Gromphadorhina portentosa ?
- Thread starter _Nagash_
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Matt K
Eurycotis
In this section go to the thread titled:
"Differentiation between hisser species:
..instigated by Orin in Cockroach (oblongata) photos:"
... and this will give you a comparison of the pronotums. Also you need to look at its entire topside. G.portentosa are smooth vith very few pits and G.grandidieri are very pitted or bumpy tiny granular bumps. From your photo its hard to tell. A couple photos look like G.portentosa, but the one at the orange slice is hard to say without being in more light...
Just my 2 cents.
"Differentiation between hisser species:
..instigated by Orin in Cockroach (oblongata) photos:"
... and this will give you a comparison of the pronotums. Also you need to look at its entire topside. G.portentosa are smooth vith very few pits and G.grandidieri are very pitted or bumpy tiny granular bumps. From your photo its hard to tell. A couple photos look like G.portentosa, but the one at the orange slice is hard to say without being in more light...
Just my 2 cents.
Offhand they look like G.portentosa but the coloration is one I've not seen before. All the adults always look like that? There really is minimal information on telling most hissers apart and specimens called G.portentosa and "Princisia" have the same male genitalia which is pretty strange for two different species, let alone different genera.
Megaloblatta sent me this info on telling G.grandidieri from G.portentosa:
(I have seen many G.portentosa with the uniformlly nut brown abdomen....)
"The main characters are:-
Male G. grandidieri:- abdomen uniformly nut brown in colour; labrum with very few small setae; tergites granular; fore edge of pronotum more rounded and 'pinched together' than portentosa.
Male G. portentosa:- abdomen variable in colour but never uniformly nut brown to my knowledge; labrum with many longer setae; tergites smooth; fore edge of pronotum flatter and less 'pinched together'.
The best characters are 1) that the upper surface of the abdomen of both male and female grandidieri is rough i.e. it is covered in little raised 'bumps', whereas the upper surface of portentosa's abdomen is smooth in comparison; 2) male portentosa have a hairy labrum (the 'flap' which covers the mandibles), whereas the labrum of grandidieri is more-or-less hairless (the "hair" are setae of course)."
Megaloblatta sent me this info on telling G.grandidieri from G.portentosa:
(I have seen many G.portentosa with the uniformlly nut brown abdomen....)
"The main characters are:-
Male G. grandidieri:- abdomen uniformly nut brown in colour; labrum with very few small setae; tergites granular; fore edge of pronotum more rounded and 'pinched together' than portentosa.
Male G. portentosa:- abdomen variable in colour but never uniformly nut brown to my knowledge; labrum with many longer setae; tergites smooth; fore edge of pronotum flatter and less 'pinched together'.
The best characters are 1) that the upper surface of the abdomen of both male and female grandidieri is rough i.e. it is covered in little raised 'bumps', whereas the upper surface of portentosa's abdomen is smooth in comparison; 2) male portentosa have a hairy labrum (the 'flap' which covers the mandibles), whereas the labrum of grandidieri is more-or-less hairless (the "hair" are setae of course)."
Matt K
Eurycotis
SO..... do we vote G.grandidieri or G. portentosa? I would like to see a better photo of the face, and a better lit photo of the dorsal view with this info being the case.
These roaches are kinda 'different'.....
I wonder if there is a DNA record of each species ?? Now I have to wonder what the heck I have in a couple of my own bins of roaches, and would send off specimens for DNA comparisons...
These roaches are kinda 'different'.....
I wonder if there is a DNA record of each species ?? Now I have to wonder what the heck I have in a couple of my own bins of roaches, and would send off specimens for DNA comparisons...
Megaloblatta
First Instar
Your Gromphadorhina looks a lot like portentosa, but I have never seen a black form with redish markings on the sides of the meso- and metanota. The thing to do would be to examine the labrum under a low powered microscope and see whether it is 'hairy'. If you don't have a microscope I would be happy to examine a dead dried specimen for you when one dies. You should send it to me at the following address:
Dr George Beccaloni
Curator of Orthopteroidea
Entomology Department
The Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
South Kensington
London SW7 5BD, UK
It would be worth trying to track down the origin of this culture.
Cheers,
George
Dr George Beccaloni
Curator of Orthopteroidea
Entomology Department
The Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
South Kensington
London SW7 5BD, UK
It would be worth trying to track down the origin of this culture.
Cheers,
George
Megaloblatta
First Instar
Hi Matt,
No one to my knowledge has tried to hybridize hissing roaches. It would be a a very interesting thing to do, however!
You would need to separate females of each of the species you wanted to hybridize from any males when the females were still large nymphs. You would then need to rear them to adulthood, introduce males of the 'other' species you wanted to cross with them, and see if any nymphs appeared in a few month's time.
Cheers,
George
No one to my knowledge has tried to hybridize hissing roaches. It would be a a very interesting thing to do, however!
You would need to separate females of each of the species you wanted to hybridize from any males when the females were still large nymphs. You would then need to rear them to adulthood, introduce males of the 'other' species you wanted to cross with them, and see if any nymphs appeared in a few month's time.
Cheers,
George
Thanks for all the replies 
I will get some new pictures as soon as I get some power on my digital camera again. *Charging. . . . . . *
Megaloblatta
To track down the orgin of the cilture willbe almost impossible. I bought them from a German (breeder I belive. He had 100 for sale.) on a gathering in Sweeden. His did not understand english very well, and I don`t speak german, so we agreed price and amount by nodding and counting fingers
He gave me a piece of paper with the name of the species.
When one dies, I will send it to you, grateful for that offer
Please excuse my lacking english grammar :lol:
BTW: Is there a good picture with roach anatomy her somewhere, or maybe on a other site?
Regards
Robin
I will get some new pictures as soon as I get some power on my digital camera again. *Charging. . . . . . *
Megaloblatta
To track down the orgin of the cilture willbe almost impossible. I bought them from a German (breeder I belive. He had 100 for sale.) on a gathering in Sweeden. His did not understand english very well, and I don`t speak german, so we agreed price and amount by nodding and counting fingers
He gave me a piece of paper with the name of the species.
When one dies, I will send it to you, grateful for that offer
Please excuse my lacking english grammar :lol:
BTW: Is there a good picture with roach anatomy her somewhere, or maybe on a other site?
Regards
Robin
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Pictures of my new culture of Gromphadorhina portentosa
http://www.bidabug.org/Forum/index.php?sho...;st=0#entry2470
They are realy different from the ones I already have......
Regards
Robin
http://www.bidabug.org/Forum/index.php?sho...;st=0#entry2470
They are realy different from the ones I already have......
Regards
Robin