What is this roach doing?

[Mike&Ike]

I went to check up on my Dubia the other day to see if they needed anything and noticed this female with this...

Just curious as to what it is or what it's doing.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[zebraflavencs]

I am guessing that is an egg casing ? Idk really.
Janie.

 

[INCA]

look like its letting its eggsac "breathe".. she will have babies soon

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

Mike,

That is what is called an ootheca or and egg sack. What's happening w/ her is that she just got fertilized by a male. The next step is that she's actually ejecting the fertilized egg sack (what you see here) and what she probably already did when you were posting this was maneuver it w/ her hind legs to put it into her "pouch" where it will sit for 28-30 days during the gestation period. In about a month you should notice a bunch of babies running around. When you witness what you've witnessed here.... That's a good thing!

-Ian

 

[Theroachguy]

I went to check up on my Dubia the other day to see if they needed anything and noticed this female with this...

Just curious as to what it is or what it's doing.

Thanks,

Mike

congrats your a dad. Ian hit it on the money

 

[Mike&Ike]

Thanks everyone for the help. I figured it has something to do with having babies but wasn't sure what. I've known they've been breeding as I see babies running around but to see a different aspect of that cycle is very cool.

I've seen other people say it and never thought I would but I like the roaches. They are very interesting little creatures.

Plus Ike seems to love them. :mrgreen:

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

I think I speak for everyone who posts on this board when I say that nature has fascinated me in every aspect from the time I was introduced to it by my parents. I loved all the more complexed organisms. Like fish in the ocean. Monkey's in the rainforest. And lions on the savannahs. But as I got older I really got into how environments worked. Especially the ocean and rainforests.

My other hobby is fish keeping, especially reefs and fish from the Amazon Basin. I've been doing it for over 25 years (5 years longer than keeping my first herp!). Unfortunately I don't have any tanks set up at the moment, but I do get my hands dirty and help out at the shops I deal w/. So things such as micro organisms that are the backbone of life to the ocean really interest me. It's totally amazing how a 150 ton Blue Whale eats nothing but krill and planketon.

This is exactly why I like roaches. They are crucial to the environment they are from. They eat so much dead and dying plant matter in the rainforest that otherwise would destroy the environment quicker than humans are. And when they say that they are the ultimate recyclers... they mean it. Think about it. They spend their whole life cleaning up the forest and then they get eaten by another animal in the same forest and turned into energy for that animal. That's the circle of life and that is pretty cool.

-Ian