Collecting Roaches

[Tleilaxu]

So what methods do people use to collect wild caught specimens?

Specifically using traps? Designs and methods? 

I generally just flip promising objects but recently started baiting them with dog food and orange slices to try and lure different species to easy locations for capture.

To be honest I think the burrowing roaches get to the food before other types... In my case.

Let's have a collecting tips and tricks discussion peeps.

[Hisserdude]

Pit fall traps may work for some, (but not many) species, some species fly to lights as well, though there are several genera where only males have wings, and thus you'd only see males of those species at lights. So far is seems the best methods of collecting are flipping over rocks, logs, boards, or other misc junk on the ground, peeling back bark from trees, using beat sheets/nets on certain shrubbery, digging under leaf litter or around plant roots, etc., there aren't any good "traps" that I know of that work well to catch a bunch of roaches. 

[Tleilaxu]

Interesting, what about applying a liquid barrier?

I'm interested in what @Peter Clausen , @Allpet Roaches, and @wizentrop have to say as well, being collectors and such.

[Hisserdude]

15 minutes ago, Tleilaxu said:

Interesting, what about applying a liquid barrier?

I'm interested in what @Peter Clausen , @Allpet Roaches, and @wizentrop have to say as well, being collectors and such.

You mean on a pitfall trap? I'm pretty sure it would quickly accumulate a lot of dirt and dust, and then make it easy for the roaches to climb over it. 

[Tleilaxu]

Maybe something like a minnow trap made out of plastic?

https://www.google.com/amp/www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-A-Minnow-Trap-Out-Of-Soda-Bottles/%3Famp_page%3Dtrue

Granted it would limit the size of what your catching, but given the difficulties roaches have with scaling plastic, it may contain them long enough to get caught...

Edited May 29, 2017 by Tleilaxu

[Hisserdude]

2 hours ago, Tleilaxu said:

Maybe something like a minnow trap made out of plastic?

https://www.google.com/amp/www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-A-Minnow-Trap-Out-Of-Soda-Bottles/%3Famp_page%3Dtrue

Granted it would limit the size of what your catching, but given the difficulties roaches have with scaling plastic, it may contain them long enough to get caught...

Yeah, something like that could work! It does limit the size of the roaches you can catch a bit, but I think it would work well to keep most of them contained. Would put some leaf litter or something at the bottom so they don't feel too exposed and won't try to get out as much.

[wizentrop]

@Hisserdude pretty much covered some of the main methods for collection.

I hate to disappoint here, but even though in recent years I became interested in cockroaches diversity, I never go on trips expecting to collect them. In other words, I do not set traps specifically for them. The idea is more to look at the big picture and examine the entire arthropod diversity in a certain location. Yeah, I do see some interesting roaches while doing so, some of them come to light trap (not only males, @Hisserdude) others hidden under bark/stones, and some just roaming about on the vegetation. Unless you are looking for a certain species only, there is no reason to limit the search to one type of habitat.

But let's go back to the topic of bait traps. I'll tell you a nice story about a friend of mine from university. He needed to collect some blattids for a behavioral research project, so he built a trap from a plastic bottle by inverting the top part inwards. He used biscuits with some peanut butter as bait (PB is known to be very attractive for roaches) and waited. He waited 3 nights and nothing happened. No one came. Then he realized a key component was missing from his trap. A roach. He looked hard and managed to collect a single cockroach, then he put it inside the trap. The following morning the trap was swarming with cockroaches. The aggregation pheromone did its job here. The roaches sensed the presence of a conspecific + food, and responded by flooding the trap with members.

[Tleilaxu]

1 hour ago, wizentrop said:

@Hisserdudes, @Hisserdude

1 hour ago, wizentrop said:

@Hisserdude@Hisserdude

1 hour ago, wizentrop said:

@Hisserdude

1 hour ago, wizentrop said:

@Hisserdude, @Hisserdude

Edited May 30, 2017 by Tleilaxu
Delete please

[Tleilaxu]

1. Why can't you delete posts? I had serious trouble with formatting for some reason.

2. So I'm basically boned on easy methods to try and get roaches. I can't hunt at all hours of the night trying to find a specific roach you know

The peanut butter trick has been noted, going bait some areas.

Now unless I'm doing the wrong thing, Ozzie roaches should behave similarly to their American counterparts and inhabit the same areas... To be safe I put some PB on a trunk as well as the convenient shelters I normally find roaches under.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Tleilaxu

[Hisserdude]

1 hour ago, wizentrop said:

@Hisserdude pretty much covered some of the main methods for collection.

