Download Caribbean Giant Roach

Caribbean Giant
Cockroach
Blaberus giganteus
Fact Sheet
Status: Common
Distribution: Central America, the northern parts of South America, and some of
the Caribbean islands
Habitat: Caves and hollow trees, Forests
Diet: rotting wood, fruits, dead insects, and other natural garbage
Length: Up to 4 inches
Weight: [Nothing Determinable]
Reproduction: The male cockroach goes through an elaborate mating ritual
after which he stands with his posterior end aligned with the female’s posterior
end. They may stay in this position for several hours, even overnight. After
mating, the female produces an ootheca (eggsac) that protrudes from the end of
her abdomen until it hardens. Once it hardens, it recedes into her abdomen
where it remains until the eggs hatch. Litter size is typically 20.
Longevity: A little over 2 months
General Description: These cockroaches have broad flat bodies. In spite of
their large size, these insects are actually quite narrow, and thus can still climb
into very small spaces. They have light brown coloration and blend in very well
with their surroundings.
Behavior: It is capable of flight, and will fly away if disturbed. They are nocturnal,
non-aggressive insects.
Did you know? They can be up to 1.5 inches wide.
Where can you find them? They are popular pets and lab animals, and can
also be found in zoos and their natural habitat.
4001 E. Paisano Drive, El Paso, Texas 79905, Phone: 915-521-1850, Fax: 915-521-1857,
e-mail:[email protected], www.elpasozoo.org.
Distribution and Length from:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/2437/roachspecies.html
Habitat from:
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/latin_america_and_caribbean/where/amazon/t
he_area/wildlife_amazon/invertebrates/index.cfm
Status and Behavior from:
http://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/invertebrates/insects/grasshopperskatydidscricke/
giantcockroach.htm
General Description, Reproduction, Longevity, and Did you know from: http://www.keynet.net/users/swb/pet_arthropod/RCH.htm
Biology and Captive-Breeding of the Giant Cockroach Blaberus
giganteus (L.)
by Stephen W. Bullington
The cockroach Blaberus giganteus (L.) is the largest species in its genus and
one of the largest cockroaches known. Individuals can measure over three
inches (88 mm) in length and one and one-half inches (38 mm) in width. In spite
of their extended dimensions, Blaberus giganteus are lightly-built, sprightly
roaches, with bodies that are much broader than deep. This flattened body
allows them to squeeze between cracks to hide from predators. Blaberus
giganteus is found in parts of the West Indies, in Panama, and southward into
northern South America.
This species is now appearing on the pet market because captive-reared
specimens are readily available from research labs in entomology. The giant
roach has been a common experimental animal in entomology labs since the
early 1950's.
Blaberus giganteus have a number of features that make them good lab animals,
and consequently good pets. First, of course is their great size. Second, they are
very easy to rear; a number of adults and developing young can be kept together
in the same container. Third, they have a relatively long adult life. Fourth, they
are much too large and temperature dependent to ever survive a winter outdoors
in the continental United States. The only exception to this last statement might
be in south Florida, and for a number of reasons it is very unlikely they could
survive even there.
But their greatest appeal is that for a few dollars and a small set-up you can bring
one of the most famous denizens of the Carboniferous coal forests right into your
own den or study, and with a minimum of effort watch most of its daily activities.
Not of course that these large roaches are closely related to their long-dead
relatives that ran up the boles of tree ferns 200 million years ago. But they are
the closest thing to these ancient roaches man will ever be given to see-and very
much the same size. Simply reading about these roaches or seeing them for a
minute or two in an insect zoo cannot compare with actually watching them over
an extended period of time in your own home.
Biology
The only visible difference between the sexes is on the last abdominal segment,
which is the one that bears the "cerci." These cerci are present in both males and
females, and look like a pair of short, rear-end antennae. Just between the cerci
of the males is a pair of hair-like appendages called "styli." Styli are absent in the
female.
These tiny styli can be hard to see. Fortunately, the sexes can also be
distinguished by their behavior--males frequently engage in a courtship ritual,
females do not.. Several times during this ritual the male raises his folded wings
so that they are almost at right angles to his abdomen. He also makes trembling
movements with his abdomen. The remainder of the ritual has never been
described in the scientific literature, although in any large colony the entire
sequence can be observed almost continually. During mating the pair assumes
an end-to-end position, with their abdomens joined at the tip. They will stay in this
position for many hours, sometimes even overnight.
Eggs resulting from a successful fertilization are retained within the female in a
compartmentalized case, or ootheca. This ootheca forms outside the body of the
mother, and, while forming, appears to be projecting from the tip of her abdomen.
Here, it is rigid, about one-half inch in length, and looks like an elongate briefcase
or lady's purse. After hardening a little, it slides back into the mother's abdomen,
into a cavity called the brood pouch. It remains in the pouch until just before the
eggs hatch. Birth consists of extruding the ootheca and letting the young roaches
wiggle out of the eggs. Birth takes less than ten minutes.
Occasionally the ootheca will be deposited outside of the mother long before the
roach embryos have developed. This amounts to an abortion. Just why this
happens is not known. Perhaps abortions are brought on by such unfavorable
conditions as poor food quality or overcrowding.
