I had gotten 3 babies awhile back and lost one in the kitchen, accidentally squished another in the lid, and for some reason the last one didn’t make it. I may have to try again someday, they are beautiful little roaches!
hello, I imported 2 dozen in France in June 2016, from Kyle (roachcrossing). Now they are well established in Europe, in almost every country. I know that they are present in Japan too. I really hope they survived the destruction of their habitat in Guinea. Or that Mount Simandou, or this cave was not the only place they lived. After 18 difficult months due to my illness, I am back in the hobby of breeding cockroaches: with only one sp to start over, simandoa. My friend gives me back individuals to restart a colony (he has around 200 pcs) like you, I will breed them until the end of my life. My next goal now that they are common in European hobby is to contact zoos or insect preservation centers to send them simandoa for free. I dream of seeing them one day reintroduced in the wild in a protected place ...good continuation.
Kyle was one of the people I sent them to once my own population grew to shareable numbers. Welcome back and I'm glad you are well enough again to enjoy them and contribute in these ways to their preservation. Thank you for that!
These super remind me of The Hamburglar as far as color and stripes. 🤣 Probably the first ever heartwarming story about cockroaches. Really cool and informative!
I always appreciate your comments. Thank you, DK! Too funny. I don't suppose McD would ever put one of these roaches in their commercials. Do they even put the old characters in their commercials anymore? Oh, the good old days. Maybe someday their buns will be made with cricket flour.
Hey, you did a video on my request! Awesome! Those roaches are even more beautiful than they look in the photos on your site. I hope to buy some of these from you eventually, and start a colony of my own. Not only are they pretty to look at, but the more people raising them the better their chances are to continue surviving. Must have been quite an honor to have them brought to you all those years ago, glad there was someone in the field to help them out. Great video, thank you!
Yep, your request and thank you for it and your comments above! I'll be uploading two more videos and then we'll do the contest drawing. The you, Estella!
Hi there! I came across your video as I also keep a colony of Simandoas, no doubt descended from your originals I imagine :) Mine are kept in a storage tote with a screen lid and weather stripping to keep the lid tight, as well as coco fiber substrate and plenty of egg crate sheets. To my surprise, they have exploded in population. I happened on your video as I've been trying to find suggestions for a "bug barrier" to use inside since they are true escape artists. I also find their stridulation noises to be adorable.
They are among the best at escaping and so an air tight seal between the lid and enclosure base is key. If your weather stripping isn't doing the job it's the fault of the enclosure and so you'll want to change it out for something completely different. If there is room for error in your set up, they will exploit it! Thanks Refelle!
I'm sure you've had some roaches for your tarantulas to keep as pets ;) but have you ever had any pet ones? Just noticed you had some PNW videos. You local to Portland?
What, you didn't like my dirty 5 gallon bucket? 😂 Just kidding, for sure the set up that an animal is in can do so much to highlight its beauty. Always good to see you, Robert!
@@bugsincyberspace lol your bucket actually brought up the idea 😂 do you think it would be possible for them to coexist with other cave dwelling species in a viv? Although I guess if they were kept like that it would no longer be a true "vivarium", but even so the idea sounds nice
Hey Peter, you didn't have to go into a cave to get these, eh? They are really special for sure and their history as well. So wonderful that you were able to keep them reproducing. Thank you for sharing with us!🙂
Thanks SB! lol, wait, didn't we just talk about caves in the comments of the last video? Wait, are you calling me a caveman? A definite running theme here, it seems. ;)
@@bugsincyberspace Well, we are talking about "extinction" aren't we? I thought cavemen were extinct, so who rescued you? Lol Just kidding. I did ask you if you spelunked for bugs!😂
Such an awesome species and was truly an inspiration to my study of insects in college. My advisor had obtained these (I'm fairly certain) with Piotr and I had always wondered (along with my advisor) if Piotr had given you some. Mystery solved! Thank you for the info, and the intrigue.
It was a pleasure to speak with you on Instagram last night and such a funny coincidence that you contacted me about them the very same day I posted this video. Thanks so much for sharing that video with me where the Simandoa cave roach was waving its abdomen back and forth like female mantises sometimes do. This is not a behavior I have every witnessed. So interesting! Perhaps I need to move them back to a clear tank again. A great bit of data to add to their already interesting story, and thanks for leaving a comment here!
DAMN! if i had heard the story, i wouldve grabbed a few on my last order, scrolled right past them looking for that wide horn hisser! i will have to pick some up next paycheck!
How are the cockroaches now? I only have Blaptica dubia so far 😬. I'm thinking about getting another one 🤔 I want species that cannot climb 😅. I have tropical white isopods, springtails, Blaptica dubia cockroaches, a few baby spiders, cats, birds, quail and two roosters😅.
