Mwewe

@All About Arthropods ahaha, yea the googles said their bites hurt. Luckily I’ve never been bit… yet 😱Their addition to the composting bin wasn’t intentional, they just “showed up” and have been in there a while. maybe I have been bit and just didn’t know it. I’ve been bit by lots of strange things lately. One looked kinda like a moth that landed on me, and as soon as I think ‘awww, moth :)’ the fugger bit me! And boy it caused a reaction. Got bit by a mite and got a reaction. Handle my roaches and have a reaction (prob from their claws). Mosquito bites look like day 3-5 brown recluse bites… scars everywhere. Oh, and regular ol’ ants generate more of a reaction than what I’d expect, and they have a way of getting in my armpits, back of the knee, bend in the elbow… the soft skin in places I’m likely to antagonize them… the bug gods really hate me… @Hisserdude So do you think isopods eggs/young/adult and roach eggs/nymphs/adults are okay? I don’t really care if they munch on the other cooties, so long as both their populations find equilibrium at some point, or they don’t completely crash the decomposing cooties. my floating aquatic plants are pretty heavily infested with aphids in some tanks, might try collecting a few (without getting bit 🤞🏻) and see if they do anything besides move away and/or drown 😂 wish I knew about them earlier, they could have saved my ladies from caterpillars 😡

Hey Hisser! was googling about something on my cannabis plants, and somehow stumbled upon what these little dudes might be… (Minute) Pirate Bugs 🏴‍☠️ they are omnivorous and primarily eat smaller inverts/larva/eggs and will also drink sap. they can/do bite humans… ”Minute Pirate Bugs (scientific name: Orius insidiosus) are all around us most of the time, and we don’t even notice them. These tiny black bugs are beneficial insects, abundant in yards, gardens, woodlands, pastures, and farmlands. Pirate bugs are Hemiptera (true bugs) and members of the insect family Anthocoridae.”

Hey folks, these guys have been in my composting bin for some time now. They alarmed me because they look kinda like bedbugs, but idk if they’d thrive in a cockroach bin 😱 as with most cooties I encounter in the bin, I usually just assume it’s got some role it’s playing in the composting process… but figured I’d ask. I might need to go to other inverts to ask for an ID. Are they something messing with my roaches and/or other critters? (Isopods, beetles, idk anything else, there’s a lot going on in there) If not they’re welcome to stay, nothing like good ol’ biodiversity. A small group of ants also formed a colony in there… one time they were raising babies in a potato haha

Darn! It is what it is. I got them at a very affordable price, and put them in the composter with the everyone else 😂 If I ever get to the point of selling them, I’ll be sure and let people know they’re hybrids. I almost sent you a PM about them... but then you made this topic 🙌 Might be a little too much anthropomorphism, but I figured the two adults were lonesome from months in solitude and would be happier with more of their kind. Plus hissers are fun to handle 💕

Thanks so much @Hisserdude, this is amazing 😍 I got the two gals I “adopted” some friends, and I’m guessing they’re not pure. A couple of them were very very dark.

Update. I think the seller may have put some dubia adults in with the E. Serranus nymphs. found an adult today and the two are unmistakeable. still waiting on info regarding hybridization. I found are two, rather old, posts suggesting that they don’t/ can’t. This forum doesn’t make uploading pictures easy... or I’d post the screenshots. The individual I bought the Ivory’s from said he had not heard of hybridization, and the people who got back to me on Arachnoboards didn’t seem to think they did either, or it was unlikely.

Hello community! I will have a ton of questions regarding these critters, so I figured I’d introduce myself. I live in Southern California USA, and was that weird kid that spent hours outside lifting up rocks looking for critters. I’m a biology nerd, but fancy most other sciences as well. TLDR questions are the end. I had a composting bin with red wiggler worms, but after I read about how much faster roaches get the same amount of work done, I went a little crazy and added 3 species of cockroaches. • Eublaberus serranus: 65 total, mixed nymphs and some winged adults •Eublaberus sp Ivory: 65 total, mixed nymphs and some adults. •Dubia: around 20 adult females, 10 adult males, 100 mixed nymphs. So far, the ivory’s are my favorite! E Serranus is my least favorite. I’ve only had each species between 3-5 weeks, so they are all still pretty new. I’m looking forward to seeing the colonies grow! Eventually I might separate the species when their numbers are large enough, and will need help telling the adult male Dubai’s from the E. Serranus. The enclosure is a large, 27 gallon, plastic bin kept outside. Ventilation holes are drilled on the lid and all four sides near the top. The center of the lid is cut out and covered with steel mesh for the heating element. I keep my roaches comfortable with: seedling heat mat underneath the bin to warm the substrate— thermostat controlled and set to 78F (so the worms don’t get too hot). 100 watt ceramic heat emitter. Closer to the top of the “eggcrate mountain” it’s about 90-100F (still in June-gloom weather), and the roaches have the option of moving down lower for cooler temps, or dig down into the substrate. They also have some buried egg crate for the Eublaberus, buried and exposed pieces of wood, dried oak and magnolia leaves ontop of and buried in the substrate. substrate is a mix of compost, planting soil, coconut fiber, a little bit of wood char, coffee grounds, dried leaves, shredded paper, etc I mist the enclosure anywhere from twice a day to every couple days. The roaches are offered fruit and vegetable scraps, sometimes little bits of egg or very small amounts of meats (I don’t want the bin to stink or attract flies), ground eggshells, ground bird seed, sometimes high quality fish pellets. Variety is the spice of life There are also various species of isopods, mites, springtails, and a few buffalo beetles. I look forward to any recommendations you guys have for my new hobby, and am trying to create a mini-ecosystem where my critters are content and productive. Let me know if there’s anything else I ought to add. QUESTIONS: I’ve read on other posts that Eublaberus species do not hybridize, and hybridization with Dubia is unlikely. Let me know if this isn’t the case. Since I’m already on the communal composting bin train, any interesting species you’d recommend adding? requirements: cannot climb well, cannot fly well Do E. Serranus adult females have wings? can someone post a picture? The google doesn’t work that great for roach questions/ pictures. whats the best way to tell adult dubia males and E. Serranus apart?