BlattaAnglicana Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Just wondering whether it was possible to get a "jet black" morph of Gromphadorhina portentosa as I have got a couple in my (growing) colony. They are completely black all over with no sign of any lighter colouring, stripes or patterning anywhere on the body. I have a colony of about 50 adults and subadults overall which all came from two litters from just two founder females, and the vast majority of them are the "normal" colouring for a G. portentosa i.e. tan/brick coloured abdomen with darker pronotum and thorax - some show a graduated darkening from abdomen to thorax, but others have some darker striping or patterning on the abdomen and thorax as well, but these completely black ones stand out quite a bit. They were sold to me as G. portentosa though there was no specific indication that they are "pure" stock, I am guessing they are hybrids of some sort but does anyone know whether there is genuinely a "black" pure G. portentosa colour morph, or are these ones more likely to be a throwback to some other species they were crossed with in the past? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Typically, colonies with a lot of variable adult coloration are hybrids, though I think there are supposed to be black variants of Gromphadorhina portentosa. Either way, you could probably isolate the color morph with selective breeding if you wanted to, people have isolated an all black morph of "Gromphadorhina grandidieri/Princisia vanwaerebeki Tricolor". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlattaAnglicana Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 Here is one of my "black morph" portentosa - a female, I think adult but may be subadult. There is no trace of any other colour than black anywhere on her body. Isn't she stunning? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptanner Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 That is gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 On 1/27/2018 at 8:45 AM, BlattaAnglicana said: Here is one of my "black morph" portentosa - a female, I think adult but may be subadult. There is no trace of any other colour than black anywhere on her body. Isn't she stunning? She sure is a looker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 On 1/27/2018 at 8:45 AM, BlattaAnglicana said: Here is one of my "black morph" portentosa - a female, I think adult but may be subadult. There is no trace of any other colour than black anywhere on her body. Isn't she stunning? I'm normally for the more colorful roaches, but dang, there's a girl that can pull off the color black! Thanks for sharing the photo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlon Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 I like my hissers like I take my coffee. Most of mine are this cultivar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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