I bought a few of these off of your website a while a go and the are doing great! Just wondering, how do you keep the babies from escaping the bins? Is that what the towels were for? I have had one baby almost escape once when I flipped over their peice of wood.i know that you can spray down the sides but, is there a risk of them escaping if the bin is not tight fitting?
@@deemueller6470 Hi Dee! It would help but I don't personally use it for several reasons. Nothing beats a secure lid, first of all. I find it messy. It dries out and loses effectiveness at some point versus a secure lid, which can create a false sense of confidence. Some species seem to be able to traverse it even when its fresh. It's messy and I tend to run my arm against it, plus it attracts dirt over time also limiting effectiveness. Most of the best feeders do not climb, like dubia and red runners. All that said, it is a helpful tool in the toolbox and if you don't have a secure lid I do highly recommend it. I have used it in the past. Thanks for your great question and it's an important topic!
@@bugsincyberspace I eventually did go to Dubai roaches since they can't climb. I just gave away the last of my Dubais(current T of 4 yrs refuses to eat them). I was bad about smearing the jelly too. I would use wash cloth to remove vaseline when I opened container, feed& clean habitat, reapply before closing lid. These roaches are very beautiful! I could see keeping them for an exhibition pet. It's a shame they may be the last of their kind. I didn't see them listed on your site. Apparently, I just perused instead of studied. You have lots of great bugs, some I had no idea existed (like these). Have you thought about using an Icarus silicone heat mat between the shelving and the roaches to protect them from the heat below? Or a heat barrier made of recycled stuff under the shelf to reflect the light back?
@@deemueller6470 Once a person finds a system that works for them in resolving a particular problem, and they are happy with it, that's great but Vaseline is just problematic for me and the idea of applying it and reapplying it in the way you describe sounds like a lot of work and worry. Similarly, if I want to protect the roaches from heat I'd simply move them to one of the many other shelves in the room. I believe you are referencing a comment I had made about a concern about a tank potentially getting too hot or dry, more of a hypothetical than an ongoing problem, but I actually have every tank placed in the room in what I would call an optimized way. I'm all about simplicity. I've never even used a humidity gauge and so often new keepers try to pin me down on an optimal humidity level for every individual species, for example. Most everything is pretty common sense, often after a bit of tweaking and moving things around, and when you have a large scale operation the shortest distance between two points eventually becomes not just the smart move but the only move. Mistakes = death. Certainly there are some people out there with limited space and heating options and all the points you raise about those and Vaseline barriers are tried and true solutions to problems some people have, and as always I appreciate you putting them down in print for others to come along and read because no video is every close to complete. I always think of points later that I'd like to have made, and of course continue to learn and relearn my lessons all the time. Thanks Dee!
I actually have more now and anybody is welcome to check in with me via email through the website anytime. I often have more of this or that even when something shows as out of stock. ;) Thanks!
Nice, I think I need to get some of these again at one point, (and actually try you know, BREEDING them! 😂). The story of those three nymphs surviving being near frozen in shipping which unfortunately killed their other brethren is still one of my coolest Blatticulture stories, and a testament to how hardy these and other roaches are! :)
Was just taking with @misuma the other day about a corixid (water boatman) that her lab had in a freezers for more than a few hours once at -80 Celsius. It survived. Ladybugs survive in groups in the coldest of places on subfreezing nights. Bugs are amazing!
@@bugsincyberspace Yeah, it's quite incredible what they can withstand, this is why invertebrates are the most widespread type of animals on the planet! 😁
Great video! I knew the backstory of these roaches but it’s really cool how you managed to get them and spread them around the hobby. In your experience, roughly how long is their life cycle?
Hard to say because temperature and feeding frequency along with numbers in colony affect growth, but I'd guess a year to maturity on average and maybe another year or two as adults. I could be off on both counts though because I always have a bunch of them running around in the containers and don't mark them or anything?
I notice when you feed these carrots that they are all chopped up. I usually throw in one or two baby carrots to my cultures. Is there a benefit to chopping these up?
You will find that the roaches like to carry bite-sized pieces away to eat in peace. It's possible sometimes that in a scramble between a large group of roaches for a single carrot piece, for example, that some damage might occur to antennae, etc.
@@bugsincyberspace thanks! I definitely have seen a few descend on a carrot at once like a pack of vultures. It makes sense that they probably would prefer to not eat with their foreheads all touching :p
In the case of these, no. If it were a particularly wide and thick band it might work temporarily but the Vaseline deteriorates to a point they can traverse it sooner than with hissers.
@@neonx6568 A Tupperware container or similar escape-proof container with a few small holes punched in. Coconut fiber is what I used because it is cheap and isn't a great base for mold.
