Matt K

A couple of weeks ago I dispensed a liter of Hypoaspis miles. Here is what happened:

1. A significant reduction of gnats, of which I had a large population in the room.

2. A significant reduction in mites of ANY kind. I had at least 5 obvious different mites living in harmonious balance (though in large quantities) with the roaches, and now they are 95% gone. Grain mites seem gone entirely as food left too long in a tank no longer attracts any.

3. I still have loads of springtails in every tub/tank. Which is fine, as I kinda like them and they live in close quarters with all the roaches without issue. Its just that I thought Hypoaspis would go after them also.

4. In some substrate I cannot find any mite, Hypoaspis or otherwise. Maybe they leave dormant eggs? Or they burned out entirely?

Overall, given that the culture cost me only $22 dollars, and the "problem" bugs seem absent, and (they did not seem to effect my mealworm colony), I would say it was worth it to clean out some seemingly large mite populations. I think I may do it one more time just for grins and then watch carefully to see if/when mites return. Recommendation: A+

Matt

I clean most out on an annual basis, though some like Eublaberus posticus I feed anything extra to (garbage disposals they are!) so I wind up cleaning them twice a year maybe three times. The "chaff" that I sift out does wonders for beans in the garden, wisteria growing on the fence, and a few assorted potted plants. And cactus.

Here is a pic of my Panchlora tank. Behind almost every leaf is a/few roaches, and the eggcrate part is full of adults. The potting soil/sphagnum substrate is LOADED with nymphs. You can also see how they have nibbled the leaf edges when I go too many days in between adding some food items. Note: young Avicularia sp. enjoy Panchloras for dinner!

Too bad. I know how it is to 'start over'. It's not like you can look in on them and realize you cultured every single one for a while. Though I would look forward to any pics you post from there when the day comes....

Archiblatta hoeveni? This is one species I would love to see in U.S. collections, mine in particular! I think it is a beautiful bug to be sure. If anyone ever imports them I would want to be first on thier customer list...!!!

The difference there is that tarantulas can make babies by the hundreds- M.rhinoceros only has 2 or 3 dozen in a year at best. Australia Insect Farm sells them to thier locals for around $50-$80 a pair, so if they were much more common in the US I would imagine the price would come down to about that.

Bricktop-

Are you kidding? If you go to South America, you can find local bugs to keep/culture. I would not be suprised if you even found something few if anyone had seen.... It would be fantastic to have unlimited time to root around in a foreign forest (or any area) looking for unfamiliar roaches/bugs....

Subspecies ?? So it is Byrsotria fumigata pallida ?? I did not know B. fumigata had any subspecies, although B. fumigata do look a bit like giant Phoetallia pallida (at least when looking at the pronotum). B. fumigata like many other roach species can have slightly variable morphology. Look at Blaptica dubia for example.

This photo is clearly a normal male B.fumigata wing the wings chewed back. If we follow the ellipse of the outer edge at the ragged end then that would show the wings oringinally go to a normal length. The only thing we can see unusual from this photo is that his tankmates need more food, or need more protien in thier diet, or the colony is overcrowded.

I thought they both eat rose bush as well, no ??

I have bought loads of euc leaves from here: http://www.eucproducts.com/?OVRAW=eucalypt...;OVMTC=standard

The couple that operates the business is very friendly and they offer a good product. You can even specify the exact age/size of leaf you want and they will get it to you.

As for oak leaves, there is someone who ships a quality selection of oak, black walnut, and other hardwood leaves dried or in mulch form, but can get them fresh here: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=98246

Have youi also tried Ligustrum sp. ??

Matt

I just lift the lid of thier tub and litterally toss in cat food and a handful or two of water crystals. No dish to clean. Occasionally I throw in a handful of some type of fruit or vegetable. Your colony will explode and have so many that they can eat a whole banana in an hour including most of the peel. These are the easiest roach to keep and most prolific I have kept. If you dont feed them for a couple of weeks and don't water them, many will die and get cannibalised and then you dont worry about the tremendous surplus you would otherwise wind up with. Also, keep a sharp eye out- they magically wind up in other colonies and terrariums....

Matt

Very Cool Pic! Those are very nice specimens. I have E.chopardi envy because I thought mine were above average until I see this pic of yours. If you ever want to sell any just let me know!

Matt

.Does anyone know what island in the Phillipines that Prosoplecta comes from? I have found that to say something "comes from the Phillipines" is a suprisingly broad statement. My associate lives in Bacolod City and has seen Panesthia sp., and a few others, but not Prosoplecta. He would be willing to go find and photograph them if I could tell him what island(s) to look. I don't find any records of where exactly Prosoplecta have been identified via a web search.

Cheers,

Matt

I have great luck with Vaseline and a screen lid. Or a screen lid only that has 250 micron brass screen mesh. Depending on the species.

I can't explain it. I have always enjoyed culturing things, be it bugs, fish, jellyfish, shrimp, orchids, algae, mushrooms (gourmet, not psychodelic!), frogs, etc. I like roaches enough to have a room dedicated to them alone. They take more effort than the snakes I used to keep, but are still relatively easy. Facinating the behavioral differences between the species. (i.e. nothing like watering a cactus and having a Gyna lurida pop up from the soil for a drink. Very mischevious!)

Roach addiction.

Does anyone know anything about Archiblatta hoeveni? I have only seen pics on one roach website... check out the pics (they are the 1st ones on the list):

http://www.minizoo.donetsk.ua/Roaches.html

I'm guessing that they have made it into the hands of a few european breeders...any ideas on when we may see them in the US? I love the long legs!!!!

Graham

As far as I can research it, two soviets, a polish guy, and possibly a guy in Denmark have them in very limited numbers. None for sale or trade, yet.

