With the sun shining and the days getting longer, spring is definitely in the air. And the animals in our collection clearly think so too!
Over at SOS2, we’ve had a small collection of invertebrates since last year. Our Giant Prickly Stick Insect shares a tank with some Indian Stick Insects, while our Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches have a tank to themselves.
Keeper Nick has been keen to promote a bioactive habitat for these animals, using natural substrate and micro-organisms to keep the tank clean and healthy. We’ve even had mushrooms growing in there!
Recently, we were concerned about the temperature overnight in the building, and decided that our tropical Inverts would temporarily be moved off show into a room where we can better control the climate. As Nick was moving the Cockroaches, he noticed something small crawling underneath one of their favourite hiding logs. Initially, he thought it was an Isopod, which includes Woodlice, which may have been introduced in the fresh leaf litter. But having had a closer look, it turns out that our Cockroaches have been busy and started to breed!
A tiny baby Madagascan Hissing Cockroach, which is about the size of a fingernail.
We counted 8 young Cockroaches during the move, but there are likely to be more hiding in the small crevices of the logs or in the substrate. This is exciting news as the female was only introduced to the males a few weeks ago!
One of the adults with some babies behind.
The Cockroaches will remain off-show for the time being, but over half term there will be opportunities to Meet our Minibeasts in special talks with the Keepers and our Education Team.