Death Head or Fake

Jeff_C

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Hey all,

I picked 6 of these guys up at the recent show in Whiteplains, NY with the intention of creating a colony to finally rid myself of having to keep crickets.

Anyway, as far as I can tell it doesn't matter a whole bunch if they are Blaberus discoidales or Blaberus craniifer but I figured it would be better to know so that I can add to the colony if necessary.

Any guesses as to which they are? I'm pretty sure they are B discoidales but it doesn't hurt to ask.






Thanks,
Jeff
 

Code Monkey

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What's the size, crannifer is *much* larger than discoidales? Roachman chimed in recently saying that there are crannifer morphs that don't have the distinctive face on shield plate.
 

chuck

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with my very limited knowledge im going to say its a false, B. discoidalis. only b/c of the pics ive seen of true death heads and the ones ive had, the B.craniifer has more of a "black face" on its head, unlike yours which is missing the "mouth". yours are just all black heads. but email roachmanwillis@aol.com to get a positive ID.
 

Elytra and Antenna

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The roach you have pictured looks like Blaberus fusca or Blaberus giganteus. Looks a litte more like B.fusca.

B.fusca and B.trapezoideus are considered by some as variants or subspecies of B.craniifer. However:
B.trapezoideus = B.craniifer
B.fusca = B. fusca
In Europe they like to change the endings of incorrectly matched species names even though they can't change the original description and you may see it as BlaberUS fuscUS
 
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Jeff_C

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ok. so the largest ones are 2.5" measuring the body (no wings). I dont know if this makes a difference but they do have orange marking on the shield.

Does this help with the ID?

Unfortunately, it was easy to measure because one of the largest is apparently dead (already! - I know they were all alive last night - darn).


Jeff
 

chuck

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i hate the metric system, reading Allpet Roaches
b.craniifer = 40-55mm
b.discoidalis = 35-45mm
b.fuscus = 55-78mm
b.giganteus = 73-90mm
your roach was 2.5" = 60mm, and has a solid black band across its middle which according to the book makes it to be the B.fuscus as mantid said
 

Jeff_C

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Now that you point it out it does look like the pictures I've seen of Blaberus fuscus.

Ok, so I've bought these as feeders for my Ts, will that work out? and how long do you think it will take to create a colony now that I only have one mature (winged) one and 4 that are about 2"?

Also, if it is true that B.fusca and B.trapezoideus are subspecies of B.craniifer can I just buy more B.cranifer to augment my colony?

Thanks for the help.

Jeff
 

Valael

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I'd have to say they look very much the same as my B. Craniifers. But the problem with my B. Craniifers is that no two seem to look alike.


I guess yours are a bit lighter, though. Unless the adult pictured was freshly molted.

My b. craniifer:




 

Jeff_C

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Valael,

They certainly look the same to me! ALmost exact even but then that begs me to ask the question: How positive are you that yours are B.craniifer?

So I guess my best bet is just keep feeding and watering these guys until I have enough (?) to start using them as feeders.

Oh well, it looks like I am going to need to continue buying crix for a while yet.

Jeff
 

Jeff_C

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Ok, now I am really confused. :?

I am going to see what Roachman has to say about these (and i'll guess I'll be buying a few more from him too).

Jeff
 

Valael

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They're a bit costly, but last I heard, he still has his "deal" going on (WHich is why I bought them.)


Buy a dozen, get a dozen free. (They're $40 a dozen. I ordered priority ($5), 2 arrived dead. He also had thrown in a few extras to even things out. So it's not *that* bad. You COULD spend $40 + $20 for overnight, heh.)
 

Jeff_C

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It's still a better deal than what I paid (i always get screwed on my impulse buys --- you'd think I would learn) for 6 (and one Adult is already gone).

Plus it looks like he's right here in Whitestone, NY so I could (at least in theory) pick them up to save on shipping...but let's face it priority postal should be fine for roaches! Also, I don't really need true Death Heads so $25+5 for $25 sounds pretty good to me.


But back on topic: other than size, the roaches that I have seem to match those shown on the sites as craniifer (even the juvies match). But hopefully Roachman will know for sure...

Jeff
 

Jeff_C

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Late Breaking News....

This just in from Roachman: These are one of his color morphs of Blaberus craniifer. (I'm just not sure which one)

Jeez, I never thought I would spend so much time on a roach!

Thanks all for you help.


Jeff
 

Valael

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I don't know if he has specific color morphs...but I know he was working for a pastel one eventually.


Although mine are a bit darker -- I think the one I posted was freshly molted if I remember correctly.
 

Longbord1

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i told u u were ripped jeff but anyway good luck and if u need any help with the taking care of them or u just have to many tell me k and those have to be the pretiest roaches ive ever seen even as nyphmphs hook me up with the dead body of an adult ok im gonna mount it also are these guys fast or slow as in american roach fast or hissing roach slow.
mike
 
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Jeff_C

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Longbord, I wouldn't say ripped off. They were an impulse but at the show and I paid retail. No biggy. Now that I am more aware I will plan ahead to get the best deal and I have already talked to Richie (Roachman) about adding a couple of dozen roaches to get my colony going sooner. Also, given that they are a self-replenishing source of food for my Ts I would say that in the long run I will do fine.

If I ever have another death of an adult I will send it to you. The first adult that I lost went on to be fed to my Cobalt....and it was all over it.

I am counting the weeks until I no longer need to keep fish tanks full of smelly crix.

Jeff
 

chuck

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who else was selling roaches at the show besides roachman?
 

Longbord1

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ur right jeff my bad i guess u did get some of ur moneys worth im happy ur ts enjoyed the roach good luck
 
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