What is the difference between a Palmetto Bug, and Dubias?

[Pusha Man]

Besides the fact that Palmettos can climb and fly? Are there any nutritional value differences? If I could stand to cultivate them, would they suffice as a staple feeder?

I live if Florida and I thought I heard on here that it is illegal to buy roaches...

 

[nesta's mommy]

Besides the fact that Palmettos can climb and fly? Are there any nutritional value differences? If I could stand to cultivate them, would they suffice as a staple feeder?

I live if Florida and I thought I heard on here that it is illegal to buy roaches...

i think that it is illegal to ship roaches into florida, but i'm sure if you could find a breeder in florida... you'd be all set. there's some people with dubia here that are from florida, you may want to pm them or theroachguy as he's been so helpful with me and a lot of people on the website interested in dubias

 

[LJean]

palmetto bugs are huge and scary.. oh wait even dubias are scary to me.

Good question, looking forward to hearing an answer myself.

 

[clear]

As far as nutrition I have no idea. Dubia's are native to central and south america, where the palmetto is native to north america.

 

[patrickb]

Besides the fact that Palmettos can climb and fly? Are there any nutritional value differences? If I could stand to cultivate them, would they suffice as a staple feeder?

I live if Florida and I thought I heard on here that it is illegal to buy roaches...

Palmetto bugs AKA the American Cockroach I believe. We have them around my outside walls of the house and they do come inside on occasion. A major pest species. As far as nutritional values, they should be very similar to dubias, maybe a little less meaty. Definitely don't feed wild caught ones as they do indeed gather in trash and other areas that might have chemicals or unsafe bacteria.

A colony of them should indeed be a viable staple feeder, as most roach species are. The problem with them is that when they escape, they will setup shop inside your home and infest. They are the species that still wigs me out, whereas others don't seem to bother me as much. IIRC, the American Cockroach takes about 9 months to reach maturity and lives for about 2 full years. They have around 25-35 nymphs per an oothecae which they do deposit. Culturing a colony of them should be easy enough. Get a large tote, make a 4"+ band of vaseline around the top (I have seen these roaches shoot straight up vaseline, so you may need to try one of those bug stop products instead)

Food could be dogfood, fresh veggies, basically the same as with dubias. A high protein source will be necessary as I have observed them wing biting and nibbling on legs of others in captivity. Make sure they have a moisture source such as water crystals and keep it in the 40% range for humidity. Eggcrates or paper towel tubes for hiding places. They should thrive like that. They will take long to get established due to their longer life cycle and I cannot stress again that it isn't a great idea because they will definitely infest your home. Been there and done that with just a few strays coming from outside and exploding into a massive collection.

Search around at the petshops, reptile shows and even on craigslist.org. You may find somebody with the dubias. I too am unsure of whether actual ownership of the roaches is illegal in Florida, I just know that a lot of people won't ship into Florida.