1/28/2021: Something completely different: little gem roaches

Taking a quick break from the monotony of isopod sorting, I’ve been doing more incremental species additions and I think this will be more manageable for me ultimately. Although a huge isopod dump is coming, relative to the last few years I’ve added a lot more Ectobiid roaches. With my new keeping style I’ve finally gotten thriving colonies of many of the smaller, tricky roaches and this info will be added to the roach care guide when I finish revising it.

The latest addition was Aglaopteryx gemma, the little gem roach. The species has long been coveted in the US due to its seeming accessibility as a US native, but finding them in adequate numbers and being able to physically catch them has been a major hurdle in addition to their trickier culture habits relative to “throw it in a bin and wait” larger species. Regardless, I’ve reached a full-grown F1 (possibly F2 unless the nymphs I’m finding now are from 10 month old ooths, which they could be) and feel very confident working with this and other small species. I see a future where multiple tiny species are cultured together for a stunning visual display, similar to a tropical fish tank but… without the bloody water changes and hard water stains.

The current locale was painstakingly collected by Alan Jeon on private property (with permission!) on Key Largo, but both our eyes are set on the color form from Ocala, Florida. These have a ruby red abdomen (a strange recurring color phenomenon with Ocala invertebrates, from grapevine beetles to lubber grasshoppers) and will truly solidify the common name of this species.

-Kyle