Pseudoglomeris magnifica “Emerald cockroach”

Pseudoglomeris magnifica is a diurnal cockroach species that can be observed all day long in search of something edible. It is not in a hurry at all, but moves carelessly until it reaches the highest point in the terrarium. On its way, it likes to nibble on everything it can find tasty. It especially likes to eat its fill of lichen, pollen and fruit. Afterwards she cleans herself extensively, completely unprotected in the enclosure, before continuing her walk. As the reproduction rate is very low for a cockroach species, with a maximum of 12 nymphs per litter and a gravidity (pregnancy) of up to 6 months, one could conclude that its appearance mimics that of an inedible species of rose chafer. This protective mimicry is relatively common in nature and this would be a logical conclusion for me. All we need now is the right beetle to go with this theory.

Container:

For a breeding group of 10 animals, you can start with our complete Isopod set. The size of 28x19x14 cm with a capacity of 5 l is also sufficient for a good time until the breeding group becomes too large for it. I can’t give you an exact time, as the temperature factor and the developmental stage of the breeding group also play a role.

We use our forest humus as substrate. As Pseudoglomeris magnifica likes to absorb water in the form of water droplets from the glass or leaves and should ideally be sprayed daily, choose a substrate height of 5-10 cm. This allows the substrate to absorb the water and prevents waterlogging. We also inoculate the forest humus with springtails, which utilize impurities such as droppings and leftover food and thus prevent mould.

We also offer them larger pieces of rotten wood. They like to eat small tunnels in them. They don’t seem to eat the wood, as we can always find fine sawdust next to it. More and more pregnant females can be found in these tunnels.

Branches and climbing opportunities should never be missing. You can always offer new, lichen-covered branches and thus enhance the food supply at the same time.

Pseudoglomeris magnifica are disk runners and therefore a tight-fitting lid is a must. The young nymphs are approx. 3 mm in size and escape from every crack, no matter how small. We use a foam seal for windows attached to the top edge of the box, with which we have had very good experiences.

You can offer the crawlers a 15 W spotlight as a heat source. It is not a problem if the temperature rises to 30 °C at the hottest point.

After fertilization, it takes another 4-6 months until the young nymphs are born viviparous (live-fermenting). Until the first moult, the freshly born nymphs remain on the underside of their mother. Whether this not only provides them with additional protection but also with milk protein crystals is still unclear. It takes about 6-9 months for the small nymphs to grow into sexually mature cockroaches. They can easily be kept with the adults during rearing.

Care and nutrition:

I keep catching myself looking at the moulting remains in the Pseudoglomeris magnifica terrarium in horror until I remember that the animals do not eat their shed skins and that they are hardly distinguishable from a dead cockroach. After shedding, the still soft chitinous shell has a white to ochre appearance, which changes back to its normal coloration during drying.