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I caught them in the wild, I did not buy any. It seems I find mature nymphs towards fall,and then the following spring they turn to adults.
Blatta lateralis in the wild
- Thread starter dtknow
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Ok I've looked into this issue more. Parcoblatta are wood roaches, and they are found all over the U.S in the situations described in this thread. They should be easy to culture and make decent feeders, so go for it!
They resemble Blatta sp in general looks, but differ in a number of ways including genital configurations and numbers of leg spines. As far as anyone knows larteralis are not found in New York, nor are they found anywhere in the U.S. outside of the Southwest where they are an invasive species. However, they do not seem to be doing much damage in the Southwest; which is good news.
As for seeing them in the wild, they would mostly be found in dark places around human dwellings....basically like any other pest roach.
They resemble Blatta sp in general looks, but differ in a number of ways including genital configurations and numbers of leg spines. As far as anyone knows larteralis are not found in New York, nor are they found anywhere in the U.S. outside of the Southwest where they are an invasive species. However, they do not seem to be doing much damage in the Southwest; which is good news.
As for seeing them in the wild, they would mostly be found in dark places around human dwellings....basically like any other pest roach.
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What about this SP? They look similar to blatta lateralis and are common in the southwest US, or anywhere warm and moist.http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/bomolt.html
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Blatta orientalis get big...and are usually black, not red. I've seen a few outside though...one roach which I think are pretty grose.
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Here is a nymph I caught, please id it.
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This is no american cockroach, this is the 2nd to last instar of the wood roaches I am finding. Cant your see a bit of black at the end, american roaches are all red.
By the way my roaches body was a bit more orange-red color, my camera made it look more yellow.
By the way my roaches body was a bit more orange-red color, my camera made it look more yellow.
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Compare my picture (1) with a turkistan roach nymph (2) The are pretty similar, but looking from the antennae mine has darker ones, so mine is probably another wood roach species. If you know what to look for the picture is quite obvious. 
Those don't look similar at all! Yes, the difference is obvious (and the antenna are the least of the factors that tell them apart, look at the pronotum and the positioning/shape of the head, completely different!), but first you ID'd them as Blatta lateralis and said they were found wild in New York...which is just false.
This is Parcoblata lata nymphs, which I orginally suggested is what you were most likely finding:
Taken from: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/4505/hanula/images/CWD studies/Parcoblatta.jpg
These are young American Cockroaches,
Taken from: http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/roaches/american_early.htm
No, they are not always all red.
(P.S. you should really give credit to the website you took your B. lateralis nymph picture from.)
Parcoblatta (wood roaches) later instars are uniformally dark colored, so we know that what you have there is not a late instar wood roach.
Look at the third thoracic segment (two behind the pronotum). See how it isn't very large or wide? In Parcoblatta (wood roaches) of this instar that would appear about as large or larger than the segment in front of it, however, in your picture it does not. This shows that it is a Periplaneta americana nymph, or a least is more likely an American cockroach then a Parcoblata (wood roach).
Another supporting feature for the ID of this specimen as an American cockroach is the cerci, which are thicker in Periplaneta than Parcoblata. In the picture you provided they appear thicker than seen in Parcoblata early instars....another case for American Cockroach.
Remember, color isn't everything.
This is Parcoblata lata nymphs, which I orginally suggested is what you were most likely finding:
Taken from: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/4505/hanula/images/CWD studies/Parcoblatta.jpg
These are young American Cockroaches,
Taken from: http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/roaches/american_early.htm
No, they are not always all red.
(P.S. you should really give credit to the website you took your B. lateralis nymph picture from.)
Parcoblatta (wood roaches) later instars are uniformally dark colored, so we know that what you have there is not a late instar wood roach.
Look at the third thoracic segment (two behind the pronotum). See how it isn't very large or wide? In Parcoblatta (wood roaches) of this instar that would appear about as large or larger than the segment in front of it, however, in your picture it does not. This shows that it is a Periplaneta americana nymph, or a least is more likely an American cockroach then a Parcoblata (wood roach).
Another supporting feature for the ID of this specimen as an American cockroach is the cerci, which are thicker in Periplaneta than Parcoblata. In the picture you provided they appear thicker than seen in Parcoblata early instars....another case for American Cockroach.
