entogirl Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I got these beauties from a friend and am having a very hard time identifying which Blaberus there are. They look like fuscus and peruviensis. I have light ones and dark ones. Ones with orange faces in their pronotum and ones that do not. They have a lot of variation. I have had these for about a year and they are breeding nicely. Thanks to anyone who can help me decide what exactly these guys are! If anyone know where I can get a key to the Blaberus let me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfox Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 How large are they btw? 3+ inches? If they are smaller they are likely a discoid hybrid of some sort. If they are larger (which these look to be) they are likely fuscaXperuviensis (possibly with craniifer somewhere) hybrids. My first Blaberus colony was a group of these guys, they are easy to breed, fairly prolific at it, and super easy to maintain. Personally I don't like having hybrids so I culled the entire colony, but they are interesting roaches regardless. They do look slightly like giganteus but...they don't hybridize so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Probably fusca x peruvianus. More pictures, especially of adult males, would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
entogirl Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Thank you for the comments. They are 3+ inches. I will take more pics of the males and post them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Zephyr, didn't you do some Blaberus keying earlier? Some comparison shots and microscope images of the genitalia? Those might be useful for this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Zephyr, didn't you do some Blaberus keying earlier? Some comparison shots and microscope images of the genitalia? Those might be useful for this case. Peruvianus and Fusca have very similar genitalia. They appear to be distinct subspecies, in the very least. Current molecular work is being done on the Blaberus species at Oxford but it has been difficult to get specimens to them; hopefully they will acquire some fusca soon which should really help with the project and IDing the genus as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.