KitKatie329 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I was wondering what the proper name is for someone who breeds cockroaches. Would it be blattaculturist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
likebugs Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I too, would like to know. Maybe I could use it instead of flat out telling someone that I keep roaches as pets. If it sounds all technical then maybe I won't get the occasional dirty look. I usually don't even mention the roaches anymore. I just say I breed arthropods, but it usually doesn't go over well. People around here tend to avoid all bugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKatie329 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 I'm pretty much known as the crazy roach lady at this point. Whenever someone introduces me it always goes something like, "Katie, this is so and so, so and so, this is Katie, SHE BREEDS COCKROACHES!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindy Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I agree! People look at me as tho I am crazy!! I usually avoid the topic myself if they are not reptile or bug people.. My son in law was showing his Aunt some of my bug photos I have on my facebook page at our thanksgiving dinner gathering.. I swear she stared at me the rest of the night with such a puzzled look on her face! lol.. Seeing how I am an "older" gal.. late 50's, people do not expect that from me! Oh well.. get over it! Let's see.. how bout "bugoligist"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbrush Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 That's why I always set my roach and gecko photos to appropriate groups. I understand that not all people could bear the sight of a 3 inch cockroach not to mention a swarm of it, let alone trying to understand why anyone would breed them. To some people, the word cockroach alone means absolute terror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Tell people you're a blatticulturist. They'll think you're some sort of rocket scientist. Then show them your roaches and hopefully they'll understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKatie329 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 Ok, so it would be that? But blatti instead of blattaculturist? Google is seriously failing me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Ok, so it would be that? But blatti instead of blattaculturist? Google is seriously failing me. Blatti, with the i being from genitive case of Latin meaning "of" or "belonging to." Examples: Byrsotria rothi (Roth's Byrsotria); Dorylaea orini (Orin's Dorylaea) Culture, meaning the cultivation of something. So blatticulture is the cultivation of cockroaches, similar to how horticulture is the cultivation of gardens/plants, and a blatticulturist is one who cultivates cockroaches, just like a horticulturist cultivates gardens/plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKatie329 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 I love great answers like that, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Darn it Zephyr, you got to this one first! We should all put that on our resumes. "Worked as a blattaculturist for x years..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKatie329 Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 I fully intend to, I've been disable for a couple of years and it's something to fill that space on my resume one day when I can work again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I'm still voting for crazy roach lady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
likebugs Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I will be using blatticulturist. I have no idea what people are calling me behind my back, but it probably is "crazy roach lady" or something like that. Even if I keep other bugs. Mentioning roaches as pets, seems to push some people over the edge. I end up not mentioning them, even if I am talking bugs. People tend to ask, "What kinds of bugs", and the roaches are usually the first thing that comes to mind, but the last that I mention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKatie329 Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 I have no problem just being open about it. If after I explain that they're not German cockroaches (not that there's anything wrong with keeping those) and they're still freaking out I just chalk it up to slight closemindedness. I don't like poop, but I wouldn't insult someone for being a manure... maker. Not sure what the name for that is, haha. But either way, crazy roach lady is fine by me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindy Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I LOVE this thread!! blatticulturist it is for me also!! I just chalk it up to us bug people being weird! lol.. the rest of the world is "normal" .... And I am darn proud of being a bug person! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfox Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I'm the "roach guy" around town. People talk to me when they have husbandry questions or are just curious. If roaches are turned in as "rescues" at the LPS I have a few people who hunt me down for information. I'm looked at with confusion by most of the people around me, haha. It's funny though, I work with the public and most people are more curious than disgusted. I keep images on my phone to show people, 99% of the public loves Panchlora nivea. Blatticulturist or "that roach guy" are both suitable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesavageprojects Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I have no problem just being open about it. If after I explain that they're not German cockroaches (not that there's anything wrong with keeping those) and they're still freaking out I just chalk it up to slight closemindedness. I don't like poop, but I wouldn't insult someone for being a manure... maker. Not sure what the name for that is, haha. But either way, crazy roach lady is fine by me. ?manureiculturist?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueblooddragonz Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 They always say that I'm weird to my daughter's nurse always tells her your daddy is handsome but he is kinda weird don't be nasty like daddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briene Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I find myself defending the generalized misinterpretation of these wonderful marvals just about every time I tell an outsider about my hobbies .....I absolutely adore speaking with other enthusiasts! When I'm at the expo I am sure to strike up convorsation with fellow hobbyists....so I feel less insane. After a while of being around ignorance ....ya start to feel a little off. Not saying everybody should have as deep of fascination as we do for Arthropods and then some....but people who automatically hear about them and give you that disgusted reaction...meh I wanna educate them!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmsgameboy Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Everyone calls me the Bug Man. I even had a special vanity plate made for my car. I'm not sure what people have a hardest time with...the fact that I have "pet" cockroaches or the fact that I'm arachnophobic. People can't seem to wrap their head around either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfox Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Everyone calls me the Bug Man. I even had a special vanity plate made for my car. I'm not sure what people have a hardest time with...the fact that I have "pet" cockroaches or the fact that I'm arachnophobic. People can't seem to wrap their head around either. I was arachnophobic until I started keeping scorpions. Now I've had everything from giant cave spiders to black widows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wodesorel Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I was arachnophobic until I started keeping scorpions. Now I've had everything from giant cave spiders to black widows. Hermit crabs were my gateway drug into the creepy crawly, as I'm arachnophobic as well. Now I have 17 emperor scorpions (3 adults, the rest are babies), and I really want to get my first T. Still terrified of spiders in the wild, but getting better! Having related critters around really seems to make ya realize you're crazy for being afraid, but that doesn't mean the fear just goes away overnight. (What do they call it professionally? Immersion therapy?) Anyway, my husband likes to call me Roach Girl around strangers. The pet store people still know me as "that hermit crab girl", but I've been doing that for three years versus (nearly) three months of having multiple roaches so it'll take time to change. Between the scorps, the roaches, the fids, and the hermits, (and a love for all things snail) I just refer to myself as an Invert Person. Get the weirdest looks from people no matter who it is. Best convo yet was with a girl I went to high school with that I ran into at a pet shop. My husband is beaming, telling her "She's raising cockroaches now." (He's actually proud of this fact!) And this girl looks at me and asks, completely serious, "You mean like, breeding them in cages, right?" I nearly bust out in laughter, and I so wanted to deadpan "No, in our kitchen", but I didn't think that would go over well. LOVE that "blatticulturist" fits so well. That'll be my new go-to word. Guaranteed half the people I tell won't bother asking what it means! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blatta70 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Well, perhaps we should all collaborate together and establish an "Institute of Blatticulture", a Blattodean zoo if you will, displaying as many of the world's roaches as possible so the general public can better appreciate the 5000+ species that aren't household nuisances. I am employed by a pest management company and we sponsor an insect zoo that travels to various children museums and schools. Believe it or not, the Hissers and other large cockroaches are statistically still the favorites, immediately followed by the giant millipedes. Don't get me wrong, the kids do have a liking for the lubber grasshoppers, mantids, hercules beetles, and vinegaroons as well. But, none of those are quite as satisfying to handle than a full grown G. oblongonata.......especially for children around the age of 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmsgameboy Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I was arachnophobic until I started keeping scorpions. Now I've had everything from giant cave spiders to black widows. I do keep some scorpions. They aren't "spidery" enough to bother me. I thought of trying to graduate to a "whip spider" and see how I do with that but I've heard they can be a little tricky to raise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefire Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 my brother insists that im a different species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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