Remember, color isn't everything.
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Listen, at first I got I confused with the species you said couldn't possibly live here, it was an honest mistake, after all back then I had no picture of roaches here to compare with the species you are talking about, this being the case of course there was room for mistaken identity, I only had memory to go by, and the fact it lived under rotting wood, people make mistakes dont get down my back because of it.
Now you still insist it's an american cockroach. Since you seem like you know alot about them, what are american roaches (pest species) doing in the middle of a forest with no human contact anywhere nearby, no people food, just rotting wood. I have heard cases of pest species leaving a house to migrate to another house, or during a flood, but thats it, never to live in the wild on purpose. Now I know they adapt well and eat almost anything, but how would they survive the harsh winters, in a house all they do is drop egg cases and the cycle continues. Unless they hibernate or the egg cases survive the winter being dormant, I dont understand how the species would survive? Wood roaches on the other hand are adapt at dealing with these conditions, which still makes me believe that is what I am finding. One other thing to add to identification, this roach Cannot climb the plastic container it was in, so mabye that will help with ID.
Another reason this doesnt seem possible is that I actually kept a few nymphs last year, for a few months. They didnt do so good, and they liked to hide under the substrate, I never heard of a burrowing american cockroach... Also american roaches as we all know are excellent swimmers, I tried letting them swim in a shallow water bowl, they did terrible and I took them out immedietly.
It could be that the nymphs last year were a different species than what I caught yesterday, mabye there could be a slight chance this was an american roach that somehow ended up here, but who knows how.
I have to go back and find more roaches mabye tommorow, mabye there are more than one wood roach species I am finding under the logs...
If they are americans though, im keeping one or two as pets, I think they are pretty cool roaches despite their bad reputation. I'll just be sure to wash my hands after cleaning the cage.
Now you still insist it's an american cockroach. Since you seem like you know alot about them, what are american roaches (pest species) doing in the middle of a forest with no human contact anywhere nearby, no people food, just rotting wood. I have heard cases of pest species leaving a house to migrate to another house, or during a flood, but thats it, never to live in the wild on purpose. Now I know they adapt well and eat almost anything, but how would they survive the harsh winters, in a house all they do is drop egg cases and the cycle continues. Unless they hibernate or the egg cases survive the winter being dormant, I dont understand how the species would survive? Wood roaches on the other hand are adapt at dealing with these conditions, which still makes me believe that is what I am finding. One other thing to add to identification, this roach Cannot climb the plastic container it was in, so mabye that will help with ID.
Another reason this doesnt seem possible is that I actually kept a few nymphs last year, for a few months. They didnt do so good, and they liked to hide under the substrate, I never heard of a burrowing american cockroach... Also american roaches as we all know are excellent swimmers, I tried letting them swim in a shallow water bowl, they did terrible and I took them out immedietly.
It could be that the nymphs last year were a different species than what I caught yesterday, mabye there could be a slight chance this was an american roach that somehow ended up here, but who knows how.
I have to go back and find more roaches mabye tommorow, mabye there are more than one wood roach species I am finding under the logs...
If they are americans though, im keeping one or two as pets, I think they are pretty cool roaches despite their bad reputation. I'll just be sure to wash my hands after cleaning the cage.
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You question the identification based on finding the roach in the wild....where do you think American cockroaches lived before humans built homes here? These roaches were living in this area a LONG time before humans showed up.
The picture you took will be impossible to get a positive ID from, I'd need the specimen and a scope, but from the picture I'm definitley leaning towards Periplaneta americana.
Roaches only become pests because they can move into homes, they evolved long before humans built structures for them to move into.
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I will try to get a photo of it under a magnifying glass or microscope for you.
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roaches
I have many species that just eat leaves and rotting wood. Lateralis have started establishing in parts of the US. They have migrated over on military cargo and have been caught in Arizona and some other states. I think what you are finding in California is the P. Americana.
James
www.blaberus.com
I have many species that just eat leaves and rotting wood. Lateralis have started establishing in parts of the US. They have migrated over on military cargo and have been caught in Arizona and some other states. I think what you are finding in California is the P. Americana.
James
www.blaberus.com
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Wow thats amazing to hear.