I have been keeping mine outside the last three nights and there are still producing females showing oothecae. I feed mine the stuff that Rebecca (Hibiscusmile) from Mantisplace sent to me to try. Within a few seconds of it being sprinkled over their bedding area, they are there scarfing it up. They also take the left over cricket food that is made by Fukers. I have to be careful not to mis-spell that name and get banned from this forum. Within a few minutes my Dubias take to apple slices or just a meaty apple core when I am done with my Apple snack.

You might want to try sprinkling a little diatomaceous earth around in areas where there are known B. germanica. It will get into the waxy coating on the exoskeleton and they will die of dessication with no residual effects. Of course this works on the desirable roaches so be sure that they are not going to be the ones to pass it off to your pets. You will have to use your own discretion, but as a former employee of a termite and pest control company and one who always wanted to use non-chemical means, this is a good way to rid your place of unwanted pests. It even works on bed bugs, termites and other no no insects that may frequent your abode.

Keith: You and Midnight had something special. You together lasted longer than many marriages. I appreciate your hard work to be consistent in your care for her and she was really an extraordinary roach. Did she have offspring? good luck with the rest, Rich

I also have a Dubia colony of about a hundred. It is a learning process for me to tell the sexes apart before Adult. I still cannot do it. If the wing buds of the male are present in the sudadult, then in the molt to adult are full scale wings (which they are), it makes it so that characteristic cannot be used to sex them. I do not know, but I will see if there is any difference in the abdominal segment count from one sex to the other at a given instar. This might be the way. Also: In looking closely at the pic that you have posted, with regard to the two larger nymphs, there may be a difference in that one is quite a but larger at the posterior portion of the abdomen. The female may have a wider rear area than does the male. Check it out. See if you see this.

I have handled a lot of females and I noticed how clinging they are to my hand. I have never seen one jump like yours. That is something I will try to see with mine.

Peter: What is the species of Roach pictured in your Avatar? I really like the look of it from the dorsal view. Rich S

That is what I say, that eventually if they are going after the same food, and occupying the same environmental niche, entomological science says they will compete and the stronger will eventually win out. That is assuming they are two different species and unable to cross breed. Color variations are not two different species. Even with the birds that are commonly called Sparrows, there are several distinct species that occupy the same area, but they do not compete and they breed true. (See Gambels, and White Crowned Sparrows for example).