3rd Week Animal Journal: Trouble at Roach Hotel

Hi to everyone sorry for the long delay with the posts. I just had an extremely busy two weeks. For the third week of observations I wanted to identify what physical differences do american cockroaches have, how they eat and the frequency of cleaning or grooming. 

I started this with the usual task of cleaning their holding containers. I have now tried a new type of system to get them out without trauma placing a smaller container inside.  I placed a small peanut brittle plastic cylinder inside and they scuttled out of the way. When they finally calmed down both of them started to explore the new structure. When one of them decides to rest at the lips I just give the container a whack then they fall into the smaller container.

With both inmates in another container I removed the white paper cover where they usual run into to hide. I weighed the container with feces and egg and with its contents removed I found out that the total weight of the feces and eggs is around 1 gram.  During cleaning I suddenly saw one small bit of fecal matter jump. I looked more closely at it and the fecal matter moved. There was something under it. I then managed to remove the pile of feces and placed them into a syringe and found maggots. Some kind of insect had laid its eggs inside the roach hotel and they were munching away at the fecal matter.  Removing more waste and debris I found a second egg with was soft and covered in fecal matter contaminated with maggots. I think the intruder laid eggs into the roach egg and these hatched may have ate the small roaches inside and when they were bigger decided to go out and eat fecal matter. As to what kind of animal was it that laid the eggs I still don't know I'll wait for the maggots to develop further.

Syringe Containing Maggots                                                       Syringe containing compromised egg

The cockroaches kept in the holding cell are both female since they have stylus on the rear end. The stylus is the small protusion found on the rear end of the female cockroach. The large protusions are called cercus and are present in both male and female cockroaches it is used to detect air currents. The second cockroach I caught is an immature female cockroach since the wings are not fully developed and there is the presence of the styli at its rear end.

Adult Female Cockroach                                         Immature Cockroach

I observed the roaches while eating and found out that they used theyre front legs to hold the pellet and uses its mandibles to cut the food. I also noticed that I touches its food with a second set of antenna like structures. I could hear it biting off portions of the food pellet. I believed that the antenna that touches the food is used to taste it and the longer antenna may be used for navigating.  I'll post the video of this feeding taking place. I just need to tweak its size.

 Two roaches resting after getting transferred.

I also noticed that when ever I decided to transfer them from one container to another they would end up grooming themselves after. I don't know if this is a comfort mechanism or that they don't anything else to do. But I would say this based on what I saw each time they ate they groomed themselves afterwards.