I hate to disappoint here, but even though in recent years I became interested in cockroaches diversity, I never go on trips expecting to collect them. In other words, I do not set traps specifically for them. The idea is more to look at the big picture and examine the entire arthropod diversity in a certain location. Yeah, I do see some interesting roaches while doing so, some of them come to light trap (not only males, @Hisserdude) others hidden under bark/stones, and some just roaming about on the vegetation. Unless you are looking for a certain species only, there is no reason to limit the search to one type of habitat.

Yeah, when I was referring to the light traps, I was talking about how some genera, like Parcoblatta or Arenivaga for example, only had winged males, that often fly to lights, the females however, are wingless or have vestigial wings, and thus are almost never found at light traps.

Other genera, like Panchlora, Epilampra or the numerous Ectobiids in FL have winged adults of both species, so you can definitely find adults of either gender at lights @Tleilaxu, if it's one of those species.

23 minutes ago, Tleilaxu said:

1. Why can't you delete posts? I had serious trouble with formatting for some reason.

2. So I'm basically boned on easy methods to try and get roaches. I can't hunt at all hours of the night trying to find a specific roach you know

The peanut butter trick has been noted, going bait some areas.

Now unless I'm doing the wrong thing, Ozzie roaches should behave similarly to their American counterparts and inhabit the same areas... To be safe I put some PB on a trunk as well as the convenient shelters I normally find roaches under.

I know, I hate the way this new site deals with quotes, on the PC you can remove them easily, but they are impossible to remove on a tablet/phone it seems.

Yes, yes you are! You can hunt for them during the day, in fact it'll probably be easier, since the roaches won't be hiding under stuff at night, they'll be wandering around, making it harder to catch them. At least during the day you can catch them while they are resting. Of course, certain species may be easier to catch at lights, especially genera like Panchlora that spend much of their time up in the trees during the day. 

Now that I think of it, you can lay oat trails on the ground and check them at night, they usually attract roaches, however they also attract a wide variety of other invertebrates, ants, orthopterans, beetles, etc, and certain vertebrates too...

When I was in FL, I found that P.australiasia were a lot rarer than P.americana, and that they liked hanging out around wood. 

[Tleilaxu]

Funny you should mention looking during the day, I've never seen an American Roach resting under the same shelters the Surinames do, however come night I generally find nymphs or adults under those places. Generally they are so preoccupied with eating that I get a few seconds.

@wizentrop Your shattering my dreams of getting that blue panchlora species...

[wizentrop]

@Tleilaxu be careful, PB will also attract other things (ants, rodents). Not sure how effective it will be for roaches if placed out in the open.

I would not expect to see the blue roach anytime soon in the hobby. Finding these obscure species takes time.

[Tleilaxu]

Well not a single sodding thing today, other than a single American Roach, that I accidentally caused to lose its back leg. I placed the poor thing where one of the bait stations was.

Do roaches also have a stay away pheromone as well? In areas where I've looked that used to have lots of roaches are now kind of empty. 

Aw well the PB is placed near where the dog food and such is, I think I will wait a few days before hunting again.

Oh yeah I found this lousy frog...

Should have hand fed him that American Roach that musked me, even though I got his leg...

Edited May 30, 2017 by Tleilaxu

[lovebugfarm]

Maybe try mushy banana and or bread. I watched a video about a woman who hunts roaches in India with nothing but a rag soaked in sugar water on the end of a stick that she places in the sewer. Of course pheromones likely stick to the sugar well. 

[Tleilaxu]

Well I put out three different traps, one actual minnow trap, with dog food, two repurposed plastic homemade minnow traps from Gatorade containers, also baited with dog food.

I've placed them in areas where I've seen a lot if roaches so we will see what happens. 

I'm planning, weather permitting, is to check them every few hours, and count on the roaches panic instincts to work against them, rather than betting on the trap itself to keep them contained.

However I cannot post pics because of the silly size limit... @Allpet Roaches

On an off note, peanut butter was a bust, the roaches completely ignored it, fruit and dog food seem to be the preferred offerings.

And... The weather went to crap, I've brought all the traps indoors before it rains, I have them set in the garage, but given the singular roach I found in there was a stray from outside and in poor condition when caught, I'm not hopeful.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Tleilaxu

[Dubia4Life]

On 6/7/2017 at 2:49 PM, Tleilaxu said:

Well I put out three different traps, one actual minnow trap, with dog food, two repurposed plastic homemade minnow traps from Gatorade containers, also baited with dog food.

I've placed them in areas where I've seen a lot if roaches so we will see what happens. 

I'm planning, weather permitting, is to check them every few hours, and count on the roaches panic instincts to work against them, rather than betting on the trap itself to keep them contained.

However I cannot post pics because of the silly size limit... @Allpet Roaches

On an off note, peanut butter was a bust, the roaches completely ignored it, fruit and dog food seem to be the preferred offerings.

And... The weather went to crap, I've brought all the traps indoors before it rains, I have them set in the garage, but given the singular roach I found in there was a stray from outside and in poor condition when caught, I'm not hopeful.

