Adult cockroach shed, with bad results, and possible hermaphrodite nymph

[bugmankeith]

One of my adult female dubia has tried to shed again, I would not have believed it was possible if I never saw it, but it's true. Sadly, only half her skin split so the other half is still on with no way to come off, and it looks like her insides came out for some strange reason. If she had done a full shed with no injury I see no difference in body parts other than slightly larger size, so no wings or any other odd body changes, she would have just been larger. I am not sure why this occurred, or if anyone ever had a adult roach do a full shed and live because that would be very cool to have and document!

I also have a dubia nymph that when you look at the wing pads the top right looks almost like a male wing pad and the top left female, what do you think?

 

[bugmankeith]

Looking on here the term is post-ultimate molt.

 

[Travis K]

I also have a dubia nymph that when you look at the wing pads the top right looks almost like a male wing pad and the top left female, what do you think?

I would be more interested in seeing the last sternite for sexual reference.



Interesting about the post ultimate molt. I have never seen one of those in a roach before.

I had a hisser once that had crossed tergites which was odd. I have always regretted feeding it off.

 

[bugmankeith]

Next time I clean the tank I'll get a photo for you the nymph looks like its ready to become an adult very soon so mabye by then I'll get an adult photo too.

Perhaps your Hisser had a bad molt or injury earlier in life and every shed it slowly fixed it's body. I had a male dubia who's wing buds and abdomen were bitten on one side, his abdomen fully recovered and one wing is shorter than the other but each shed healed him more and more.

 

[bugmankeith]

Here are the best back and underside photos I could get.

 

[Travis K]

Here are the best back and underside photos I could get.

^Female

 

[Eclipse]

This has happened to me also. I had to clean out their tank so I placed the roaches in a plexi-glass box that my dad bought from work to hold them in, in the mean time. By the time I finished cleaning the tank, almost all the females ejected their eggs and their insides were dislodged. A lot of females also did what your roach is doing in your first picture. It turned out that my dad used some type of industrial super glue they have at work and the chemicals were really strong and he didn't tell me he was still waiting for it to dry.