Hi there, love your videos. Subscribed a while back an let them often run while working. So I have a few questions: 1) Would you ship some to Germany? 2) If yes, could I have some and what would it cost? 3) If no, any Idea where I can get some in Europe? 4) If you do send them, do you happen to have Blue Deathfeigning Beetles as well? Don't know if it is the right place to ask, but I thought I would just try.
I appreciate that you are keeping your mind open about them. Many people grow up in areas where roaches are pests. I've never known anybody in my state of Oregon to have a roach/pest problem. People in my area just never talk about them. It's helpful to know that fewer than 1% of roaches are pest species that can live and thrive in homes. The overwhelming majority of them would die outside the microclimate of the tanks we keep them in, and so if they were to get out of the tank they would soon desiccate/dry out.
@@bugsincyberspace that's very interesting. I've always thought as soon as one get out of the tank, they would multiply like the plague! Where I used to live in Puerto Rico that made me fear them is that they are big like this one's and they fly. So any night one or two would come flying through the house and I literally was scared beyond belief! I do not know the species though. In Puerto Rico we called them cucarachas fatulas. Make my skin crawl thinking about it. 😖😂 I'm still thinking in the near future I'll be getting a few dominoes from you and through caring for them and watching them, maybe I loose my fear.
Mine just had a bunch of babies! I got them as babies from you and now they are breeding! This is the first non-feeder roach that I have bred. I am a little worried that the babies will be able to escape the ventilation holes do you have any tips?
It's hard to give advice w/o seeing your container. You can usually pinch some layer of mesh like organza between the lid and container or cut out sections of pantyhose and glue-gun them over the holes. I pinch sheets of paper towel between lids and container bases. One of my cultures of this species is kept in a 5 gallon bucket because they are so adept at escaping! Of course much of the time when people think this species has escaped, they are just hiding really well in the container still and people write back a month later and say they all magically reappeared. ;)
@@bugsincyberspace thanks! I am pretty sure that the container I am using now is working ok because the holes are so small but, I am definitely looking to upgrade them into something a bit larger as my 4 adults and lots of babies grow the colony
I'm hoping to start bug keeping in the next few months, and I want roaches to be my first. Not having this species just yet since I'm a beginner, and I would prefer to have more experience before caring for a species like this one. Though I certainly would love to have them in the future and help with their conservation. Are there any efforts being made currently to return them to the wild?
Welcome Zeinner, and to the best of my knowledge there are no efforts to reintroduce them. Perhaps it is because they came from a cave system that no longer exists in its original form. Science sometimes does more harm than good when they try to "re-"introduce things to places they did not recently occur, and so there may only be places to "introduce" these to and that could cause harm to other organisms in that balanced ecosystem.
Do you still have a colony of these? I had two. I got them as adults from a pet shop They didn’t last as long as I thought they would One however made an escape while on an outing
Amazing video and amazing species!! I always enjoy your videos but this was especially neat. It's a shame there home couldn't be protected but also good as you said there are hobbyists who can help preserve the species. I assume insects don't have many issues with inbreeding? For colony roaches these and in general I assume it's best to set with a good number of individuals, right?
I actually snipped out a part of the video where I discussed that topic a little bit, mentioning that I move specimens back and forth between my two groups over the years and I have gotten some back from one other guy a few times. Can't remember now why I snipped that out. Maybe that was when I cleared my throat in a very unflattering way at one point. ;) With few documented exceptions, inbreeding is not an issue with pet bugs and in the case of roaches especially I'm not aware of there being any demonstrative issues. However, it is very safe to assume that a bottlenecked population of them will be more susceptible to risk of some kind, over time. For that reason I move some back and forth between my two containers every year or two. It probably doesn't make much of a difference, or hurt. ;)
@@bugsincyberspace Neat! Would love to have one at some point. Any chance they can be housed with other cockroach species? Would, of course, only keep them in same-sex groups if hybridization was a possible concern
I want to get some of them.... I had plenty of success breeding dubias, are these at all similar? maybe can start getting some public institutions interested in keeping this line going... P.S how much does a genetic bottleneck effect these guys? arthropods seem to tolerate inbreeding more than mammals and reptiles but would one need to acquire more just to widen the gene pool or is that generally not neccesary? I never thought about it before now...
Are they invasive? We have a colony of them in our house and we found one running across the floor. Just wondering if we are going to have a problem? Thanks!
Hi Andy. Seeing one roach in your home neither confirms it as an infestation nor as it being this species which is just one of thousands of species of roaches on the planet. They are not invasive. They are extinct in the wild.
Bugs In Cyberspace haha, I meant we actually have THIS species of roach. We actually got them from a fella named Don, and he got them from You (bugs in cyberspace). My wife did not have the most secure enclosure and they had babies. One of the babies was running across the floor last night. But I’m not worried any more. Thanks for the info
I totally want to add these guys to my collection so badly. I want to set them up in show tank, I like I have my Madagascar hissing roaches. And coconut oil around the rim of the container is enough for them to get out.
