Turkmen cockroaches: useful "pests"

What does a Turkmen cockroach look like: photo

Description of the Turkmen cockroach

Name: Turkmen cockroach
Latin: Shelfordella tartara

Class: Insects - Insecta
Squad: Cockroaches - Blattodea

	Habitats:	forest floor, mosses
	Dangerous for:	does not pose a threat
	Attitude towards people:	grown for food

The body size is from 2 to 3 cm. The color is brown-black. The color of females is almost black with red spots on the sides. Wings in females are not developed. Males are brown or reddish with developed wings.

Imagoes of Turkmens are slender, males seem a little larger than females precisely due to the wings. And the males look brighter. But at the stage of nymphs, it is impossible to determine the sex.

This species is a bit like the red cockroach, a well-known pest and parasite.

Life cycle of Turkmen cockroaches

A couple of Turkmens.

After mating, the females wear the ootheca for several days. Then they dump it and bury it in the ground. A month later, about 20 larvae appear.

Within 4,5 months, cockroaches molt 3 to 4 times. The life cycle is usually 8 to 10 months. Postponement of ootheca occurs every 2-2,5 weeks. Thanks to this rate of reproduction, the population is growing every day.

Diet of Turkmen cockroaches

Adult Turkmen cockroach.

Turkmen cockroaches feed on cereals, cereals, apples, grapes, melons, pears, watermelons, carrots, cucumbers, beets, eggs and poultry meat. Sometimes arthropods are fed even dry cat food.

Insects need a varied diet. Otherwise, they have aggression and cannibalism. Uneaten food must be removed so that the process of decay does not begin. It is not recommended to feed the pest with tomato and pumpkin. This can lead to a deterioration in the taste of the cockroach.

Habitat of Turkmen cockroaches

Insects outnumber black cockroaches in terms of the number of eggs and the rate of reproduction. Thus, Turkmen arthropods are replacing typical representatives. Cockroaches prefer underground containers, electrical boxes, voids in concrete, cracks, crevices, hollow block walls.

Habitats:

Who is fed Turkmen cockroaches

Many people prefer exotic pets. For this purpose, they breed Turkmen cockroaches. Pests feed on hedgehogs, spiders, chameleons, praying mantises, possums, ants.

Cockroaches are the best diet due to their soft chitinous shell, lack of odor and low resistance ability. They have a high protein content and easy digestibility of all components.

For its high nutritional value, the Turkmen cockroach is valued higher than crickets and mealworm larvae.

Breeding Turkmen cockroaches

Turkmen cockroaches are very nutritious food. But they do not have a lot of calcium and vitamin A. The advantages of breeding include:

• unpretentious care;
• rapid reproduction and growth;
• lack of emitted sounds;
• inability to move in a vertical plane;
• the impossibility of eating the shell of invertebrates during the molting period.

To breed pests you need:

• keep cockroaches in a glass aquarium or plastic container;
• drill small holes in the lid to allow air to circulate;
• put the substrate on the bottom. It can be coconut shells, sawdust, tree bark;
• install a drinking bowl, at the bottom of which there should be foam rubber or cotton wool;
• maintain a temperature regime from 27 to 30 degrees;
• avoid high humidity.

Often, in addition to the Turkmen species, the Madagascar and marble cockroach are also bred.

Turkmen cockroaches and people

Breeding Turkmen cockroaches.

The Turkmen species of cockroach is considered safe for humans. It does not bite, the mouth apparatus is not so developed as to bite through human skin. The insect is not poisonous and has a calm disposition.

Even if a cockroach or a few individuals escape, they do not breed in the home and do not become natural pests.

However, it is necessary to be careful for those who suffer from asthma or are allergic. Excrement and remains are an allergen, and those suffering from respiratory diseases should refrain from breeding and working with this species.

Conclusion

For a long time, crickets have been the most popular exotic pet food. But Turkmen cockroaches have become a great alternative. Long life expectancy and cheap maintenance played a significant role in this matter. Turkmen cockroaches can be easily purchased online at any time.