E. distanti vs B. craniifer

P

ptanner

Second Instar
Hey everyone,

Just a few questions for those of you that have these two species. Which one has the least odor and how does each compare to other species that have an odor? Which one reproduces faster? I know E. distanti will eat their dead, but will B. craniifer do the same? Does one species handle crowding better than the other? Which of the two species do you prefer and why? I would get both species and most likely will in the future, but I only want to add one species to my collection at a time.

Thanks ahead of time for any info you may have.

 
Blaberus craniifer has less odor in my experience. I think Eublaberus distanti reproduces better. If Blaberus craniifer are hungry enough they will eat their dead ;) . I cant say anything about the crowding other than that Blaberus craniifer handles it pretty well. In other Eublaberus spp., over crowding does them well (ei: Eublaberus posticus). I prefer Blaberus craniifer just because they are large and can be scary and useful during Halloween.

 
I don't personally own an E. distanti colony. A buddy of mine does. According to him they're one of the slowest breeding Eublaberus. If you want a prolific Eublaberus get some E. posticus. They seem even faster than my dubia. They are however very stinky.

My B. craniifer have been doing very well. They multiply faster than the B. atropos but slower than the B. fusca I have.

 
Thank you both for your responses. I love the look of both species. The big things are smell, crowding, and eating their dead. Besides my G. portentosa, all my other species have eaten their dead, which is great for maintenance and cleanliness. I hate having to always remove the bodies of my old-age hissers. As for the crowding, I want to breed decent-sized colonies for both feeders and display. And, of course, I want as low an odor as possible for obvious reasons.

 
The Eublaberus genus is typically a smelly genus. Blaberus craniifer is the way I would go if I was doing a display. They handle overcrowding quite well in my experience and they usually eat some of their dead.

 
If dead roaches are a problem with your hisser colony, you may want to look into getting a cleaner insect. I use Alphitobius diaperinus for most of my feeder roach colonies. They strip the dead clean so I never have to worry about mites or maggots moving in. I offer them for free with any order.

 
Dead roaches are not necessarily a problem for my hissers. It is just the fact that all the really old ones are finally starting to die off. I check regularly and remove the dead. They are not in a display, just in a Sterilite-type enclosure. I am using them for a few projects, so there is no need for a display...yet. If I had a naturalistic display, then I would get cleaner crews and have an entire ecosystem. I have not had a problem with mites, maggots, or anything else of that nature, but I appreciate the info and will keep it in mind when I finally do make my display enclosures.

 
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