green banana roaches

[bwhatch2]

tell me what you know about them, especially how you keep them contained.

thanks
bryan

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

Dear Bryan,

If you don't have a fitted mesh top you might make do by placing a sheet of inedible synthetic cloth between your colony and a top that holds the cloth
EXACTLY in place...even if your "real" top has holes in it.

"Exposed" banana bugs may become so insecure that they stampede when you open the top.
They need places to hide,it seems, for security's sake...although they cannot speak enough English to tell us whether they actually experience emotional imperatives they do behave as if they can.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

I use a 4 inch wide Vaseline layer around the whole top of the enclosure. I also have a lid. It works. I have 100s of them. One of my favorite roaches.

 

[cacoseraph]

be careful with petroleum jelly, there are definitely cases where it doesn't work. i've watched all sized from adults to tiny nymphs run right over it. i believe it was because it was winter and fairly cold (~55-60*F) in my room

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

Yeah, p. jelly is pretty useless with these. The nymphs are easy to contain because they can't climb plastic or glass. The adults, especially males, fly really well and can lift off from a horizontal plane and fly upwards. By providing egg crates or other other hiding places, they are less likely to fly out as you open the container. They will, however, respond immediately to a ray of light or influx of fresh air. If you have too many adults in a tank they can definitely launch an all out group escape maneuver against you. It's impossible for a single human to prevent escapes without a little forethought. I keep mine in a five gallon bucket. I beat the bucket like a drum before I open it and then make a hasty entrance/exit. Any individuals attempting to escape are removed from the gene pool, and donated to a tarantula or mantis sustenance program on the next shelf.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

Wow! Weird. I got mine from Kyle and I have never seen them fly.

 

[cacoseraph]

that's funny... i just recently heard playing the bongos as the method to keep roaches from running up the sides

heh, i love the selective breeding for non-escapism

some roaches seem to need to be at a minimum temperature to start flying. sorta, at any rate. kind of makes sense to me as temp could heavily influence their metabolism and available energy. i definitely notice that all my feeders are very easy to catch midwinter and fairly frustrating mid summer, for like land speed

 

[ZephAmp]

some roaches seem to need to be at a minimum temperature to start flying. sorta, at any rate. kind of makes sense to me as temp could heavily influence their metabolism and available energy. i definitely notice that all my feeders are very easy to catch midwinter and fairly frustrating mid summer, for like land speed

I think humidity might also be a part of it. I keep hundreds of P. nivea in one container and it's always wet in there. I can open the lid and play around for hours and nobody flies out. If they crawl up my arm though, then I get a little concerned, but I've maybe lost only one or two when working in the container. Incidentally these were both while packing up orders.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

I think humidity might also be a part of it. I keep hundreds of P. nivea in one container and it's always wet in there. I can open the lid and play around for hours and nobody flies out. If they crawl up my arm though, then I get a little concerned, but I've maybe lost only one or two when working in the container. Incidentally these were both while packing up orders.

Maybe the high humidity would explain how I can open my container (with 100s in it) and none fly out. I keep the substrate wet. I see them walk up to the Vaseline and then stop. I have some Gyna lurida (Porcelain Cockroach [Yellow Form]) with wet substrate and the adults fly out like crazy. When they do this they become food for my other arthropods.

 

[Galapoheros]

I found a bunch of nymphs in my wood pile. I thought they were Suriname roaches at first. Then they molted out bright green. They would bullet out every time I opened the container. Also, the spikes on their back legs, they really know how to use them and they are very sharp.

 

[catfishrod69]

There is stuff sold on the net, that you paint onto the top part of the enclosure, and it dries. It looks white, and is a bug barrier that they cant get a grip on. I cant remember what it is, but remember seeing it when i first joined this site. I am looking to get some of it, because i want to use it on my lobster roaches. Hopefully someone who knows will chime in, and help out.

 

[1Lord Of Ants1]

There is stuff sold on the net, that you paint onto the top part of the enclosure, and it dries. It looks white, and is a bug barrier that they cant get a grip on. I cant remember what it is, but remember seeing it when i first joined this site. I am looking to get some of it, because i want to use it on my lobster roaches. Hopefully someone who knows will chime in, and help out.

Probably this, I'm assuming. http://www.bioquip.com/search/DispProduct.asp?pid=2871A

The stuff works great for keeping ants in their enclosures, I've never used it for anything else though as I only have dubia. It's expensive but I've used it MANY times and I still have quite a bit left. Works great for insects that can climb, but are not 100% experts at doing so.

 

[catfishrod69]

Awesome. Yes thats it. I wonder how well it will work on lobsters that can climb anything. Maybe instead of making just a thin strip at the top, mke like the top half of the enclosure coated. Maybe that will give enough barrier that they wont be able to get past it. A lobster infestation would really suck.

Probably this, I'm assuming. http://www.bioquip.com/search/DispProduct.asp?pid=2871A

The stuff works great for keeping ants in their enclosures, I've never used it for anything else though as I only have dubia. It's expensive but I've used it MANY times and I still have quite a bit left. Works great for insects that can climb, but are not 100% experts at doing so.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

Originally Posted by Galapoheros:

"The spikes on their hind legs are really sharp"

My P. nivea do not really hurt me.
They are too small to do so...but I suspect that their "cousins" could.

Perhaps the "green spikers" are a different and a larger species.

Since these turn equally green at maturity they can be confused with P. nivea.

 

[Galapoheros]

I'm not sure what green cousins you might be referring to there Louise. Maybe your skin is thicker than mine, but if you try catching and forcefully holding P. nivea and don't get stuck, it would be a little strange to me. I used the ones I had as feeders, didn't really like them so I had to force a hold on them to feed them out and I got poked often.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

Dear Galapheros:

I wouldn't know which "green cousin" you might have had,but I would think that a larger species is more probable than my having "a thicker skin."
Although my P. niveas calm down when I cup them in my hand they do sometimes "spike" first-but their spikes aren't big enough to really hurt me.
Had I been working with whatever "green spikers" are I would have tried "tapping" feeders out of portable "hiding places" instead of trying to hold
them "forcefully" and "OUCH!!! and "OUCH!!! again!!!-with bare fingers!!!