I am a skeptic, like you. I listen to the scientists who go to the places insects occur in nature and do the studies. But I always maintain hope that there is some hidden pocket of a species that is supposedly extinct. Of course, hope and $10 barely buys a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Still, the question of whether this one of thousands of roach species is truly extinct or not does not diminish the fact that they are believed (observed/studied) to be extinct in the wild and should be treated as such, and cared for and raised by hobbyists to help ensure the species is not lost for all time.
What about inbreading? Will the eventually succumb to reproductive issues? I think efforts should be made to try to reestablish them in caves even if it's not the exact type of cave but in very nearby/nearest location. They belong to the earth before they belong to humans. Keeping a reserve in captivity to ensure they don't go extinct should continue. Otherwise the question arises: Are they not being reestablish in the wild simply to maintain them as a profit source which would belie any claim of keeping them strictly captive for their safety.
I am NOT a roach person but no creature or plant should have to go extinct at the hands of humans. Each and every thing on this Earth is here for a reason. Although I don't like them, I'm glad they didn't become another casualty of man......
It has been sad, and inspiring, to watch the compassion and efforts of people around the world on behalf of the fire-ravaged animals and landscapes of Australia, recently. I always think of humans as a part of nature, not apart. We are children with much to learn. Lords of flies. Thank you, Klcpca!
True, nothing deserves extinction, and if anything does it’s us for all the pain we’ve caused. If we want to make up for that we should help other creatures.
I don’t recall the name of the cave. It was a cave system in the Simandoa region. There is literature online if you do a bit of searching on the topic.
I keep this species too, have for a year! I always knew they were only found in one cave system that no longer exists. Now it's kinda surprising to me, because all they do is eat and make babies constantly lol
It sure would be very interesting to know more about the history of their life on Earth. Rabbits breed like roaches and these sure breed like rabbits, eh?
@@bugsincyberspace And they seem to require very little turnaround time between litters! I have this one female that was an adult when I received her last summer. She's very distinctive-looking due to her raggedy antennae and missing part of a front leg. I have no idea how old she is, but she was the first to have babies, and since then has had a lot of litters. Impressive fecundity.
I HATE roaches, but this is a very pretty insect. Glad they were saved from extinction... I hate rich mining CEO's, the ones responsible for mining that cave can go pour molten aluminium down their throats.
@@bugsincyberspace how much would you sell a starter colony of nymphs for? I really want to breed these guys just for making sure they don't go extinct aspect lol.
The universe was just trying to open your mind to the beauty of everything in nature. The more beauty you see, the more you'll enjoy the world around you. ;)
I had gotten 3 babies awhile back and lost one in the kitchen, accidentally squished another in the lid, and for some reason the last one didn’t make it. I may have to try again someday, they are beautiful little roaches!
I'm glad you took a chance with them, Jen, and hope that you will tray again someday!
hello, I imported 2 dozen in France in June 2016, from Kyle (roachcrossing). Now they are well established in Europe, in almost every country. I know that they are present in Japan too.
I really hope they survived the destruction of their habitat in Guinea. Or that Mount Simandou, or this cave was not the only place they lived.
After 18 difficult months due to my illness, I am back in the hobby of breeding cockroaches: with only one sp to start over, simandoa. My friend gives me back individuals to restart a colony (he has around 200 pcs)
like you, I will breed them until the end of my life. My next goal now that they are common in European hobby is to contact zoos or insect preservation centers to send them simandoa for free.
I dream of seeing them one day reintroduced in the wild in a protected place ...good continuation.
Kyle was one of the people I sent them to once my own population grew to shareable numbers. Welcome back and I'm glad you are well enough again to enjoy them and contribute in these ways to their preservation. Thank you for that!
guys u arent superheroes ur jus breeding roaches... cheers enjoy the holidy
These super remind me of The Hamburglar as far as color and stripes. 🤣
Probably the first ever heartwarming story about cockroaches.
Really cool and informative!
I always appreciate your comments. Thank you, DK! Too funny. I don't suppose McD would ever put one of these roaches in their commercials. Do they even put the old characters in their commercials anymore? Oh, the good old days. Maybe someday their buns will be made with cricket flour.
@@bugsincyberspace Not anymore sadly! I have some of the original figurines from way back when. Ah the good ole days indeed!
That poor roach is trying to figure out what kind of domain expansion youve put him into
Hey, you did a video on my request! Awesome! Those roaches are even more beautiful than they look in the photos on your site. I hope to buy some of these from you eventually, and start a colony of my own. Not only are they pretty to look at, but the more people raising them the better their chances are to continue surviving. Must have been quite an honor to have them brought to you all those years ago, glad there was someone in the field to help them out. Great video, thank you!
