MarcusTheRoach Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 A few days ago, I found my Americans devouring a cricket. I wondered if they had caught it but I have never seen Marcus nor Layla attacking another insect before. The next day I caught Marcus in the act of killing a much larger cricket. Layla joined in and then tugged it away from him. Marcus left her alone to eat her prey. Really, is this normal? Have I provided enough meat in their diets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 This species has been known to attack and feed on other roaches/soft bodied insects from time to time, and they are very well known for cannibalising oothecae. They are just really protein hungry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tleilaxu Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Watching them hunt crickets was amusing. They never lasted long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlon Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 What else will they hunt? Do they hunt B. germanica? That would be cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusTheRoach Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Ha! Very true. It took Layla about 4 minutes to finish eating the larger one. Then she just lazed about for a little while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusTheRoach Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Actually, Marcus has caught a young oriental cockroach... but never a German. Probably because he’s never had the chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusTheRoach Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Thank you for telling me this! Matter of fact, Marcus happened to kill an oriental cockroach that snuck into my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axolotl Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 This is fascinating. I've seen my B. giganteus eat live (but dying) dubia, but I assumed they were just incredibly hungry and/or excited for the meat. I don't think they're hunters, but it's an intriguing idea. With the breadth of species, I wouldn't doubt that some have evolved to take advantage of hunting to survive. I'd love to hear more about this. Any chance you could catch the hunting on video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tleilaxu Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Not mine, but you will get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axolotl Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 That is pretty mind blowing, at least for me. I have a whole new world to explore. I wonder if they need to be at a certain hunger level to catch live prey or if they're opportunistic and will grab any extra they can even when they have a steady food supply. I'm going to do a few experiments with my B giganteus. That's my only real meat eating species at the moment, but man do they go nuts for fresh cooked hamburger and canned cat food. Thanks for sharing the videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varnon Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 I fed banana roaches to my orange heads once. It was very interesting. The attack does seem to be very predatory in nature. They do actually pounce and chase a little. Any banana roaches escape the initial attack seem to be "safe." I think after a point they smell like other orange head roaches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusTheRoach Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share Posted May 15, 2018 Wow! If you could catch an orange head on the hunt, could you post it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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