How did your traps work out? I'm assuming you have used them by now? 

 

I have found a few nymphs of various sizes and one large wood roach of unknown species that got away... I'm planing on setting a pitfall trap and several minnow traps around my yard where I found those various nymphs. Good luck on finding that blue panchlora species you're so keen to encounter! Lol

[Tleilaxu]

The traps were a failure, I'm sure they came and investigated them, they apparently have some type of intelligence not to just blindly go in them, even for food.

The best results were simply yielded by simply placing food in the same places where you found the roaches.

Another invaluable tool, is a butterfly net. Useful for catching pesky roaches who are on their A game.

LOL there's no way im ever making it to Equador or Guyana. Only @wizentrop can save us and procure that blue panchlora species, since he's a collector.

Do post pics of your new roaches.

@Dubia4Life

[wizentrop]

I am actually not a collector.. but I do like to look into and describe new species that I find during work

[Tleilaxu]

20 minutes ago, wizentrop said:

I am actually not a collector.. but I do like to look into and describe new species that I find during work

I thought you were since I recall you mentioning you brought back some roaches to work with and establish in the hobby.

[wizentrop]

That is not what being a collector means. If I stumble upon something interesting it is always research first, and then if there are extras due to breeding they can go to academic institutions or into the hobby if anyone is interested.
I see the term "collector" more as someone who collects everything, like stamp-collecting. That is not what I do (unless I am hired by a natural history museum to survey an area, in which case everything collected is killed and preserved for the museum). Most of the time I am VERY selective.

[Tleilaxu]

32 minutes ago, wizentrop said:

That is not what being a collector means. If I stumble upon something interesting it is always research first, and then if there are extras due to breeding they can go to academic institutions or into the hobby if anyone is interested.
I see the term "collector" more as someone who collects everything, like stamp-collecting. That is not what I do (unless I am hired by a natural history museum to survey an area, in which case everything collected is killed and preserved for the museum). Most of the time I am VERY selective.

Oh I see, I've always viewed a "collector" as someone who gathers animals and imports them(Legally), either for personal amusement or for the hobby. You can collect one species or many, it doesn't matter in my eyes.

In my opinion what you describe yourself as looks more like a taxidermist/taxonomist to me... Kill animals for scientific purposes. (That sounds harsh, but it's NOT meant to be)

Edited June 15, 2017 by Tleilaxu

[wizentrop]

 

34 minutes ago, Tleilaxu said:

In my opinion what you describe yourself as looks more like a taxidermist/taxonomist to me... Kill animals for scientific purposes.

Yeah well, I am an entomologist with taxonomy on my interests so that is pretty accurate.

[Cariblatta lutea]

Another method you can use is setting out several cardboard boxes and checking them every once in a while. I find Parcoblatta this way and when I was in FL I was able to find some interested Ectobiids and even Periplaneta nymphs by checking cardboard boxes laying on the ground. 

[Tleilaxu]

17 minutes ago, Cariblatta lutea said:

Another method you can use is setting out several cardboard boxes and checking them every once in a while. I find Parcoblatta this way and when I was in FL I was able to find some interested Ectobiids and even Periplaneta nymphs by checking cardboard boxes laying on the ground. 

Broken down boxes or intact? I've found Periplaneta seem to not like hides that are flush with the ground, while the Surinames could care less. Bark slabs seems to work the best with Periplaneta, and coconuts being a second favorite.

@Cariblatta lutea I want updated pics of your pestiferous and semi pestiferous species, they need more representing here.

Also @Hisserdude says you deliberately infested your home with P. australasiae and P. fuliginosa, do tell us the story again.

[Cariblatta lutea]

1 hour ago, Tleilaxu said:

Broken down boxes or intact? I've found Periplaneta seem to not like hides that are flush with the ground, while the Surinames could care less. Bark slabs seems to work the best with Periplaneta, and coconuts being a second favorite.

@Cariblatta lutea I want updated pics of your pestiferous and semi pestiferous species, they need more representing here.

Also @Hisserdude says you deliberately infested your home with P. australasiae and P. fuliginosa, do tell us the story again.

Usually I found them in broken boxes that has degraded a bit, though some species (like Latiblattella rehni) seem to like intact boxes more than soggy degraded boxes. 

I've not been posting pics much here lately bc whenever I post new pics on my FB the links for my old pics no longer work so I have to update the posts on here to make the pics visible again. 

P. fuliginosa naturally occurs at my place and occasionally comes in from outdoors. I used to raise large number of beetles so I had a box full of substrates and rotten woods, and those darn Periplanetas were feeding off of those and breeding in there  They also got into my Blaberus containers and started breeding. It took about a year to get rid of them from my house but now I have Supella longipalpa breeding here