Unfortunately, 'Digby Rigby' does not usually have for sale the species he runs ads for. Typically he runs ads for eye-catching speciemens and then tries to sell you something else he "just happens to have". Example: he not too long ago posted an ad for a *50* lot of Megaloblatta longipinnis. He and I went around on this. I offered 5k and he said an hour before I called someone paid closer to 20k, but by the way there was a 20 lot of Jungle Nymphs he could sell to me cheap as a consolation. I doubt someone in the state paid that much for Megaloblatta's, but who knows. The domestic roach community is not *that* big, whomever made the purchase would have likely made themselves known. Maybe I am just skeptical. But if we look further back he also had a 15 pair of Macropanesthia for $1300 I think (could be mis-quoting) that were also sold when I called; within minutes of him posting his ad. Same story with the Giant Black Springtails. Then he calls for weeks telemarketing me.

Just my input. Only worth what you paid for it!

Matt

The flash made her run off into the leaf litter. Most of my favs live in terrariums setup to mimic thier natural home.

Its late at night. I like to look at my critters during thier "awake" time and see what they are doing. Thought I would share.

Males were all being elusive to the camera but these females stopped to pose for me:

Cheers-

Matt

Mine live in a tank that has potting soil for a substrate and a live English Ivy and a live small Ficus benjimina, along with two pieces of egg carton leaning on one side. The soil is loaded with nymphs of various ages, and the adults sleep all day on the plant leaves and egg carton. basically, I water the plants and them mist them once a week ish, maybe more often with less mist. Makes for a nice boatload of roaches considering I started with 20 nymphs!

I don't think they're extremely fragile but most eucalyptus and high temps do kill them.

How high is a high temp? I have read that in the depth of a burrfow it can be 65'F, but on the surface it can be in the high 80's *in the wild*. So in captivity, what is high? 75? 80? 85? And is any of this info I read correct ??

Envious! I was driving around all Saturday and Sunday, and found mostly mud. However there were TONS of interesting grasshoppers... No T's, pedes, or roaches....

Matt K

Given the title of the World's heaviest roach species, Macropanesthia rhinoceros has been an obsession on mine for many years. Considered one of the "Holy Grail" roach species (the other being Megaloblatta longipennis), this species can be especially difficult to locate in the United States. With increased captive breedings in Eurpoe and Japan, they are slowly making their way across the pond to our shores.

I have had 4 yearlings and 8 adults over the past few years. Currently I have 3 adult pairs. In the past I have had a few unexplained deaths...Information on their captive care has been limited...these deaths take a great financial toll on US keepers. With a few adjustments to husbantry, my current "colony" (if you can call it that) is doing fine.

I now blame the unexplained deaths on the dried Eucalyptus sp. leaves I used to offer in their diet. Everything I read at the time said they MUST have the dried leaves in their diet. After much searching I was able to locate organic dried Eucalyptus leaves from a local natural food store. I've now know that there are a TON of Eucalyptus species, with only a few being safe for Macropanesthia rhinoceros. It wasn't until I read an article wrote by ORIN that my eyes were opened- he claimed that they did NOT need these leaves to survive in captivity...I decided to give it a try since I knew Orin and trusted his experience...low and behold- not a single death since. Maybe this was my problem- maybe it wasn't...either way, they are doing fine without the Eucalyptus in their diet.

SUBSTRATE:

I keep them on a mixture on 1 part sand, 2 parts coco fiber, 2 parts rotton hardwood, & 2 parts decaying oak leaves. In previous research, articles suggested SAND only with wadded up paper towels/toilet paper in one corner to hold humidity. This did not work for me and dried out quickly. The coco fiber, rotten wood and leaves are working much better for me.

For humidity I placed a handful of water crystals mixed in with the substrate on one end of the enclosure. I add water every week or two to this end while allowing the opposite side to dry out. This allows the roaches to choose the humidity level that THEY are comfortable at.

Keeping the substrate somewhat deep (3" - 4") allows for a verticle humidity gradient also and limited burrowing. My current job keeps me away from home for 2 weeks at a time...so far they are doing fine on this schedule and the substrate is staying moist enough for them.

DIET:

The roaches can be seen chewing on the rotten wood and leaves while on the surface. I supplement this with dogfood kibble, pre-made roach diet (which I believe they are ignoring at this point), shredded carrots, and about any veggie I have in the ice box at the time.

CONCLUSION:

I have ALOT more to learn about this species. I look forward to everyone elses replies- maybe I can pick up more tips. This is what is currently working for me...others may have success doing it differently. I am really hoping that at least one of my pairs has babies this year... with three adult females and three adult males, maybe I'll get lucky...keeping my fingers crossed.

PLEASE post your comments/criticisms...This is the only way we'll learn...you're not going to hurt my feelings... I'd rather take the advice of a friend than loosing these amazing roaches due to my stubborness.

Thanks,

Graham

I have to agree. Dietary requirements may not be as specific as is commonly indicated. However I have been keeping two pairs that I have seen nibble on and even drag underground eucalypt leaves from this source:

http://www.eucproducts.com/?OVRAW=eucalypt...;OVMTC=standard

Mine nibble on carrots, oak leaves, apple wedge, but not dog food at all. Coincedently my substrate mix is nearly identicle to that which Graham is using. The sand is calcium sand, though, and not the common silica.

I submit that my lager female of 5-6 years old seems to have lost weight in recent weeks. They all also seem to be less active, too. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I wonder if some eucs can be edible but build up toxicity over time.

Regards,

Matt K

Hello all. Matt Kaplinsky here. Avid "bug" keeper, mostly various roaches, but have a sampling of many other genera as well. Cheers!