Landasaw

What is the scoop on obtaining a queen ant for an ant colony in the u.s? How can one go about doing this?

What are some sources to get starter colonies of less commonly kept species? Currently I only know of one.

I suppose i didnt check every single individual but additional evidence is that in a tank where their parents bred there were no oothecae or any instance of coupling.

I just wish i would have taken pics. I didnt know it was so unusual. I dont consider myself an expert but certainly not a noob and if sexing them is anything like other species. The ending abdominal segment was small on each one not the larger one females have. The parent colony had males and females and bred fine and i could see the difference in sexes. The offspring matured im almost certain all male and of course died out. No the odds are too great. Some factor seemed to cause either all males to hatch or all females to die young or something.

To me a lot of the fun of roaches is how cheap they can be. My wife's dogs turn $50 dollars of food into poop every month plus any vet bills. Roaches can live off scraps that would be wasted otherwise and then feed a host of other creatures.

A few years ago i bought some b. Giganteus nymphs and adults from orin When i lived in ohio. Had a couple pieces of wood to climb on and a lot of oak leaves. Took care of the colony and had so many to spare giganteus became my feeder insect. Springtails somehow showed up even though i boiled the leaves. Kept that colony moist and never a mite issue. I gave so many away to science classrooms in akron area. Failed to sustain my own colony. But the natural setup was incredible and they were so active. Would like to do that again here in tx. Does anyone know how to trap or attract springtails outside?

I think the mites may have led to their death then eaten them. Ive learned to keep it dry since then. As for the all males i think the odds were too great. Could it be some factor can cause all to hatch male? It works with some reptiles.

Started a wild caught colony of american roaches. About 12 adults. Next generation was 30 or so. ALL MALE! my blaberus fusca colony had mites that ate them from the inside out. I mean all that were left were empty shells. Has anyone seen this?

I recently have discovered the same problem. They were so small I didn't even see them. I have had a salamander and 5 species of roaches for awhile now. Recently I added a tarantula and scorpion to the mix, and noticed the mites a couple weeks ago. They periodically are found all over the salamander, but seem to be drowned by drenching it with water. I found them on a dead roach partially eaten by the tarantula. The only living roach I found them on was a male turk in the tarantula tank. come to think of it, the only tanks I have them in are the coco bark and wood substrate ones. They don't seem to be causing any harm whatsoever, and the only way I think I could eradicate them myself would be to burn the apartment down to the ground. I would like to introduce a predatory creature if possible.

One other thing.....I have a giganteus colony that is thriving. I keep that colony in a thick layer of oak leaves....in that colony on the leaves and in the frass and old food I have noticed tiny creatures crawling around....they are not mites; they have an elongated thin shape. They are dark brown in color and too small to see if they are insects or isopods...I wish I had some type of magnification..they are extremely numerous and never have been found on the roaches so they are not parasitic..they must be native to Ohio here...they do not jump or anything...what are they?

Interesting. The predatory mites worked excellently for me, but I use substrate in every enclosure in the room and the humidity is 65-80 percent. I would be curious to know how it works out...

Long before I ever got into the hobby I used to be in the Navy stationed on a ship. In the galley and other places there was a real infestation of roaches (no doubt german). It was always warm and moist in there, and they would hide in vast numbers behind the deepsink. I worked for a time in the galley and killed countless numbers of them with oven degreaser. Finally the galley was fumigated by the HMs, and I was sent to clean it up. After I had killed tons with degreaser, there were still over four hundred in the dustpan from the gas. I hated them and shirked other duties just to kill them.

Later, the ship went to Mazatlan, Mexico and I was drinking on the beach and went to urinate in a little shack and there were tons of larger roaches in there, so I peed on them and enjoyed watching them run. They may have been discoids, but I would not have known at the time...does anyone know what species would be found in coastal tropical mexico?

Funny I keep them now. If I were still in the navy, it would be extremely easy to capture wild roaches and keep them on ship until I got into port. Wish I would have known.

I know the story has been around...I was just surprised nobody had brought it up here on the forum. Or maybe they had and I just missed it. An interesting story nonetheless.

I'm very surprised that nobody has mentioned this. Comments?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4121637.stm

Oh, and Lateralis definately has a rather strong colony odor.

Well the good thing about the egg laying is that I keep the population in check by just throwing out egg cases....I'm definately going to make a bucket cage for lateralis and keep the population down.

Are there any other non-burrowing, non-climbing feeder species people use than lateralis? I live in an apartment and an infestation could get me evicted. I don't trust lateralis especially from what I have been hearing. Young blaberus just burrow and are hard for amphibs to find in substrate.

Somebody said that roaches won't eat tomatoes...I found that they will eat cherry tomatoes but not beefsteak. I grew white cherry tomatoes and Dubia, Giganteus, Lateralis, Fusca and Discoid all eat them. I think it is the higher sugar content in the cherry tomatoes.

I now have four species and here is how I would compare them.

Discoid: Very nice species if skittish and very active if you catch them at dusk. Males chase each other all over. Loves moist cat food, oatmeal, apples and potatoes.

Dubia: Least active and least easily disturbed of my species, active late afternoon and before dusk but not much at night....not a big meat or oatmeal eater...will eat fruit and potatoes more readily.

Fusca: Similar to Discoid, but more placid. Active variously throughout dusk and the night. Love oatmeal beyond all else. Best "Handling Roach"

Lateralis: Don't like to hold these guys...very reminiscent of pest species..they will hardly touch oatmeal, preferring fruit, potatoes and moist cat food. Nymphs very tiny lightning fast and timid....so far none have attempted to climb. More active later at night instead of dusk, adult males very active. Had an escaped gravid female....scares me. Will cannibalize sometimes.

They were mentioned in the Allpet Roaches handbook. Made it sound like some people keep them. I believe it said they were a pseudomops species.

Is is okay to keep different species together? I recently got some fusca and dubias and put them together in a 10 gallon tank.

Also have about 12 turkistans in a one gallon container...will thiey be okay in a cage this small?

Does anyone have any information on the "Wasp Mimic" species? Are they obtainable?

Yeah, I'll try some of them soon. I also thought about some brown wings for now...is it okay to keep different species (brownwing and discoid) together in the same tank?

The peppered roach is probably the least nervous species in it's group (Blaberus, Eublaberus, etc.).

4 spotted roaches are cool but really hard to find sources on.

Megaloblatta species may be very difficult to keep but mostly wild stock is almost impossible to come by.

The Egyptian desert roach is a neat species and readily available.

Looking for a species larger than my discoids and not as nervous. What is the disposition of the peppered roach?

What about the four spotted roach? (the angustipennis)

Why is it impossible to fing M. Longipennis?

Is the Egyptian Desert Roach a fun species?