Do you ever have an overpopulation of these guys at work? (I am assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that these pics are from work.) If so, what do you do with the extras? Ours breed like there is no tomorrow. I have heard there is controversy as to whether or not it is safe to feed these guys out. I am just curious as to your opinion on the subject.
They kinda skeeve me out. Especially since they make noise. Gak. The idea of trying to go to sleep to the noise of sussurant cockroaches makes my neck hair stand up. Yuck.
Thanks! glad you like 'emurbpanJune 7 2005, 13:17:32 UTC
They come out of they're exoskeletons and are white and soft. After an hour or two, they grow new dark exoskeletons (it looks like they're just getting darker). I'm not sure if the exoskeleton gets its strength from the pigment or what. The main thing is that the exoskeleton can't grow, so they shed it, grow a little bit (stored energy?) and develop a new exoskeleton.
To my knowledge, there is no such thing as an albino insect, so if someone says they saw one, they actually saw a freshly-molted insect. Our other captive insects (crickets and mealworms) do it too.
Re: Thanks! glad you like 'embrush_ratJune 7 2005, 15:08:52 UTC
Going back to my Lobster/cockroach comparison, I'm sure you know that Albino Lobsters are blue...um, maybe. my attempts to find a picture of one turned up this FAQ from Woods Hole which credits the blue coloration to a genetic mutation, which I suppose could be a fancy way of saying albinism. I think there may still be one in the Boston Aquarium. here's the link to Woods Hole.
"Professor Art-school dropout" teaches his albinism classurbpanJune 7 2005, 15:48:59 UTC
I'm working on this one. Albinism is a lack of the ability for melanocytes to produce melanin. I don't think insects and crustaceans have melanocytes. There is a pigment mutation that causes blue lobsters, and there are other color mutations too, including white.
Some enthusiasts have managed to produce these mutations in captive specimens. (don't be thrown by this article's misuse of the word "species" where they mean "breed" or "variety.")
Much searching for phrases like "albinism in animals" turned up no invertebrates--except for lobsters. The normal pigment in lobsters is dark green, not the brown color we associate with melanin. I think those instances that articles refer to "albino lobsters" they are using the term out of convenience. In other words there are lobsters that have a genetic mutation that results in lighter color, but not albino lobsters, technically. (What I mean is, albinism in birds, snakes, gorillas and humans is caused by the same genetic mutation, an alteration of a gene that lobsters--being far
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To my knowledge, there is no such thing as an albino insect, so if someone says they saw one, they actually saw a freshly-molted insect. Our other captive insects (crickets and mealworms) do it too.
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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://aquarium.nefsc.noaa.gov/FAQs/GeneralFAQ/images/bluelob2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://aquarium.nefsc.noaa.gov/FAQs/GeneralFAQ/&h=212&w=350&sz=27&tbnid=87UNhSdrsK8J:&tbnh=70&tbnw=116&hl=en&start=7&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblue%2Blobster%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN
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Some enthusiasts have managed to produce these mutations in captive specimens. (don't be thrown by this article's misuse of the word "species" where they mean "breed" or "variety.")
Much searching for phrases like "albinism in animals" turned up no invertebrates--except for lobsters. The normal pigment in lobsters is dark green, not the brown color we associate with melanin. I think those instances that articles refer to "albino lobsters" they are using the term out of convenience. In other words there are lobsters that have a genetic mutation that results in lighter color, but not albino lobsters, technically. (What I mean is, albinism in birds, snakes, gorillas and humans is caused by the same genetic mutation, an alteration of a gene that lobsters--being far ( ... )
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