Yep, your request and thank you for it and your comments above! I'll be uploading two more videos and then we'll do the contest drawing. The you, Estella!
Congrats and great suggestion!
@@gingecharmander Thank you! :)
Hi there! I came across your video as I also keep a colony of Simandoas, no doubt descended from your originals I imagine :) Mine are kept in a storage tote with a screen lid and weather stripping to keep the lid tight, as well as coco fiber substrate and plenty of egg crate sheets. To my surprise, they have exploded in population. I happened on your video as I've been trying to find suggestions for a "bug barrier" to use inside since they are true escape artists. I also find their stridulation noises to be adorable.
They are among the best at escaping and so an air tight seal between the lid and enclosure base is key. If your weather stripping isn't doing the job it's the fault of the enclosure and so you'll want to change it out for something completely different. If there is room for error in your set up, they will exploit it!
Thanks Refelle!
Wow they are pretty neat looking!
I'm sure you've had some roaches for your tarantulas to keep as pets ;) but have you ever had any pet ones? Just noticed you had some PNW videos. You local to Portland?
Wow that's a cool story about these roaches. I never considered a roach for a pet, but I may now.
Thanks Wayne and they'd love to meet you!
Awesome species! It would be really cool to have a vivarium with them setup to look like the cave they were from.
What, you didn't like my dirty 5 gallon bucket? 😂 Just kidding, for sure the set up that an animal is in can do so much to highlight its beauty. Always good to see you, Robert!
@@bugsincyberspace lol your bucket actually brought up the idea 😂 do you think it would be possible for them to coexist with other cave dwelling species in a viv? Although I guess if they were kept like that it would no longer be a true "vivarium", but even so the idea sounds nice
Beautiful thanks again Ricky 💃🏼🕺🏼🪳👍
That's pretty cool, I might cop some one day for preservation
Hey Peter, you didn't have to go into a cave to get these, eh? They are really special for sure and their history as well. So wonderful that you were able to keep them reproducing. Thank you for sharing with us!🙂
Thanks SB! lol, wait, didn't we just talk about caves in the comments of the last video? Wait, are you calling me a caveman? A definite running theme here, it seems. ;)
@@bugsincyberspace Well, we are talking about "extinction" aren't we? I thought cavemen were extinct, so who rescued you? Lol Just kidding. I did ask you if you spelunked for bugs!😂
Such an awesome species and was truly an inspiration to my study of insects in college. My advisor had obtained these (I'm fairly certain) with Piotr and I had always wondered (along with my advisor) if Piotr had given you some. Mystery solved!
Thank you for the info, and the intrigue.
It was a pleasure to speak with you on Instagram last night and such a funny coincidence that you contacted me about them the very same day I posted this video. Thanks so much for sharing that video with me where the Simandoa cave roach was waving its abdomen back and forth like female mantises sometimes do. This is not a behavior I have every witnessed. So interesting! Perhaps I need to move them back to a clear tank again. A great bit of data to add to their already interesting story, and thanks for leaving a comment here!
DAMN! if i had heard the story, i wouldve grabbed a few on my last order, scrolled right past them looking for that wide horn hisser! i will have to pick some up next paycheck!
They appreciate your interest in them, Emmett and I do too. Thank you!
So fascinating! Thank you for all the amazing and great information!
I would very much like to get a few of these beautiful babies. Thanks again Ricky 💃🏼🕺🏼🪳🎸
Shoot me an email!
My favorite roach species I keep!
Any chance you could do a video about Ergaula capucina?
Love all your roachy videos! Thanks
How are the cockroaches now? I only have Blaptica dubia so far 😬. I'm thinking about getting another one 🤔 I want species that cannot climb 😅. I have tropical white isopods, springtails, Blaptica dubia cockroaches, a few baby spiders, cats, birds, quail and two roosters😅.
I've had the culture now for ten years, I believe, and they continue to do great and I've managed to pass them along to a great many people!
The microphone makes your voice sound like a god-like narrator.
I bought a few of these off of your website a while a go and the are doing great! Just wondering, how do you keep the babies from escaping the bins? Is that what the towels were for? I have had one baby almost escape once when I flipped over their peice of wood.i know that you can spray down the sides but, is there a risk of them escaping if the bin is not tight fitting?
Thanks a bunch and thanks too for being the first person to confirm you are keeping them!
Would vaseline rubbed an inch from the top keep them below the lid line? Someone had told me to do this with feeder roaches for my T.
