A Dubia cockroach (Blaptica dubia) that extrudes and retracts the ootheca. But what is it and why does it do that? The egg packets of cockroaches and mantises are called ootheca. The Dubia cockroach is ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs remain in the body until the young are ready to hatch. The extruding of the ootheca occurs because it's the only way to move them from the ovary chamber to the brood chamber.

I keep a small group of cockroaches because they are good food for my animals. The terrarium is set up with an 11 to 15 centimeter high layer of coconut soil, which is piled up like a slope towards the back wall of the terrarium. In the lower area there are branches, leaves and pieces of bark, where the animals stay the most. The upper area stays free, only the feeding bowl is there. I only keep the soil slightly moist in places. These areas are visited by the animals from time to time and also cover their drinking needs. Springtails and microorganisms also live in the soil, which help to keep the terrarium clean. It smells very good like forest floor.

Many startle when they hear the word cockroach. Only about 30 species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. In a normal living situation, there is no need to worry about an infestation by these animals.

Desert locusts (Shistocerca gregaria) only do two things 🤷‍♂️

I feed them alive to my animals.
I have also tried freeze-dried grasshoppers myself. Tasted a little like sunflower seeds. Did you ever eat insects and did you like it? 😋

Green shield bug,
Palomena prasina
(07/2021 in Oberursel)


Little stinker in its fourth instar. Two moults remain until adulthood. It's a very common European species. You can find them from North Africa across Europe to Central Asia. It prefers to live on deciduous trees (linden, alder), bushes, nettles and thistles. I found this one below a linden tree. In German we call them Grüne Stinkwanze (green stink bug). My friends from North America have a very similar bug with that name (Chinavia hilaris). But they differ much in color in their larval stage and have a few small differences as adults. Both species are member of the Pentatomidae family, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. They have in common that they release a pungent defensive spray when threatened, disturbed or crrrrushhhhed.💚

Common darter (male),
Sympetrum striolatum
(09/2020 in Turnhout, Belgium)

Firebug nymph,
Pyrrhocoris apterus
(08/2020 in Oberursel, Germany)

Secrets of a Sunflower 🤫🌻

Can't wait for spring! 🌞🌼🐝

My buddy C-7 (Coccinella septempunctata) 🐞🌞

The sloth enjoyed a sunny Sunday along with Mother Nature! 🌞🌼🐝 ⠀
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🎶 Music: "Delta Blues"
👤 by Stefan Kartenberg 🔖 2020 - Licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)

Just a bark-eating zophoba beetle. In addition to isopods and springtails, they take care of the cleanliness of my corn snake terrarium. They cope better with the conditions in the terrarium than isopods and springtails. In the nature of their Central and South American homeland, they feed on guano from fruit-eating bats. In my terrarium they eat undiscovered remains of my snake. However, you should make sure that the zophobas don't take over. They could become a stress factor and life risk for the main residents. The larvae also like to eat styrofoam, from which many back walls are made. They eat almost everything! That's why it's important to keep an eye on it. Since zophobas pupate only in isolation, there is only a small risk of overpopulation (depending on the interior). Also, the larvae from the terrarium shouldn't be fed to other animals because this could spread diseases. If you notice that they become too many, you can put wet pieces of bark in the terrarium. An hour later you collect the bark together with the larvae and kill them friendly in the freezer. The easiest way is to collect the adult beetles and allow only a few to lay eggs. Because of these peculiarities, I cannot fully recommend it, but I have had good experiences myself. We're all pioneers with different experiences.