Small roaches

[Stylopidae]

Are there any roaches that I could use to feed my smallest spiders?

I'm looking to something that would be (nymphs, of course) about the same size as D. hydei, the larger of the two friut flies on the market.

Here's the catch...I'm excluding blatta lateralis from the list. I'm just not a fan of the entire genus.

I'm thinking surinam roaches or panchlora nivea and I'm looking for folks with personal experience with both.

 

[IguanaMama]

I can't understand what you have against lateralis. I've told you time and time again--mine don't stink. I have Panchlora nivea, and I like them, such a pretty green. You will hate them. The nymphs are lightning fast, climb glass and plastic and the adults fly far. I often have to chase them off my ceiling with a broomstick. They won't infest, but you will end up wasting a lot, as I would imagine the nymphs would be kind of difficult to work with for feeding purposes. Don't know much about surinams. A roach I kind of like, now you might think I've lost it, is the good ol' American. The adults are fast fast fast, but the nymphs are tiny and they don't climb glass, at least mine don't, I just started working with them, so I'm not an expert--YET.

 

[Stylopidae]

A little bit of paranoid prejudice (the same genus as two of the major pest roaches in the US), combined with the fact I'm told they breed quite well at room temperature.

 

[IguanaMama]

Oh, another roach I'm just starting to get into, but I don't know that much about is Phoetalia pallida (pallid roaches). They are small. I only have three adults, I'm getting more, and I haven't even seen newborn nymphs, but I imagine they are tiny. They are gorgeous roaches, the nymphs are copper colored and the adults have a metallic sheen.

 

[angus]

hello Evil..

from what u need, i would vote for S. tartara., in other sp. u mentioned hv the same problems for feeding....they dig too much, they always at the bottom of the cage.

Phoetalia pallida, Pycnoscelus femapterus, Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Panchlora nivea.....those sp. nymphs sounds like to dig a lots to me..from the size, P. surinamensis should be the biggest one. P. femapterus should be 1/2~ 2/3 size of the surinamensis.

think what u need to choose one, if u dont mind climber, maybe Nauphoeta cinerea will work for u. cheap in cost and crazy breeder.

hope this help.

angus

 

[What]

what about lobster roaches?

 

[Takumaku]

from what u need, i would vote for S. tartara., in other sp. u mentioned hv the same problems for feeding....they dig too much, they always at the bottom of the cage.

Blatta Lateralis/Shelfordella tartara are the exact same roach.

You can try these:
Byrsotria Fumigata - cuban burrowing roach.

Polyphaga aegyptica - egyptian desert roach.

 

[OldHag]

The Polyphaga aegyptica have absolutly ITTYBITTYTINY nymphs!!! They're so small its mind boggling!

 

[angus]

Blatta Lateralis/Shelfordella tartara are the exact same roach.

You can try these:
Byrsotria Fumigata - cuban burrowing roach.

Polyphaga aegyptica - egyptian desert roach.

yes i know Blatta Lateralis/Shelfordella tartara ar the same roaches...B. fumigata like to dig a lots too..i didnt obtain the P. aegyptica in collection yet, so no idea about this sp.

 

[the_frog_kid]

lateralis are your best bet man
other than australlian roach
its a pest specie but i keep 2 or 3 pest specie and im having no trouble
lateralis are classified as Shelfordella tartara sum guy just made a new name and said it was a new specie lol
they arnt blatta
although blatta orientalis may work for you since only adult males climb
anyways back to the aus.
they are very small
lol infact they can walk right threw mosquito screening LMAO
never trin that again
nivea suck
the only reason i keep them is that they are pretty
and i just killed 800 off since they are invading my reptile room (alot more than tartara and i have 9000 of those)




thanx froggy

 

[Stylopidae]

You can try these:
Byrsotria Fumigata - cuban burrowing roach.

Polyphaga aegyptica - egyptian desert roach.

I'd like to know more about these two. Are they fast breeders?

Can the egyptian desert roach climb?

How much are cultures?

What is care like?

Would mixing them with dubias, lobsters or discoids be safe?

I already keep the above three species as feeders, however the lobster nymphs are just too big for some of the smaller slings of the species I hope to one day breed.

I'd like something that could be reared in something other than itty bitty vials in itty bitty numbers.

