Macropanesthia rhinoceros problem?

luketoms

First Instar
Hi guys,

I am hoping you can help me out. One of my Macropanesthia rhinoceros, which I have had for months now, has started rolling itself on to its back and I am not sure why, I have seen others mentioning this might be to do with shedding? Does anyone out there know for sure?

Thanks,

Luke

 
I have 18 of these guys for 5 months now, and I have seen a few start molting right in front of me as well, and I have never seen any of them roll themselves over, not for any reasons I can think of.

 
I hope somebody can help. I'd hate to see something happen that could have been prevented :mellow:

How many of these guys do you have?

 
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I read this "Macropanesthia rhinoceros is named

for the blunt, horn-like processes projecting from the surface

of the pronotum in males (Froggatt, 1906). Individuals

of M. rhinoceros are most often observed above

ground when they have “fallen on to their backs and are

unable to right themselves” (Day, 1950). It is unknown if

these are all males, and the result of nocturnal battles. The

allometry of male combat weaponry has not been examined

in cockroaches." (page 3 of Cockroaches-Ecology, Behavior, and Natural History, underlining added)

 
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