A litter consists of about 20 young, each a tiny, dark brown nymph one fourth of
an inch long. These nymphs eat the remains of the ootheca as their first meal.
Both young and old nymphs avoid light, and by day either hide under objects or
burrow into the substrate in the tank At night they emerge from their hiding
places. When foraging on the surface, smaller individuals are very alert. Their
antennae are constantly in motion, sometimes even quivering. Older nymphs are
flattened and when viewed from above somewhat resemble trilobites. I
personally think these large nymphs are quite beautiful.
To grow, the young roaches must molt or shed their skin. Each time they cast off
their old skin, the new one replacing it has slightly more surface area, providing
room for additional tissue to be added later. The new skin is at first soft, pliable,
and colorless white. It takes several hours to harden into an exoskeleton. During
this time the roach is supported by hydrostatic pressure. This alternation of an
exoskeleton with an hydrostatic skeleton occurs seven to eight times prior to
adulthood, over a period of four to six months. The adults differ from nymphs by
having wings and functioning sexual organs. They may live for an additional 20
months.
Adults have two pairs of wings, which fold back, flat over the abdomen. At the
last molt these wings first appear as wrinkled sacks where the rigid wing pads
had once been. Within a few minutes they gradually expand to assume their final
shape, and within a day begin to show their final coloration. When fully
developed and hardened, the anteriormost pair are elongate in form, leathery in
texture, and light yellow in color. They protect the second or hind pair, which are
whitish clear, delicate in texture, and have the supporting veins arranged like a
fan in a radiating series of straight lines. The roaches use the hind wings for
flying or gliding. Active flight is preceded by a short period during which the roach
vibrates its thorax. Both active flight and the shivering preparatory to it are
uncommon occurrences.
Captive Breeding
The best type of rearing container is a all-glass tank. For a healthy colony
starting with, say 15 adults, the tank should be at least 15 gallon capacity and
preferably a 20 or 29 high. The roaches should be provided with a branch that
has been bleached and sterilized. A piece of driftwood works well. The adults
and larger nymphs will align themselves along the branch with their heads
pointed upward and their bodies oriented vertically.
The best substrate for the roaches is non-toxic pine chips. The chips should be
kept as dry as possible to prevent mite infestations. The roach tank should have
a top. The best tops are the screen ones designed to convert aquaria into
containers for reptiles and small mammals. The mesh on these tops is large
enough to let smaller roaches get through. This problem can be fixed by cutting
an insert of metal window screen, and fitting it inside the housing for the
hardware cloth that is already there. This precaution is only necessary if the
branch you are using touches the top at any point. Giant roaches use only their
claws to climb. They cannot cling to glass surfaces.
For this reason, food and water must be provided in containers with roughened
surfaces, to allow access for smaller individuals. Food can be provided in the
glazed concrete water bowls sold for reptiles. These bowls have a rough surface.
They also have the advantage of a naturalistic design and colors that blend well
with the yellows in bleached wood and wood chips.
A steady supply of fresh water is essential to maintaining a healthy colony. Use a
modified chick waterer which has a pre-cut sponge in the trough (Cat. No. 14-W7510, Ward's Nat. Sci., Estab., Inc., Rochester, New York). Pile the pine chips up
to but not over the edge of the sponge.
Giant roaches do wonderfully well on a steady diet of cereal, meat loaf, and
apples. Use a whole-grain oat cereal like "Cheerios" (made by General Mills).
The roaches particularly seem to relish the sugar-coated versions. The meat loaf
provides protein, an absolute must if the roaches are to grow. It would not be a
stretch to say giant roaches were partially carnivorous. Thirty to forty adults and
large nymphs can finish off a cup of cooked hamburger in less than an hour. If
you do not give them protein they will get it on their own, by attacking and eating
their molting or aged cage mates. Chewed or brown wing tips are an early
warning that protein is lacking.
Shoot for the highest temperature you can get, in the upper 70's or low 80's, and
for low humidity. The best way to accomplish both is by focusing a spot lamp on
part of the tank, and preferably on part of the branch you have placed in the tank
for the roaches to sit upon. The light should be set on a timer with 6 hours of light
and 6 of darkness.
In summary, Blaberus giganteus are long-lived, innocuous insects with
interesting behavior and development. All available individuals are captive-bred,
and are both too large and too tropical to exist as reproducing feral animals
within the continental United States. Further, captive care and breeding are
extremely easy. All-in-all, they make a most suitable "pet" insect. They also make
wonderful food for tarantulas and some reptiles and amphibians. The latter seem
to prefer teneral or just-molted individuals, perhaps because at this time of their
life they are so soft and tender.
Selected References
Piquett, P. G. and J. H. Fales. 1953. Life history of Blaberus giganteus (L.).
Journal of Economic Entomology 46(6):1089-1090.
Rehn, A. G. and M. Hebard. 1927. The Orthoptera of the West Indies. Number 1.
Blaberidae. Bull. of the Am. Mus. of Natural History 54:1-320.
From: http://www.key-net.net/users/swb/pet_arthropod/RCH.htm