@@deemueller6470 Hi Dee! It would help but I don't personally use it for several reasons. Nothing beats a secure lid, first of all. I find it messy. It dries out and loses effectiveness at some point versus a secure lid, which can create a false sense of confidence. Some species seem to be able to traverse it even when its fresh. It's messy and I tend to run my arm against it, plus it attracts dirt over time also limiting effectiveness. Most of the best feeders do not climb, like dubia and red runners. All that said, it is a helpful tool in the toolbox and if you don't have a secure lid I do highly recommend it. I have used it in the past. Thanks for your great question and it's an important topic!
@@bugsincyberspace I eventually did go to Dubai roaches since they can't climb. I just gave away the last of my Dubais(current T of 4 yrs refuses to eat them). I was bad about smearing the jelly too. I would use wash cloth to remove vaseline when I opened container, feed& clean habitat, reapply before closing lid. These roaches are very beautiful! I could see keeping them for an exhibition pet. It's a shame they may be the last of their kind. I didn't see them listed on your site. Apparently, I just perused instead of studied. You have lots of great bugs, some I had no idea existed (like these). Have you thought about using an Icarus silicone heat mat between the shelving and the roaches to protect them from the heat below? Or a heat barrier made of recycled stuff under the shelf to reflect the light back?
@@deemueller6470 Once a person finds a system that works for them in resolving a particular problem, and they are happy with it, that's great but Vaseline is just problematic for me and the idea of applying it and reapplying it in the way you describe sounds like a lot of work and worry. Similarly, if I want to protect the roaches from heat I'd simply move them to one of the many other shelves in the room. I believe you are referencing a comment I had made about a concern about a tank potentially getting too hot or dry, more of a hypothetical than an ongoing problem, but I actually have every tank placed in the room in what I would call an optimized way. I'm all about simplicity. I've never even used a humidity gauge and so often new keepers try to pin me down on an optimal humidity level for every individual species, for example. Most everything is pretty common sense, often after a bit of tweaking and moving things around, and when you have a large scale operation the shortest distance between two points eventually becomes not just the smart move but the only move. Mistakes = death. Certainly there are some people out there with limited space and heating options and all the points you raise about those and Vaseline barriers are tried and true solutions to problems some people have, and as always I appreciate you putting them down in print for others to come along and read because no video is every close to complete. I always think of points later that I'd like to have made, and of course continue to learn and relearn my lessons all the time. Thanks Dee!
Do you know when you will have any more
I actually have more now and anybody is welcome to check in with me via email through the website anytime. I often have more of this or that even when something shows as out of stock. ;) Thanks!
Thanks so much
Nice, I think I need to get some of these again at one point, (and actually try you know, BREEDING them! 😂). The story of those three nymphs surviving being near frozen in shipping which unfortunately killed their other brethren is still one of my coolest Blatticulture stories, and a testament to how hardy these and other roaches are! :)
Was just taking with @misuma the other day about a corixid (water boatman) that her lab had in a freezers for more than a few hours once at -80 Celsius. It survived. Ladybugs survive in groups in the coldest of places on subfreezing nights. Bugs are amazing!
@@bugsincyberspace Yeah, it's quite incredible what they can withstand, this is why invertebrates are the most widespread type of animals on the planet! 😁
Great video! I knew the backstory of these roaches but it’s really cool how you managed to get them and spread them around the hobby. In your experience, roughly how long is their life cycle?
Hard to say because temperature and feeding frequency along with numbers in colony affect growth, but I'd guess a year to maturity on average and maybe another year or two as adults. I could be off on both counts though because I always have a bunch of them running around in the containers and don't mark them or anything?
I notice when you feed these carrots that they are all chopped up. I usually throw in one or two baby carrots to my cultures. Is there a benefit to chopping these up?
You will find that the roaches like to carry bite-sized pieces away to eat in peace. It's possible sometimes that in a scramble between a large group of roaches for a single carrot piece, for example, that some damage might occur to antennae, etc.
@@bugsincyberspace thanks! I definitely have seen a few descend on a carrot at once like a pack of vultures. It makes sense that they probably would prefer to not eat with their foreheads all touching :p
@@thecreamman that's literally my dad in a nutshell
Will Vaseline on the top edge of the enclosure keep them from getting out? I do this with hissers, and it works phenomenally well.
In the case of these, no. If it were a particularly wide and thick band it might work temporarily but the Vaseline deteriorates to a point they can traverse it sooner than with hissers.
@@bugsincyberspace What kind of container would you recommend for a few nymphs? What is the preferred substrate for this species?
@@neonx6568 A Tupperware container or similar escape-proof container with a few small holes punched in. Coconut fiber is what I used because it is cheap and isn't a great base for mold.
Hi there,
love your videos. Subscribed a while back an let them often run while working.
So I have a few questions:
1) Would you ship some to Germany?
2) If yes, could I have some and what would it cost?
3) If no, any Idea where I can get some in Europe?
4) If you do send them, do you happen to have Blue Deathfeigning Beetles as well?
