When a Popular Heartthrob Gets Used as Feed: What Grudge Is This?
The red runner cockroach (Blatta lateralis) is a species in the order Blattodea, family Blattidae, genus Blatta that iswidely captive-bred(placed in the separate genus Shelfordella in some classification systems). In English they are called Turkestan cockroach. Unlike the misleading names of the German cockroach, American cockroach and Australian cockroach, the name Turkestan cockroach is actually correct: the red runner cockroach is indeed native to Central Asia and North Africa.
Some people also call the red runner cockroach"red runner"red runner, which sounds rather cool, as if it were some kind of superhero. By contrast, the extra word "cherry" in the Chinese name seems much more inspired, describing their bright red coat as "a feast for the eyes" - a full display of the foodie nation's style.
Red runner cockroach. Photo: Shenshan Chongyin
The "Fresh Meat" of the Insect World
If you noticed the word "captive-bred" mentioned at the beginning of the article, you might wonder: "Why raise cockroaches? I can't even catch all the ones in my home!"
First of all, the ones youcan see at home are only a handful of cockroach species; 99% of cockroaches are different from them. Secondly, apart from humans,most other animals really like cockroaches, or at least do not dislike them.
Cockroaches are neither fierce predators nor blood-sucking parasites, and they have little negative impact on other animals; more importantly, they are alsohelpless "fresh meat", so insect-eating animals are naturally delighted to see them. Therefore, the most widespread use of captive-bred red runner cockroaches is aslive feed。
for other animals.
A perfectly reddened piece of "fresh meat." Photo: Happy1892 / wikimedia
Why Are They an Excellent Live Feed?
As live feed, what exactly makes the red runner cockroach so excellent?First, the red runner cockroachhas a soft body
with no hard-to-swallow parts other than the wings of adult males. Compared with mealworms and the like, it is like a dumpling versus a baguette, or a lion's head meatball versus lamb spine hot pot.The red runner cockroachis very active. Two-legged pet owners may not like insects that run around everywhere and are hard to control, but for insect-eating animals, suchactive prey is what best stimulates their hunting instincts
, especially for visually oriented predators such as jumping spiders, mantises and frogs. For vertebrates that easily get bored and develop stereotyped behaviors, the darting red runner cockroach is an excellent enrichment feast.
"Do you crave power?" "No, I crave cockroaches." This is a leopard gecko raised on "a handful of cockroaches a day"~ Photo: Shenshan ChongyinSecond, the red runner cockroachlacks defensive abilities
, so even predators with weaker hunting skills or picky eaters can enjoy them happily. By comparison, mealworms have hard, hard-to-digest shells, and their "death roll" is also a threat to predators; there have even been cases of pet digestive tracts being injured by mealworms, and moreover, mealworms will chew on flesh.
Mealworms of the order Coleoptera; their larvae often feed on stored grain. Photo: Mnolf & Didier Descouens / wikimedia
Crickets are likewise somewhat carnivorous, and their sturdy, spiny hind legs are also powerful weapons.
Feed cockroaches of the family Blaberidae, represented by Dubia roaches, are excellent diggers and can instantly "earth-escape" if the enclosure has substrate; in addition, Dubia roaches also use the "flatten-to-the-ground technique" and play dead, which greatly reduces the appetite of animals that like to prey on active bait.Actually, the red runner cockroach is not entirely without defensive means. What I have observed is that the red runner cockroachsecretes mucus from the tip of its abdomen when startled
. Some cockroaches secrete quite powerful mucus, but the red runner cockroach's is rather pitiful - I have never seen anyone afraid of it.
