My New Melanozosteria & Latiblattella!

Roachcrossing Winter '23 Package Series Pt. 4/5

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Now this is an exciting new Blattid for Blatticulture, only a few people are keeping them ATM, but hopefully that'll change in the future. Introducing Melanozosteria soror, AKA the "White-margined Cockroach". 😁 A cute species that's seemingly native to Asia, but became introduced to Hawaii (which is where this stock was collected from). They have a nice dark brown/black base coloration, and adults have cream colored margins along their thoracic segments, with only tiny vestigial tegmina.

I've got my 10 or so nymphs housed in a well ventilated container with a thin layer of coconut fiber as the substrate, with bark and cardboard rolls for hides. I'm keeping one half of the enclosure humid, the otehr half dry, and have them at around 75-85F°. I'm feeding them dog food and fruits.

Here are some pictures of one of the nymphs:

Still got a decent amount of growth to put on, as well as coloration. Looking forward to seeing adults of this species in person, and hopefully breeding them! 😊

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I also asked Kyle for some Latiblattella rehni, Rhen's Palm Roach, because apparently I hate myself. 🙃😂 He obliged and sent me several adults (mostly females), some ooths and some nymphs. Didn't bother counting them out before dumping them into their new container quickly, these things are super skittish and LOVE to climb and fly, probably the most annoying roaches I've ever dealt with personally. 😅 But I definitely have breedable numbers, and should hopefully get a colony of this neat US native established soon.

I've got them set up in a well ventilated deli cup, with a thin layer of coconut fiber as the substrate, with crumpled paper towels for hides. I'm keeping them humid, and at around 75-80F°. I'll be offering them dog food and fruits as their staple diet.

Here are some pictures of an adult female:

These are the best pics I've ever taken of an adult of this species, and may be the last. 😂 They just absolutely hate standing still for photos.

Well, that does it for this post, thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, stay safe, and I'll see you all next time! 😉