Don't know if it is the right place to ask, but I thought I would just try.
Still trying to get used to roaches, still creep me. Great I formation to learn more. One day I'll get over my fear.
I appreciate that you are keeping your mind open about them. Many people grow up in areas where roaches are pests. I've never known anybody in my state of Oregon to have a roach/pest problem. People in my area just never talk about them. It's helpful to know that fewer than 1% of roaches are pest species that can live and thrive in homes. The overwhelming majority of them would die outside the microclimate of the tanks we keep them in, and so if they were to get out of the tank they would soon desiccate/dry out.
@@bugsincyberspace that's very interesting. I've always thought as soon as one get out of the tank, they would multiply like the plague!
Where I used to live in Puerto Rico that made me fear them is that they are big like this one's and they fly. So any night one or two would come flying through the house and I literally was scared beyond belief! I do not know the species though. In Puerto Rico we called them cucarachas fatulas. Make my skin crawl thinking about it. 😖😂
I'm still thinking in the near future I'll be getting a few dominoes from you and through caring for them and watching them, maybe I loose my fear.
Mine just had a bunch of babies! I got them as babies from you and now they are breeding! This is the first non-feeder roach that I have bred. I am a little worried that the babies will be able to escape the ventilation holes do you have any tips?
It's hard to give advice w/o seeing your container. You can usually pinch some layer of mesh like organza between the lid and container or cut out sections of pantyhose and glue-gun them over the holes. I pinch sheets of paper towel between lids and container bases.
One of my cultures of this species is kept in a 5 gallon bucket because they are so adept at escaping! Of course much of the time when people think this species has escaped, they are just hiding really well in the container still and people write back a month later and say they all magically reappeared. ;)
@@bugsincyberspace thanks! I am pretty sure that the container I am using now is working ok because the holes are so small but, I am definitely looking to upgrade them into something a bit larger as my 4 adults and lots of babies grow the colony
@@basementpets5327 The planet loves you for helping to conserve this species, BP!
I would like to try and breed these but I can't find any for sale in the UK, any advice? Thanks.
If you have some I’d be happy to buy. I collect different species for conservation.
Interesting coloration. So, they have wings yet they don't flutter around.
I'm hoping to start bug keeping in the next few months, and I want roaches to be my first. Not having this species just yet since I'm a beginner, and I would prefer to have more experience before caring for a species like this one. Though I certainly would love to have them in the future and help with their conservation. Are there any efforts being made currently to return them to the wild?
Welcome Zeinner, and to the best of my knowledge there are no efforts to reintroduce them. Perhaps it is because they came from a cave system that no longer exists in its original form. Science sometimes does more harm than good when they try to "re-"introduce things to places they did not recently occur, and so there may only be places to "introduce" these to and that could cause harm to other organisms in that balanced ecosystem.
@@bugsincyberspace Ahhh I see. Makes perfect sense. Thank you for replying ^^
Do you still have a colony of these? I had two. I got them as adults from a pet shop They didn’t last as long as I thought they would
One however made an escape while on an outing
Amazing video and amazing species!! I always enjoy your videos but this was especially neat. It's a shame there home couldn't be protected but also good as you said there are hobbyists who can help preserve the species. I assume insects don't have many issues with inbreeding? For colony roaches these and in general I assume it's best to set with a good number of individuals, right?
I actually snipped out a part of the video where I discussed that topic a little bit, mentioning that I move specimens back and forth between my two groups over the years and I have gotten some back from one other guy a few times. Can't remember now why I snipped that out. Maybe that was when I cleared my throat in a very unflattering way at one point. ;) With few documented exceptions, inbreeding is not an issue with pet bugs and in the case of roaches especially I'm not aware of there being any demonstrative issues. However, it is very safe to assume that a bottlenecked population of them will be more susceptible to risk of some kind, over time. For that reason I move some back and forth between my two containers every year or two. It probably doesn't make much of a difference, or hurt. ;)
@@bugsincyberspace that makes sense, thanks for answering! :)
What pretty bugs! Do they fly at all? (Was very surprised that none of them flew in the video given that they have wings)
Hi Fergus! This roach species has no ability to fly, but they do run very quickly!
@@bugsincyberspace Neat! Would love to have one at some point. Any chance they can be housed with other cockroach species? Would, of course, only keep them in same-sex groups if hybridization was a possible concern
I want to get some of them.... I had plenty of success breeding dubias, are these at all similar? maybe can start getting some public institutions interested in keeping this line going... P.S how much does a genetic bottleneck effect these guys? arthropods seem to tolerate inbreeding more than mammals and reptiles but would one need to acquire more just to widen the gene pool or is that generally not neccesary? I never thought about it before now...
