Insect appreciation thread - You WILL love the bugs

[Crex Crex]

Is the little space in the tube the only place they have access to now? How do you feed them? How will you know when they are ready to go to a bigger space?

The roaches I have are easy, termites seem very complicated in comparison.

Food and space are not a problem: termites (and ants) love cramped surroundings and stress out in open spaces. As for the food, they can eat the moist cotton (they can eat anything containing cellulose) in the test tube, which also help them expand their nest if needed.

And yes termites are fucking complicated. As predicted, some of my original pairs (incliding the termite harem) have died. The two remaining (which include the very first couple I caught here) however, seem in excellent health and have laid eggs. I'm going to add a pic later even though the eggs are barely discernible against the cotton.

 

[Android raptor]

Gorl

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Dragonflies and mantids are apex predators that make being a bug terrifying. I respect that.

 

[Android raptor]

Dragonflies and mantids are apex predators that make being a bug terrifying. I respect that.

I just wish they lived longer

 

[Mesh Gear Fox]

Dragonflies and mantids are apex predators that make being a bug terrifying. I respect that.

Robber flies are pretty vicious as well.

 

[DeutscheKatze]

View attachment 6079145
Gorl

ayoooooo, soo biiig woah!

 

[Android raptor]

ayoooooo, soo biiig woah!

She gonna get bigger

Heaviest roach species in the world

 

[Crex Crex]

View attachment 6079145
Gorl

Awwww. How many instars till it's fully grown?

 

[Rip Bozo]

Whenever I feed a dead fly to my tarantula I always say "you vill eet ze bugs"

 

[Crex Crex]

 

[Android raptor]

Awwww. How many instars till it's fully grown?

I think she's got one or two left, problem is they're extremely slow growing so idk when her next molt will be.

She's about 5 years old now so hopefully within another year or two she'll finally be an adult (and I can try to find her a boyfriend).

 

[Alex Hogendorp]

I am thankful for the existence of bees but wasps are incredibly annoying.

I also really love the sound of Cicada's.

Dragonflies are also pretty cool. I've seen really big Dragonflies where I lived. You'd often find them during late summer.

I remember hiking up a mountain in Kyoto and saw a decent sized Centipede there.

 

[DeutscheKatze]

I think she's got one or two left, problem is they're extremely slow growing so idk when her next molt will be.

She's about 5 years old now so hopefully within another year or two she'll finally be an adult (and I can try to find her a boyfriend).

bibigirl, i kinda wonder about her now;
is she alone in the enclosure?

what specific kind, since you said the most biggest in the world.
tell me all about it i wanna know, shes cool.

i remember when i had my schleierschwanz goldfischies, i think also 5 or 6 years,
became huge bingusses, and all orange in old age, till they all died after one another.
My Axolotls i think i had for a year or two.

always wanted to have insects, but cost and life atm would not allow it rn.

i might be mistaken, but i think there are many pretty schaben, roaches

 

[Android raptor]

bibigirl, i kinda wonder about her now;
is she alone in the enclosure?

what specific kind, since you said the most biggest in the world.
tell me all about it i wanna know, shes cool.

i remember when i had my schleierschwanz goldfischies, i think also 5 or 6 years,
became huge bingusses, and all orange in old age, till they all died after one another.
My Axolotls i think i had for a year or two.

always wanted to have insects, but cost and life atm would not allow it rn.

i might be mistaken, but i think there are many pretty schaben, roaches

She's an Australian rhino roach (Macropanesthia rhinoceros). She's alone for now since they're very expensive and tricky to get but I want to find someone who at least owns a male to breed when she becomes an adult.

They typically live 10+ years and often don't reach adulthood til over 5 or 6 years old.

I've had some bad luck with the species in the past so I try to be as careful as possible with her. It's a species that's a literal childhood dream for me.

 

[Mesh Gear Fox]

Whenever I feed a dead fly to my tarantula I always say "you vill eet ze bugs"

I would caution you against feeding your tarantula with wild or house caught bugs. They can be exposed to various pesticides and insecticides and spiders are extremely sensitive to chemicals. I've seen people lose Ts this way.

 

[Android raptor]

Extinct in the Wild and Horseshoe crab roaches

 

[Mesh Gear Fox]

Extinct in the Wild

Do you mind if I ask what species?

 

[Android raptor]

Do you mind if I ask what species?

That's what they're called, the scientific name is Simandoa conserfariam.

 

[Crex Crex]

Finally managed to take a pic of one of my termite couples where the eggs are somewhat visibile.

This pair has three eggs, the other has at least one (there might be more hidden in a niche the termites have dug into the cotton)
Don't know how much time is left until they hatch, hopefully it should take another week or two.

Bonus: ants

 

[Android raptor]

View attachment 6094292
Finally managed to take a pic of one of my termite couples where the eggs are somewhat visibile.

View attachment 6094297

This pair has three eggs, the other has at least one (there might be more hidden in a niche the termites have dug into the cotton)
Don't know how much time is left until they hatch, hopefully it should take another week or two.

Bonus: ants
View attachment 6094305

How long will it take until the termites need more space, assuming all goes well? And how long will it take for their offspring to reach adulthood?