so now i am the proud posesser of 6 giant madagascar hissing cockroaches. I say “posessor” because I really do not own them, am merely caring for them for my job at the Environmental Center. (I wont even get into the idea of insects being someones property) These 6 were the babies of the previous 2 that I had handled at work. Unfortunately, the “animal room” was hit with a plague of black ants that descended upon our poor hapless tanked creatures and ripped them apart. All of our native scorpions were dismembered and devoured, as were the worms in our compost bins. Our 2 full grown roaches had to be stepped on to be put out of their misery. Though these black ants do not have formic acid as a weapon, their sheer numbers are enough to take down any small creature in its path. (When my coworker opened the worm bin I was witness to millions upon millions of them, and saw them make a bridge out of their own bodies for the colony to retreat. It was pretty cool even if they are unwelcome visitors) The 6 baby roaches were safe because they were in a separate tank. This tank had no lid, so my friend had lined the top with vaseline to keep the babies from escaping. Apparently that was enough to keep the ants out. I now have them separated into 2 tanks (1 male and 2 females in each) I feed them fruits and veggies, and I take them out once in a while to freak people out mostly. I do think this experience is helping me to see roaches differently. But I will have to wait and see what happens the next time I come across the dreaded palmetto bug.
TinaTardigrade has written 2 entries about this goal
I love insects & arachnids. They are one of my favorite subjects within the broad spectrum of my love for the natural world. I often teach children about them, and am constantly seeking seeking new knowledge and learning more about them myself.
At work I hold 2 different species of scorpion, and though I have been stung once Im really not afraid of them. Ive made nice with giant hairy tarantulas and have even posed for a photo shoot with a huge one on my face. But just the sight of that one specific breed of cockroach, the American Cockroach (what most folks around Miami call palmetto bugs) and I shudder and turn to run.
We had 2 giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches at work and they were awesome. I held them and pet them without a problem. There are something like 4,000 known species of cockroach, like neon green ones the size of your hand, white ones that blend in with snow, and small digging cockroaches that live in the soil. (None of which are known to transmit diseases like the American variety)
But that is not what makes me fear these guys. Im not thinking of germs when I see one crossing the sidewalk and have to give it a wide berth. I actually am not thinking anything except I have to get the hell out of here.
When my parents divorced I was 6. My mother, little sister and I moved into an apartment that was crawling with palmetto bugs. When we ate dinner I had to sit cross-legged with my chair 2 feet away from the table so one wouldnt crawl down my leg. Lying in bed at night, as my eyes adjusted to the light I could see them clustered up on the ceiling, 10, 11, 12 above my bed and I would pray that they wouldnt fall down on me. My mother would call the exterminator, the roaches would vanish for a week or two (no doubt taking a vacation at the next-door-neighbors by way of the holes in our walls) then return bigger and badder superbugs who could eat poison like candy.
Still, when you think about them as individual organisms they are harmless creatures. Of course its not healthy to have roaches all up in your house making themselves comfortable, and if I had a roach infestation I would take steps to deal with it. But I see no reason to let the occasional roach I happen upon frighten me and I would like to face this fear and conquer it.
