Using the Site

General Improvements

Since the site overhaul, new features have become available. Among them are the Search and Sort options. By clicking the magnifying glass at the top right of any page, you may now easily search for whatever you desire. For example, searching for “Blaberus” will bring up all pages relevant to the search word. Refining the search to “Blaberus discoidalis” will bring up more selective results.

Using the sorting tabs on the drop-down and side menus, you can narrow your search for the roach you need. Species can now be sorted by their adult size (tiny, large, etc) their type (non-climbing, pet, hisser, etc), care level (easy, expert, etc), and even by the continents they’re found on! Non-roach invertebrates, supplies, and other products are also available in these menus.

Detailed Species Pages

Each species now comes with its own page and information. At the top of the page is the roach’s common name, followed by its scientific name, and clickable images of the species as well as a map of its range. The maps are color-coded with the following meanings:

Blue: This is the roach’s native range from which it originated.

Green: This is the roach’s likely native range for which confirmed data do not yet exist.

Red: This is the roach’s introduced range, where it has colonized.

Purple: This is the roach’s likely introduced range, where it theoretically can be found outside its native range.

Black Arrow: This shows where this particular strain of roaches was collected from.

Some pictures have an Heirloom sticker on them, which means that this form or variety was selectively bred for or preserved by hobbyists and will consistently produce similar-looking individuals.

Beneath this is a clickable drop-down menu displaying detailed stats about each roach.

Detailed Species Stats Example -Click-

- Adult Size: The average adult size of the organism, given in millimeters. This measurement usually excludes antennae, cerci, and other filamentous body extensions.

- Climbing Abilities: The roach’s climbing abilities. This outlines what life stages, if any, are capable of climbing smooth surfaces such as glass or smooth plastic.

- Flying Abilities: The roach’s flying abilities, with notes on unconfirmed cases of flight in some species.

- Mode of Birth: The way the roach gives birth. Oviparous means the species deposits eggs in an ootheca (or egg case) in the enclosure. Oviparous Type 2 is a special case where the adult female retains the ootheca outside her body for a while before finally laying it. Ovoviviparous means the ootheca is retained by the adult female inside her body until it is ready to hatch, at which point it is expelled as the babies emerge. Ovoviviparous Type 2 means the eggs are retained by the female in a very loose, unstructured manner until hatching. Finally, viviparous means the female gives true live birth, with babies being nourished directly by the female’s body while being incubated internally.

- Care Level: The relative ease of care of the species. Easy species are very forgiving and tolerate many different conditions, or are very low-maintenance. Intermediate species are still quite easy to keep but may have one or more special requirements to keep them healthy or breeding. Advanced species are challenging and may have a narrow range of conditions in which they thrive. Expert species are notoriously difficult to breed and may require high maintenance, specialized diets, or a very specific kind of set-up.

- Temperature Requirements: This is the range of temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit that the species will grow and reproduce at.

- Air Humidity: The amount of moisture found in the air inside the enclosure. It can be regulated by increasing or decreasing ventilation, substrate depth, or misting.

- Substrate Humidity: The amount of moisture found in the substrate in the enclosure. Some species may require high moisture but still need good aeration in the substrate.

- Favorite Foods: A fun but sometimes helpful note on what foods the species seems to enjoy eating.

Locality: The specific location that the culture was collected from.

Finally, there is a more artistic description of each roach containing condensed notes, special characteristics, fun facts, or information about how the species was collected.

For non-roach invertebrates, some of this information may be unavailable due to the difficulty of finding, processing, or translating in-depth knowledge on each species. I will try my best to make my insight and experience with each species available.

New Pricing

As a means of encouraging the continued culturing of roaches (as opposed to just keeping individuals alive), the new pricing format contains substantial price breaks for buying roaches in the new increment, the Starter Colony (by default, the lowest increment that feeder roach species are available in is synonymous with a starter colony). Aside from being voted the most popular new format option, I feel it will give newcomers to the hobby (as well as older hobbyists interested in new species) a better baseline for starting colonies, as well as preserve precious genetic diversity that is often lacking in cultures of rarer species. Mixed nymphs are still available for purchase individually for those who would like to keep a few of different species as pets.

It has taken many months of hard work to put all of the information and images into the new site format. It goes without saying, I am deeply thankful for all the Roach Crossing fans out there who support my hobby and have helped cockroaches and other insects gain a better reputation as interesting creatures and endearing household pets. Finally, I would like to thank my family (especially you, Mom and Dad), friends, and coworkers who are always more than willing to help me plan my next adventure, assist me in finding new things to culture in the field, bringing me new things to identify and breed, or just all-around supporting my endeavors both on and offline.