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Do these look like pure B. fusca?


Zephyr

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Hi Zephyr

To me they look like the 'common' B. craniifer kept here in Europe (if they have many small hairs on their back). Some people in the USA call them 'ugly brown' for whatever reason...

That would mean two things:

B. fusca is a synonyme for B. craniifer.

They should/could (Orin and Matt might disagree) be a 'pure' species BUT you don't know which strain they are or if they are a mixture of several different strains (local forms, subspecies or alike) of B. craniifer.

I still 'believe' that (unlike other Blaberus species) B. craniifer can only breed with its own species. If you do a dissection to examine the male genitalia you should be able to tell whether you have B. craniifer syn. B. fusca or whether you have another species.

Grüessli

Andreas

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I got these from a friend who got them from James @ Blaberus. Do these look like pure fusca? (They're all females.)

I'm in no position to give an answer about which species this is, but what caught my attention is that they are all females. Did you get them as nymphs? I also got my fusca from James. All the ones he sent me were small nymphs. Some of them are bigger now, but still only about half way there. I'll give them a look see and try to sex them. Also, I've seen many references to these "hairs" on craniifer, but I'm not seeing them, even in my blown up 12 megapixel macro shots. Can someone give us a detailed description and where exactly on the craniifer ( or hybrid ) they occur?

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I'm in no position to give an answer about which species this is, but what caught my attention is that they are all females. Did you get them as nymphs? I also got my fusca from James. All the ones he sent me were small nymphs. Some of them are bigger now, but still only about half way there. I'll give them a look see and try to sex them. Also, I've seen many references to these "hairs" on craniifer, but I'm not seeing them, even in my blown up 12 megapixel macro shots. Can someone give us a detailed description and where exactly on the craniifer ( or hybrid ) they occur?

I did get them as nymphs, but they were subadults.

There are plenty of males in the colony; they look like the "typical" fuscas; the females are what throw me off.

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I do not see how people can try to say that fusca and craniifer are the same. I have both and to me the fusca are bigger and act totally different. My fusca will keep on doing what ever it is they are doing when I open the tub but my craniifer immediately run and hide. I do find it interesting how many different "patterns" my fusca have, like most have some what of a "death head" and others do not. At the moment they are my favorite species I own. They do some goofy stuff, I call them my clowns. I am by no means an expert this is just my personal opinion and experience with them.

What is it Zephyr that is throwing you off about them?

James

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Hi Zephyr

This 'gender-related color difference' is kind of typical for the B. craniifer strain (or local form or mix or whatsoever) kept here in Europe! It's usually mainly the females showing that brown pattern whereas the males are brighter, somewhat like your 'American B. fusca'.

On my pics HERE it's not that obvious (I do have brighter males) but if you compare your 'strange' strain with a typical 'B. fusca' and with mine...

No one knows from where the European strains originate and it could easily be that they are somehow closely related to your individuals or it's just a coincidence because B. craniifer is a very variable species with several local forms showing huge differences in color and pattern (an extreme form is the so called 'Black Wings' B. craniifer).

Therefore I still vote for B. craniifer and in my eyes the look more normal than your 'American B. fusca'. ;)

Grüessli

Andreas

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  • 4 weeks later...
Those essentially look like 75% of the adult female "B craniifers" i'm selling off now. Orrin said they are hybrid craniifers so i'm assuming they're just a mixed variety. How do the males look in comparison?

Like your stereotypical B. fusca; light color except for that band midway across the wings.

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