Vulgaris Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 One of my Parcoblatta molted into an adult today. It was interesting to see how the wings unfurl. This one is a male. I am hoping I have some females so I can breed them. This is the first adult from the group of 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Ooh, very cool. I love Parcoblatta. Do you have any idea which species? ID'ing these guys is really complex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Maybe virginica? That is just a guess though. They are from Pennsylvania here is a link to other images of these guys as nymphs http://bugguide.net/node/view/347867 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 It looks like virginica. I've raised a few different species, and pennsylvanica seems easiest to culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugmanPrice Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Do you have any idea which species? ID'ing these guys is really complex. If you can post a pic of a female when you get one that'd make ID really easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 I cannot tell if this one is an adult female or a male nymph. I will be keeping watch for any mating couples, although I kind of doubt there are any adult females yet another male molted today by the way. He is identical to the last one, but much smaller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Looks like a nymph to me. If you could get a pic of the underside of the abdomen, we can know the gender for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugmanPrice Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 It's a nymph for sure. Probably going to adulthood next molt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 27, 2010 Author Share Posted January 27, 2010 Thought I would share this with you guys. You were right. That individual in question molted today (another male of course). They just look so alien when they molt. so I have three adult males now. And I looked at the other three. They look like they still have one more molt until they become last instar nymphs, and then another molt after that to adulthood. This is not looking great for my chances of breeding them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 You could try cooling the males down dramatically to increase their lifespan. It works with Saturniid moths; I'm not sure how it would work with roaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugmanPrice Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Neato picture! You can see the heart under the dorsal surface and the tracheae. Reminds me of those models with the clear skin so you can check out the anatomy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 27, 2010 Author Share Posted January 27, 2010 Zephyr, thats sounds like a good idea. I might try it with one or two of them. What kind of temps are we talking? BugManPrice, I don't know much about roach anatomy. Where exactly is the heart? Is it that spot in the abdomen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Zephyr, thats sounds like a good idea. I might try it with one or two of them. What kind of temps are we talking? BugManPrice, I don't know much about roach anatomy. Where exactly is the heart? Is it that spot in the abdomen? The cooling is a common mantid technique too. I think 50's (F) would be appropriate, but even lower is very possible. The heart is the gray stripe along the center of the abdomen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 My basement should be around that temp. I will check and see. Will the roaches go inactive I wonder? Maybe I will try it with one or two of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 You could try one at 40 and one at 50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugmanPrice Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 A good question would be, when deciding the lower limit of temperature, is how they overwinter in their temperate climate. Maybe Orin or somebody would know whether they are inactive adults or ootheca that is surviving during the winter months. It seems I read a paper where they were out collecting some sort of ‘roach (maybe Parcoblatta spp. or Ischnoptera deropeltiformis) as inactive adults during fall, but who knows what happens during winter… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 They overwinter as half grown nymphs in my area (Pennsylvania). Right now, I can go take a walk through the woods and lift up rocks and find hibernating nymphs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I started my colony from some pre-sub nymphs I found in February (there were also oothecae present, but the ones I collected didn't hatch). They were sluggish but warmed up and grew normally afterward. Adults should be fine with 40's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 40's is in the fridge! I will have to check the reading in the basement. Thank you for the information. I did not know that the adults could survive those temps. Do you think I would need to warm them periodically for feeding and a "break" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Different species of Parcoblatta here but I have noticed very young babies all the way up to sub adults during fall and winter. Then the snow buries them all...... Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 The reading from the basement ranged from 58 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It seems to stay in that range. So I wonder if that or the fridge would be better ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Periodic warming would probably be a good thing. After all, they would be slightly active in January thaw-type weather. Just not too warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mixalis_lar Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Periodic warming would probably be a good thing. After all, they would be slightly active in January thaw-type weather. Just not too warm. Beautiful genus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted January 30, 2010 Author Share Posted January 30, 2010 Here is a photo of two of the nymphs. I cannot tell if they will all be males and my hopes to breed them would be gone, or if at least one will turn out to be female sorry the image is not good quality. My photobucket account is broken and i had to drastically resize the pic to upload it here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 They are for sure subadult? If so, then they are females. Could you try to get a pic of the underside of the abdomen? Males will have the tip divided into two segments, whereas females will have one large segment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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