The red runner cockroach's useless secret weapon: mucus secreted from the tip of the abdomen. Photo: Shenshan ChongyinTherefore, from mantises to spiders, from carnivorous fish to amphibians, from lizards to birds and mammals, and even rodents that occasionally eat insects as a treat,practically every insect-eating animal loves the red runner cockroach
. Whether in laboratories, zoos, or for individuals keeping small insect-eating animals, the red runner cockroach is a top-grade offering.Breeding red runner cockroaches is also quite easy: find a plastic storage box, throw in a stack ofegg cartons, adddog food and a water dish, provideenough warmth, and they will happily multiply. Red runner cockroachescannot climb smooth walls
, so as long as you use an enclosure with vertical, smooth inner walls, they will stay put obediently; if you worry the inner walls are not smooth enough, just coat them with a layer of petroleum jelly.
Egg cartons are an ideal tool for keeping red runner cockroaches. Photo: Shenshan Chongyin
Different Fates for Males and FemalesSexual dimorphism is common among cockroaches, and the red runner cockroach is no exception -males have long wingsand look like a slimmer American cockroach, while。
females have only a short stub of wings
Adult male red runner cockroach. Photo: Happy1892 / wikimedia
Adult female red runner cockroach. Photo: Happy1892 / wikimediaLike other members of the family Blattidae, the red runner cockroach lays its eggs in a pencil-case-likeoothecaand thendrops it on the groundto let it hatch on its own
. By comparison, Dubia roaches and orange-headed cockroaches of the family Blaberidae, often used as feed, reproduce through ovoviviparity, while the German cockroach carries its ootheca until hatching.
A female red runner cockroach and an ootheca that has just been laid and not yet dropped. Photo: Happy1892 / wikimediaNewly hatched red runner cockroaches look like fruit flies, very small and tender; at this stage they are very suitable as food for small animals, such as small frogs that have just metamorphosed from tadpoles onto land, or young mantises; as they grow step by step, they can be fed to larger animals. Since distinguishing adult males from females is extremely easy, you can alsopick out the males to feed and keep the females to breed and multiply
. This truly is the life of a "live feed" worthy of song and tears - one could say "the red cockroach offers its flesh until death."
Red runner cockroach nymph. Photo: Happy1892 / wikimedia
Adult red runner cockroaches are medium-sized, a size smaller than the American cockroach; because they are small, they also seem more "approachable" than the American cockroach; they feel very soft to the touch, and after keeping them for a while they actually seem quite cute; combined with their unparalleled excellence as live feed, they are truly the one and only choice among feeder insects, far superior to mealworms, crickets, Dubia roaches and the like.
Aren't You Worried They Spread Disease?Many people think cockroaches spread disease, but in fact。
there is currently no reliable literature record of cockroaches directly transmitting human disease. Although several species living indoors, such as the German cockroach, can carry pathogens, theymainly affect humans by causing allergies. It should be noted thatthe feces and other metabolites of the red runner cockroach are also allergenic. Therefore, when people who keep red runner cockroaches clean the enclosure, change the egg cartons and do similar work, they shouldwear。
a mask to avoid repeated exposure to allergens
A very scientific and friendly hand-drawn illustration showing some key points of cockroach keeping; interested readers can copy the link below to view it. Image: wikihow.com/Breed-Feeder-RoachesThe red runner cockroachis not a cockroach adapted to indoor environments, and it is also not cold-tolerant, so in the north there is no need to worry too much about escape.However,in the tropics and subtropics, they do indeed pose an invasion risk
. In the United States, Florida has separate regulations prohibiting the keeping of red runner cockroaches, and invasive populations of red runner cockroaches have been found in the southern United States. Although the habits and ecological niche of these invaders highly overlap with the globally invasive Oriental cockroach Blatta orientalis, and their actual impact may be relatively limited, some researchers believe that escaped red runner cockroaches are displacing the latter.
In summary, the red runner cockroach is an extremely excellent live feed, but keeping them in tropical and subtropical regions is not a good idea. In these regions, keeping native species or already invasive species (such as the Oriental cockroach) as live feed is a better choice.The author of this article claims that cockroaches are his favorite animal, and he once wrote a whole week's worth ofall kindsof cockroaches for Species Calendar! If you think you can handle it, reply "Cockroach Week
" to the Species Calendar WeChat public account.