Is my Panchlora cockroach okay?

[ErinM31]

I have five Panchlora sp. "white" cockroaches in a five gallon terrarium (I'm optimistic for offspring!) with slightly damp mixed coir/decaying leaves and wood/compost soil substrate. They have bark and large almond leaves to hide under and a large stick that's been the popular hangout from day one. I mist a wall most days for water (the terrarium has good ventilation) and supply fresh apple and banana and a bit of fish kibble for food.

Yesterday, I noticed the base of this female's wings are dark. None of the other roaches look this way, nor do any of @Hisserdude's (see his gorgeous photos of this species in his My Roaches thread). She otherwise seems healthy as far as I can tell; I observed her chowing down on the banana last night. I took this photo this morning (she was under one of the leaves):


Is this a bad sign? Is there anything I should do for her or my other roaches to keep them healthy?

It has recently started getting chilly at night but they are not by a window nor outside wall and it doesn't get cooler than ~70F inside. I was planning to get a heating cable for them next month but maybe I need to do that sooner?

 

[Hisserdude]

Huh, I don't know if that's a bad thing or not to be honest. My last female seems to be in the process of dying and her wings are not dark at the base. If she's moving slowly or acting kinda jittery when she moves then she's probably on her way out, but if she's moving around normally and not acting weird then she could be just fine. Keep us updated, I really hope she's healthy!

 

[ErinM31]

Huh, I don't know if that's a bad thing or not to be honest. My last female seems to be in the process of dying and her wings are not dark at the base. If she's moving slowly or acting kinda jittery when she moves then she's probably on her way out, but if she's moving around normally and not acting weird then she could be just fine. Keep us updated, I really hope she's healthy!

Sorry to hear your last female is on her way out! How many nymphs do you have?

I haven't noticed any jittery movement and she was really enthusiastic in eating banana yesterday. I can't say that I've seen any of my Panchlora sp. "white" move around a lot -- certainly not the females. Is that bad? Even my Pseudomops septentrionalis and Shelfordella lateralis roaches are still a lot of the time and with dozens of them, so I figure I'm more likely to see one or more in motion at any given time.

I'll definitely keep you updated -- thank you!

 

[Hisserdude]

Sorry to hear your last female is on her way out! How many nymphs do you have?

I haven't noticed any jittery movement and she was really enthusiastic in eating banana yesterday. I can't say that I've seen any of my Panchlora sp. "white" move around a lot -- certainly not the females. Is that bad? Even my Pseudomops septentrionalis and Shelfordella lateralis roaches are still a lot of the time and with dozens of them, so I figure I'm more likely to see one or more in motion at any given time.

I'll definitely keep you updated -- thank you!

Yeah, sadly it looks like I won't be getting any more babies from her, she's moving all jittery and acting weird, pretty sure next time I open the enclosure I'll find her dead. I got about a dozen nymphs, which should be enough to keep the colony going if they have a fairly high survival rate, but out of two females that's a really crappy number of young, don't know what I did wrong or could have done better.

Well then she may be healthy, if she's still interested in eating that's a good sign. Yeah I never really saw mine move around much until night time, so I'd say that they are acting normally, sounds like they are just resting.

 

[Jacob Ma]

It probably is just a trait that happened to be more prominent in this individual. If you look more carefully at the wings of @Hisserdude 's roaches, you can see a thin black line that runs along the edges of each wing. As long as she is acting healthy, this trait shouldn't prove a problem for your roach.

 

[ErinM31]

Yeah, sadly it looks like I won't be getting any more babies from her, she's moving all jittery and acting weird, pretty sure next time I open the enclosure I'll find her dead. I got about a dozen nymphs, which should be enough to keep the colony going if they have a fairly high survival rate, but out of two females that's a really crappy number of young, don't know what I did wrong or could have done better.

Well then she may be healthy, if she's still interested in eating that's a good sign. Yeah I never really saw mine move around much until night time, so I'd say that they are acting normally, sounds like they are just resting.

I'm sorry to hear that! It's sooo frustrating when something doesn't do well and we don't even know why. I can't imagine anyone taking better care of their roaches than you! I really hope your nymphs do well!

That is what I am hoping. I think most animals stop eating when they are sick or dying and she was eating that banana with enthusiasm! And I just checked and one of the females was exploring.

It probably is just a trait that happened to be more prominent in this individual. If you look more carefully at the wings of @Hisserdude 's roaches, you can see a thin black line that runs along the edges of each wing. As long as she is acting healthy, this trait shouldn't prove a problem for your roach.

Thank you for pointing that out! Now that I look again, I think that you are right! I truly cannot say that she did not always look this way -- I do not know. Perhaps it just stood out to me when I saw her on the piece of banana.

 

[Jacob Ma]

It could even represent that your roach is feeling well! No 100% guarantee though, but I have noticed certain insects have slight changes in skin pigment based on changes in temperature, humidity/hydration, and diet. Don't get your hopes up now though, but try observing and recording any changes in its appearance just in case it happens to be so. It would be especially interesting, since the trait in your roach causes it to lack pigment.

 

[Lucanus95]

I've noticed that some of my females' wings turned dark like that when they aged. I also see similar phenomenon in Panchlora nivea and giants.

 

[ErinM31]

I've noticed that some of my females' wings turned dark like that when they aged. I also see similar phenomenon in Panchlora nivea and giants.

That is good to know, thank you! About what age did they start to change color? I don't think any of them matured that long ago -- I would guess a month. I hope that she is not declining prematurely!

 

[Lucanus95]

That is good to know, thank you! About what age did they start to change color? I don't think any of them matured that long ago -- I would guess a month. I hope that she is not declining prematurely!

I noticed it couple of weeks after I got my whites. For the other Panchos I usually notice the change in wing coloration about a month or two after they've turned into adults. They don't seem to live long as adults by the way. Mine usually die within 3 months.

 

[ErinM31]

I noticed it couple of weeks after I got my whites. For the other Panchos I usually notice the change in wing coloration about a month or two after they've turned into adults. They don't seem to live long as adults by the way. Mine usually die within 3 months.

Thank you for the information! I knew the males were especially short-lived but had thought that the females lived a bit longer. But it's good to know that it isn't anything pathological, even in timing.

However, now that it's cooled off here, the temperature for them varies between approximately 70 and 75F. Should I get heating for them ASAP to better my chances for successful reproduction?

 

[Hisserdude]

I'm sorry to hear that! It's sooo frustrating when something doesn't do well and we don't even know why. I can't imagine anyone taking better care of their roaches than you! I really hope your nymphs do well!

That is what I am hoping. I think most animals stop eating when they are sick or dying and she was eating that banana with enthusiasm! And I just checked

Yeah, hopefully the nymphs will do well for me, and hopefully the resulting adults will be more hardy than their parents.

Yeah, if she was eating that much then she's probably fine, may just be discoloration of the wings with age like @Lucanus95 said, kinda like how the colors on Therea adults dull over time.

 

[ErinM31]

All five roaches still seem to be doing alright. I got a heat pad today and have affixed it to one end of the glass terrarium. This month, the temperature has been varying a lot, but I haven't seen the temperature get above ~75F in the apartment for a while. I should probably have the heat pad on most of the time to encourage breeding, right?

 

[Hisserdude]

All five roaches still seem to be doing alright. I got a heat pad today and have affixed it to one end of the glass terrarium. This month, the temperature has been varying a lot, but I haven't seen the temperature get above ~75F in the apartment for a while. I should probably have the heat pad on most of the time to encourage breeding, right?

Nice, hope they give birth for you soon! I'd keep the heat pad on all day then unplug it at night, that's what I do for my roaches.