Dubia Experiment

[Ihaggerty1313]

Never the intent to prove they are invasive or not, however I doubt any species has the ability to "want" to be a pest. They go where the food, water and heat are.

This is where people get confused because of the term "pests". Any animal or insect can become a "pest". However a "pest species" is a term referring to is a species that freely comes into your home and sets up shop and takes over. Usually they are unhealthy such as rats, mice or certain roaches. The German and Asian species of cockroach are a highly adapted complex organism. They can basically eat crap and survive. They've also live in filth and and eat rotting food that contains parasites, bacteria, mold, you name it which doesn't kill them.

Yes you are correct B. Dubia come from a 3rd world sort of place where they are recyclers and keep the forest floors in check. Not saying that a couple of them don't slide under the walls and into the dirt floors of some guys hut, but they aren't found living in numbers inbetween the cracks of those huts either. I'll answer the next question someone's going to ask to save them the time as well. "What about the dead animals on the rainforest floor?" I can tell you this. A carcass is devoured overnight in the Rainforest. It doesn't have time to rot like a meatball that rolls under your stove and sits there for 30 days.

Sorry for the brief hijaking of your thread. Please continue w/ your findings about your experiment.

-Ian
http://www.theroachranch.com

 

[Triage]

They have survived below 40 for 4 days straight. So yes I would consider them as a species to be aware of risks with. But they are rather slow moving and seem easy enough to kill.

I'm only refering to this statement above, not your experiment:

So in essence you're dismissing any and all credible information and cold hard evidence (no pun intended) that Scientists, Entomologists, biologists (any "ists" I forgot you can insert here) alike have proven when it comes to whether or not Blaptica Dubia Cockroaches are an invasive species? Now I'm not knocking your experiment at all. Heck I'd love to see these guys breed in cooler temps. If this ever proved out I wouldn't have to waste 1/2 hour of my day, every single day answering heating questions for people (not that I mind but my fingers start to hurt from typing after a while). But to even elude to the fact that B. Dubia can infest a house is just bad info and 110% false.

To clear things up for anyone reading this thread including yourself it is a well proven fact that Blaptica Dubia Cockroaches do not infest structures even in their native homelands of South America. We've been keeping Dubia as feeders in the European Pet Trade and American pet trade for over 20 years w/ not 1 documented case of infestation. I'm sure people have dumped a bin here and there or had a "Filepe' " run the coop but that's the bottom line. 0 infestations. Why? Because B. Dubia are not an invasive species. Of the 4,000 or so known species of cockroach only 12 are invasive and considered pests to human beings. All of which originate in Asia, and Germany.

Alright lets get back to your experiment, cuz I'm sorta eager to see if this pans out.

-Ian
http://www.theroachranch.com

This was my main concern with this experiment and these reported results. I don't want anyone coming along, reading this and leaving because they think they can infest the house. I don't breed for sale, I breed for my dragon. I'd hate for someone to get the idea that these are pests and be scared off from using them. They are just TOO good as a feeder. Honestly, I had so many problems getting my dragon to eat, but now that he is on a dubia diet, man he's a big fattie. ;-) Peace.

 

[suzuki4life]

Never the intent to prove they are invasive or not, however I doubt any species has the ability to "want" to be a pest. They go where the food, water and heat are.

This is where people get confused because of the term "pests". Any animal or insect can become a "pest". However a "pest species" is a term referring to is a species that freely comes into your home and sets up shop and takes over. Usually they are unhealthy such as rats, mice or certain roaches. The German and Asian species of cockroach are a highly adapted complex organism. They can basically eat crap and survive. They've also live in filth and and eat rotting food that contains parasites, bacteria, mold, you name it which doesn't kill them.

Yes you are correct B. Dubia come from a 3rd world sort of place where they are recyclers and keep the forest floors in check. Not saying that a couple of them don't slide under the walls and into the dirt floors of some guys hut, but they aren't found living in numbers inbetween the cracks of those huts either. I'll answer the next question someone's going to ask to save them the time as well. "What about the dead animals on the rainforest floor?" I can tell you this. A carcass is devoured overnight in the Rainforest. It doesn't have time to rot like a meatball that rolls under your stove and sits there for 30 days.

Sorry for the brief hijaking of your thread. Please continue w/ your findings about your experiment.

-Ian
http://www.theroachranch.com

Thank you for your insight, sounds like you have gone places that most of us dream of going.

 

[Triage]

It doesn't have time to rot like a meatball that rolls under your stove and sits there for 30 days.

LMFAO

 

[clear]

So is this experiment just to see how cold they can live and breed? Do you have a control group beside the bin in the 62F room with a heat source and all the roaches out of the same bin so that you know they are about the same age? How are you keeping light and drafts out of the bin? How are you keeping the bins undisturbed to keep the stress levels down?

 

[suzuki4life]

So is this experiment just to see how cold they can live and breed? Do you have a control group beside the bin in the 62F room with a heat source and all the roaches out of the same bin so that you know they are about the same age? How are you keeping light and drafts out of the bin? How are you keeping the bins undisturbed to keep the stress levels down?

roaches are all within 2 months of each other.

64F is kept in a cabinet in the basement, no light, no drafts, ambient temp controlled throughout room.

Control group is in climate controlled building set at 82 degrees.

tubs are disturbed every other day for food and water and once a month for harvesting.


tubs are disturbed equally.

 

[wes]

Any updates? I'm curious what your numbers are like now.

 

[suzuki4life]

Any updates? I'm curious what your numbers are like now.

Harvested Jan 25th and output was roughly 2500 nymphs.

Production is slowing but not stopped.

 

[wes]

Thanks again. How many nymphs per female does the control group produce per month? And out of curiosity, what is the food consumption like compared to your control group?

 

[mom2twinsplus2]

FWIW, my UTH broke for some of my AFTs so I moved the UTH from my roaches to the AFT cause, well, I like her better than my roaches, LMAO...they went for about a month with no UTH at room temp (about 71 degrees) and productiion slowed dramatically...so much so that I needed to place an order for stinky, yucky crickets and a new UTH of course.

From my observations they do still breed a little at 70, but way less...I think the death rate was a bit higher as well.

Alison

 

[suzuki4life]

Thanks again. How many nymphs per female does the control group produce per month? And out of curiosity, what is the food consumption like compared to your control group?

these really were never variables so I don't honestly know...


normally my dubia eat chick feed, carrots, fish flakes oranges and the shakings left over in the bottom of my rodent food bags.

I use the lids for 1 1/2 dozen egg cartons for food dishes. I haven't changed them in over a year

Haven't counted current adult numbers, nymphs are counted by volume (in ounces)

I am not seeing severe loss in adults. (per dead roaches laying in containers.)

 

[wes]

Well, how do you know if these nymphs are the result of breeding in low temperatures or just a slowed down metabolism, which is what I suspect is happening?

 

[suzuki4life]

Well, how do you know if these nymphs are the result of breeding in low temperatures or just a slowed down metabolism, which is what I suspect is happening?

because the nymphs are removed from the adults as they are counted...they are never put back.....the nymphs found in the tub the next month are new.

 

[wes]

What I meant by the slowed metabolism is that the gestation period would be longer. These could still be eggs fertilized before you started the experiment, but it's taking longer for them to develop. You don't have a way to tell. I suppose the best way would have been to have one bin without any males and compare the production between the two bins.

My thought with your control group was to get an idea of how many would have been pregnant when you started the experiment. So if your control group had 680 females and they produced 13,600 nymphs in one month, you would have a good number to compare. If your experimental group went over that number over several months, you would know that they are mating.

 

[suzuki4life]

I have witnessed mating still occurring.