b. fumigata vs b. dubia

[Newports]

I have b. Dubias and they are great roaches. Docile, clean, nutritious feeders, and hardy. However, they get too big for any of my scorpions to feed on. Sure I can feed the nymphs and sub adults. But that leaves me with too many large adults and I have to keep the population in control.
So I heard that b. Fumigata are very similar except they are a bit smaller but can get a little stinkier?

What do you guys think? Is the size difference big enough to make change worth it?

Thanks

 

[Matt K]

No. For one, don't confuse the genus initial of 'B', as one is Blaptica dubia and the other is Byrsotria fumigata. Both of them are very similar in size. Byrsotria fumigata is a burrowing species, which may or may not make them a little more difficult to use as a feeder.

As far as any "smell" is concerned, I do not notice any particular smell difference in either of my colonies- both have almost no smell at all. Whatever you heard is completely wrong.

 

[wraith]

The smell of the colonies is in what you feed them. If their diet is primarily oranges or citrus fruits it will smell like old oranges, but if you feed them catfood for instance you will have considerable problems with odor. I found this out the hard way when I came back after visiting family at xmas to find my room smelled god awful.

 

[TheBugBarn]

I have to be carefull with oranges because I find they mold quickly. I have noticed some dubia smell worse than others. When you get some that do smell, you'll know what everyone is talking about for sure.

 

[Newports]

No. For one, don't confuse the genus initial of 'B', as one is Blaptica dubia and the other is Byrsotria fumigata. Both of them are very similar in size. Byrsotria fumigata is a burrowing species, which may or may not make them a little more difficult to use as a feeder.

As far as any "smell" is concerned, I do not notice any particular smell difference in either of my colonies- both have almost no smell at all. Whatever you heard is completely wrong.

I'm sorry but are you saying that with an attitude?
Just wondering lol.

I knew that and was never confused.
Dubias are also burrowers and they always burrow as soon as they feel some kind of substrate, for me atleast. I'm assuming you have experience with dubias as well and they behave the same.
Thanks for your reply.

And very true about the roaches diet being related to the smell. I guess the saying "you are what you eat" also works for roaches too...

 

[Matt K]

No, no attitude. People do tend to read feelings into posts pretty often though...

From your original post it was not clear if you knew the difference or not.
B.dubia can burrow, and often will for some and not for others. They are not a burrowing roach in nature- they seek cover under foliage, bark, etc. Byrsotria on the other hand are burrowers by nature- they prefer to live below the surface of any substrate - sometimes as much as several inches if the substrate is loose enough. That is the difference between the two- one burrows as a last resort and the other burrows as a first choice. I'm just saying if you don't like roaches to burrow, Byrsotria may not be one of your best choices.

I have over 70 bins of roaches, and the only ones that really smell bad are the Blatta lateralis. Lobsters have a smell I don't like, but its not pungent. Others smell citrus or cinnamon like. I feed all my species various veg, fruit, and fish food, and only two species smell unpleasant. So i.m.o if your Blaptica smell bad, you may want to take a moment to think about that....

 

[Newports]

Ah yeah thats why I don't really jump to conclusions.

I get exactly what your saying, even just by how they look one could get the idea that they burrow.
Anyways, when I first started keeping roaches I was just shocked at how they're really was no smell. Not what I was expecting. All the bad smells from crickets just made me think that I was going to expect some horrible smell.
Guess I'll just stick with dubias.

Thanks for the help!