 

[IguanaMama]

IME, Polyphaga aegyptica - egyptian desert roach are expensive, do not climb, are fairly slow growers and like Angus said, burrow. And yes, the nymphs are tiny, they resemble ticks. They have unique requirements, so I do not think they can be raised with any of the other roaches you mentioned. The cuban burrowing roach is nice, but again, they burrow, making it hard for the spiders to get at the nymphs. Like the Egyptian Desert roach, I have a very small amount that I keep for interest, not as feeders.

The giant lobster roach (Henschoutedenia flexivitta) is a good option for you. They climb, but can be easily contained because they are just not spastic like regular lobsters, the new nymphs are tiny and they are fast breeders.

 

[Stylopidae]

IME, Polyphaga aegyptica - egyptian desert roach are expensive, do not climb, are fairly slow growers and like Angus said, burrow. And yes, the nymphs are tiny, they resemble ticks. They have unique requirements, so I do not think they can be raised with any of the other roaches you mentioned. The cuban burrowing roach is nice, but again, they burrow, making it hard for the spiders to get at the nymphs. Like the Egyptian Desert roach, I have a very small amount that I keep for interest, not as feeders.

I'll try them out.

 

[Vys]

I've found P.nivea adults to be on-edge pieces of lightning not always going downwards, but the nymphs are almost docile Slow little brown things that will neither dig particularly deep nor climb especially high.

My firefly mimics (Schultesia lampyridiformis) aren't as hyper, ever, but they hardly produce a thousand offspring at a time either, which may or may not be a disadvantage. Both nymphs and adults will sometimes climb on things, and sometimes hide in the substrate.

Regarding Polyphaga.. *shrug*. I don't get them, obligate burrowers that they are. I don't know if I'm slowly killing them, if any nymphs have managed to hatch, or what, because they spend 99.7% of their time underground. And they will not eat vegetables; only bran and similiar stuff.
I don't know how often they like their substrate moistened. I don't know what temperature they prefer.

 

[IguanaMama]

I've found P.nivea adults to be on-edge pieces of lightning not always going downwards, but the nymphs are almost docile Slow little brown things that will neither dig particularly deep nor climb especially high.

My firefly mimics (Schultesia lampyridiformis) aren't as hyper, ever, but they hardly produce a thousand offspring at a time either, which may or may not be a disadvantage. Both nymphs and adults will sometimes climb on things, and sometimes hide in the substrate.

Regarding Polyphaga.. *shrug*. I don't get them, obligate burrowers that they are. I don't know if I'm slowly killing them, if any nymphs have managed to hatch, or what, because they spend 99.7% of their time underground. And they will not eat vegetables; only bran and similiar stuff.
I don't know how often they like their substrate moistened. I don't know what temperature they prefer.

I agree about the P. nivia nymphs, except for the newborns, they seem to be fast and climbers.
I feed my polyphaga dead leaves. They should be kept dry, only an occasional misting, I believe.

 

[Takumaku]

Byrsotria fumigata - cuban burrowing roach. Don't let the name mislead you. B. fumigata prefer to stay above ground seeking shelter under logs. If no shelter is found, they do burrow, but not as much as a dubia or discoid. B. fumigata will always imerge during the night to feed, so they make a great roach for nightural animals.

Polyphaga aegyptica is a grain (oatmeal, wheat germ, etc.) or decay wood feeding roach. They are very simple to feed with most breeders using simple top soil (yes, you've heard that right, top soil) as food. The only disadvantage (which may be an advantage depending on how you look at it) is they do take about 5 months to mature.

 

[Nlneff]

Why not try the social roach, aka the lowely termite? In Iowa you should be able to find a colony of subterranean termites, they don't smell, and they are soft and chewy. There is a good sticky on cultivating them on this board.

http://www.termite.com/termites/iowa.html

 

[IguanaMama]

Termites! That's actually a good idea! :clap:

 

[dtknow]

That desert roach seems to be an even better possibility of a pest species than lateralis(ok, may not breed fast, but if they can survive on barely anything w/o water they could probably survive and breed in someones pantry).

 

[Stylopidae]

Why not try the social roach, aka the lowely termite? In Iowa you should be able to find a colony of subterranean termites, they don't smell, and they are soft and chewy. There is a good sticky on cultivating them on this board.

http://www.termite.com/termites/iowa.html

I considered this as an option, however I do not own the place I live in. My parents do and it was an uphill battle to get them to accept roaches. Termites are out, sorry to say

The cuban burrowing roach and the surinam roach are my two possibilities. Does anyone have first hand experience with either of these?

The surinams seem similar to lobsters in personality.