Are they invasive? We have a colony of them in our house and we found one running across the floor. Just wondering if we are going to have a problem? Thanks!
Hi Andy. Seeing one roach in your home neither confirms it as an infestation nor as it being this species which is just one of thousands of species of roaches on the planet. They are not invasive. They are extinct in the wild.
Bugs In Cyberspace haha, I meant we actually have THIS species of roach. We actually got them from a fella named Don, and he got them from You (bugs in cyberspace). My wife did not have the most secure enclosure and they had babies. One of the babies was running across the floor last night. But I’m not worried any more. Thanks for the info
@@andrewgarvin1412 Maybe they found a new habitat after all? Do you live in a cave? Lol
I totally want to add these guys to my collection so badly. I want to set them up in show tank, I like I have my Madagascar hissing roaches. And coconut oil around the rim of the container is enough for them to get out.
I finally know what I will get myself after graduation
Looks like a big Surinam Roach
Do you have any other links were u sell roaches or u dont sell
We website of 24 years is the same name as this channel. ;)
Or some sentence that makes more sense than that. ;)
Are you sure they are extinct didn't they said coackroaches are the hardest animal to be extinct.
I am a skeptic, like you. I listen to the scientists who go to the places insects occur in nature and do the studies. But I always maintain hope that there is some hidden pocket of a species that is supposedly extinct. Of course, hope and $10 barely buys a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Still, the question of whether this one of thousands of roach species is truly extinct or not does not diminish the fact that they are believed (observed/studied) to be extinct in the wild and should be treated as such, and cared for and raised by hobbyists to help ensure the species is not lost for all time.
Don't underestimate humans abilitys to eradicate species 😢
he's beautiful
How do I get some.
What about inbreading? Will the eventually succumb to reproductive issues? I think efforts should be made to try to reestablish them in caves even if it's not the exact type of cave but in very nearby/nearest location. They belong to the earth before they belong to humans. Keeping a reserve in captivity to ensure they don't go extinct should continue. Otherwise the question arises: Are they not being reestablish in the wild simply to maintain them as a profit source which would belie any claim of keeping them strictly captive for their safety.
I am NOT a roach person but no creature or plant should have to go extinct at the hands of humans. Each and every thing on this Earth is here for a reason. Although I don't like them, I'm glad they didn't become another casualty of man......
It has been sad, and inspiring, to watch the compassion and efforts of people around the world on behalf of the fire-ravaged animals and landscapes of Australia, recently. I always think of humans as a part of nature, not apart. We are children with much to learn. Lords of flies. Thank you, Klcpca!
True, nothing deserves extinction, and if anything does it’s us for all the pain we’ve caused. If we want to make up for that we should help other creatures.
Do we know what the caves name was? I'm very interested to see pictures of their old home.
I don’t recall the name of the cave. It was a cave system in the Simandoa region. There is literature online if you do a bit of searching on the topic.
I keep this species too, have for a year! I always knew they were only found in one cave system that no longer exists. Now it's kinda surprising to me, because all they do is eat and make babies constantly lol
It sure would be very interesting to know more about the history of their life on Earth. Rabbits breed like roaches and these sure breed like rabbits, eh?
@@bugsincyberspace And they seem to require very little turnaround time between litters! I have this one female that was an adult when I received her last summer. She's very distinctive-looking due to her raggedy antennae and missing part of a front leg. I have no idea how old she is, but she was the first to have babies, and since then has had a lot of litters. Impressive fecundity.
Likely to be a domesticated species with no known living wild strains.
First in hundreds or thousands of years.
I HATE roaches, but this is a very pretty insect. Glad they were saved from extinction... I hate rich mining CEO's, the ones responsible for mining that cave can go pour molten aluminium down their throats.
that's so sad about habitat destruction
Once you get a nice big colony you should send the Conservation effort a couple thousand lol
Do you sell your cockroach?
Yes
@@bugsincyberspace do you ship to Puerto Rico? How much for a groupie to startup a colony?
@@javiervazquez6140 I'm sorry but I do not ship to PR or HI, or any non-native roaches to FL.
@@bugsincyberspace Do you ship to the Philippines?
I prefer Asian Emerald Cockroaches. But these species of cockroach look cool.
And they say the pet trade can't preserve some species. Well here's proof that it can.
I would love to buy 5 females and 2 makes, but all I can find are nymphs :(
Buy nymphs and rejoice! ;)
@@bugsincyberspace how much would you sell a starter colony of nymphs for? I really want to breed these guys just for making sure they don't go extinct aspect lol.
Disgusting. Sorry, I'll never not think roaches are disgusting. Cool video though.
Why is this in my TH-cam feed???? Gross. Sorry folks.
The universe was just trying to open your mind to the beauty of everything in nature. The more beauty you see, the more you'll enjoy the world around you. ;)