I have a question. In the past when I've had roaches I always just used to let nature take its course so to say. I never really did any selective breeding or whatever. In nonwinged, variable sized species (Hissers more precisely) how is it you tell exactly weather a roach is a small adult or big subadult? I'm doing some ecology lifetable and growth curve analysis stuff and I need to be able to tell which roaches are sexually matured and which ones haven't. Could anybody offer up some advice?

Hisser male adults have a ridge connecting the bumps when mature, even if it's a really small male it won't molt again. It may take a little experience but telling an adult male from a subadult is 100%. I'm pretty sure there is no way to tell a small hisser female from an immature (besides keeping an eye out for oothecae or babies of course).

Cool, thanks Orin. That will help me alot, I was hoping somebody could tell me something at least. I'm just going to have to guess-timate while I'm doing the fecundidty section of it. Plus, if I'm wrong who's going to say so? When I go off on bugs there isn't very many people around to correct me anyhow.