Defensive odors

vfox

vfox

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I just got some Eublaberus prosticus and noticed their defensive odor. It's along the same line as the Blaberus discoidalis defensive odor that I notice...granted now I'm under the impression that mine may be hybrids...I wasn't aware discoids really had a defense odor...?

Anyway, I'm posting this because out of the 12 species I own I've only noticed defense odors from three species. My Blaberus discoidalis, Eublaberus prosticus, and my Naupheta cinerea. Is there a reference list or information on roaches with defensive ordors anywhere? I can't seem to find much.

 
Most species have a defense odor; some are just more subtle than others. My Eublaberus, Periplaneta, Rhyparobia, Blaberus, Archimandrita tesselata, Byrsotria, Eurycotis, and Deropeltis paulinoi all have noticeable ones, but there are probably more that aren't coming to mind.

 
I've noticed that the Orangeheads have a noticeable "over-due cat litter box" aroma, but the Ivories' is somewhat more subtle...just kind of a "twang" for the nose. I haven't noticed anything out of the lobsters, though, that may be because I just don't have very many of them. I haven't noticed any smell out of the Turkistans either...but I also don't have many of those.

I would love to get some porcelains going, just for the smell of them! (Might even put them in the house as a deodorizer for the other smells! Just give the box a shake every so often!) :P

Still not sure I trust Zephyr's sense of smell on those Florida "skunk" roaches! ;) Guess I might have to sniff a few & find out if they REALLY smell like brown sugar & rose petals! :P :lol:

 
GreenOasis said:
I've noticed that the Orangeheads have a noticeable "over-due cat litter box" aroma, but the Ivories' is somewhat more subtle...just kind of a "twang" for the nose. I haven't noticed anything out of the lobsters, though, that may be because I just don't have very many of them. I haven't noticed any smell out of the Turkistans either...but I also don't have many of those.

I would love to get some porcelains going, just for the smell of them! (Might even put them in the house as a deodorizer for the other smells! Just give the box a shake every so often!) :P

Still not sure I trust Zephyr's sense of smell on those Florida "skunk" roaches! ;) Guess I might have to sniff a few & find out if they REALLY smell like brown sugar & rose petals! :P :lol:
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Yeah I'm not so sure the accounts of defensive odors online are accurate. Zephyr isn't too far off on the combinations of smells that certain species are similar to, but finding that combination pleasant is certainly a person choice lol. It's like when I find people who actually don't find "stink bugs" terribly unpleasant smelling. Lol.

When I was doing a little online searching on defensive odors I found many conflicting results. My peppered roaches are not mature just yet but most people claim they have no smell. Meanwhile Zephyr (who owns many of them) claims they do have one. This is typical as to what I've been finding online. It's a frustrating mix of information and misinformation.

Most people making the claims may never had actually owned that species but feel putting information (reviewed or otherwise) on their website is doing us a favor. It's not their fault that the information is wrong but it is their fault for not checking if it's true first. There is no substitute for good old fashioned first hand experience.

Zephyr seems to have one of the broadest breeding populations right now; low volume but many species. It's perfect for making sample studies of both behavior and defensive mechanisms. I'm hoping that I'll be able to increase from 12 current species to 15 or so with some wild caught additions this spring and I plan on doing behavior charts. Zephyr, I encourage you to do the same. Then with websites like this, we as a hobby community can bring more complete and true information to the hobby itself.

 
I'd like to note that many species don't have a defense odor until they mature. Examples are Blaberus craniifer, Eurycotis floridana and Archimandrita tesselata.

You'll notice the defense odor the peppereds have if you pick up an angry adult male. :P

If you'd like the name of the exact chemical that skunk roaches produce, it's "trans" 2-hexenol. It's sometimes used in perfumes and is found in some fruits. I've never smelled amaretto but the Allpet roach website claims some people think it smells like it.

 
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I've picked up a couple skunk roaches down at the park before. They don't exactly smell...um, great? But to me, it was nothing revolting. Never really thought about breeding them until I joined these forums, unfortunately it's too cold to get a decent amount now.

 
Zephyr said:
If you'd like the name of the exact chemical that skunk roaches produce, it's "trans" 2-hexenol. It's sometimes used in perfumes and is found in some fruits. I've never smelled amaretto but the Allpet roach website claims some people think it smells like it.
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And here I thought they may have been quoting you Zephyr, lol. You do seem to be quite the fan of those smelly buggers. ;)

 
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B. lateralis don't have a defense odor to my knowledge. They just have really smelly frass.

I've noticed that with them, N. cinerea, and most hisser species, that feeding them a diet entirely of dog food causes their frass to smell. I try to give all of these species more fruits/veggies, which dramatically decreases any odors.

 
Yes B. Lateralis do have a smell like P. Americana but it's not that strong.

The time when I used to have a large colony of Lateralis I gave them a varied diet of chicken pellets, fruits, and vegetables.

They still smelled bad though.

Not to mention the fruits flies that were infesting my bin.

But some hobbyists here likes them because they grow and breed so fast.

B. Lateralis likes our tropical weather.

Plus they are cheap.

 
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