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Alright, thanks very much

For some reason, insects seem to only be alarmed while the injury is happening; once it stops they soon appear to calm down, even if half their body has been ripped off. The existence of insect consciousness is a controversial topic though.

fortunately, deantennated roaches can still taste for edibles with their palps, and I suspect that juveniles can regenerate antennae while molting

I’m currently experimenting with webspider herbivory; webspiders seem less physically capable of encountering edible plant matter than foraging hunters (salticids, Trachelas, lycosids, etc.) although orbweavers are known to feed on trapped pollen

here is a somewhat blurry video I produced last night

Will there be a significant amount of online discussions between each physical meeting?

@MarlonDark mealworm coloration, uncanny resemblance to molitor adults (striated elytra, somewhat elongated shape, ridged round pronotum with pointy edges), and ability to survive in dry grains are all traits consistent with Tenebrio obscurus. I do not know any other darkling with this exact trait combination so obscurus seems very probable.

@Hisserdude, can you confirm or deny my ID?

yes, it is parthenogenetic

5 hours ago, varnon said:

Very cool. I'm sure it is not coincidence. I wonder what is the minimum number of individuals it takes to get that response. Will they do it in pairs? I'm assuming it is somehow a defensive behavior. I wonder what causes it. You can almost see waves of movement a few times. It has to be a single roach that starts the wave, but the few bold individuals that are moving more do not seem to be triggering the group response.

This seems remarkably similar to behavior of Phanaeus; when alarmed, beetles may run a short distance when a vibration is detected, stopping whenever the vibration ceases.

Orin says the dung beetles may do it to confuse predators, since motion produced by predatory or dung-associated vertebrates can decrease obviousness of beetle escape behaviors

I have also seen pillbugs and darklings performing the same vibration-correlated intermittent running

Many herbivores and detritivores will eat corpses even if other foods are available 

Completely normal

Indiscriminate copulation is common in insects; Cotinis mutabilis males will even attempt to inseminate fingers

There is a chance that the other males may become stressed by excessive copulation attempts though; if this seems  to be the case then just isolate the troublesome male or give it a female

what a farce

forgot these

https://spkns.blogspot.com/2018/12/staring-contest-continues.html?m=1

https://spkns.blogspot.com/2018/12/i-win-staring-contest.html?m=1

enjoy

https://spkns.blogspot.com/2018/11/i-stare-vacuously-at-katydids.html?m=0

On 10/29/2018 at 6:53 AM, Axolotl said:

This is awesome. Did it eat the whole thing? Is it possible it just considered the pumpkin an invader and webbed it up to dispatch of it neatly? If spiders are eating vegetables... 

Did you see the "spider herbivory is widespread" research papers?

I've seen hundreds of "wild" Porcellionides swarming CA compost bins

Well, bugsincyberspace says it doesn't mold.

It can thus be left in there for as long as needed; roaches don't seem usually prone to overeating.

Although shortlived large scarabs common in the beetle hobby seem to do well on only jelly, I do not suggest doing so for roaches due to their differing nutritional requirements.

Roachcrossing.com says:

- pine and other conifers have insect-harming compounds

- so do nuts (like your pecan; I know it's only a pod but still)

@emmett

On Google Scholar, multiple Salvia species are shown to have insecticidal oils.

Clarification: feigners and other typical desert darklings enjoy drinking water, for obvious reasons

however, putting them in a moisty steam chamber will eventually kill them. They need high ventilation (a screen lid is fine) and the substrate should be dry most or all of the time

I don't know what 50% humidity is supposed to "feel" like, but if the air in the enclosure feels dry and fresh and non-damp then the beetles will probably be fine

I suspect even 50% is too much; even adults of the forest-dwelling Zophobas seem to do very fine with water restricted to the new fruits served every day (they lived more than 6 mths before dying)

Orin (our forum moderator) wrote in his book two things:

1. desert darklings may emerge en masse on overcast or rainy days

2. desert (and many forest) darklings will die from long-term inescapable low ventilation and dryness

The crystals are probably not needed. I personally prefer frozen produce for darklings, as small portions can be dethawed very conveniently and easily every day

pesticide poisoning via fruits?

Not sure if the two species can make hybrids, but do err on the side of caution

1 hour ago, Marlon said:

If I recall, its the females that are larger , the males appear to be normal sized.

Giant Panchlora males are indeed smaller than females, according to Orin (user Allpet Roaches).

In Invertebrates for Exhibition, Orin writes that the giant species is twice as large as nivea; giant females = 27mm, giant males = 18mm

The normal banana is Panchlora nivea; the giant is a completely different species (currently unidentified; bug taxonomy is quite messy)

All winged insects are adults and cannot grow (mayflies are a major exception; they have a strange winged subadult too)

I suspect the seller was sloppy and mixed in some normal bananas with the giants

@Axolotl

Hisserdude quit the hobby

=(