#[Misses periplaneta]

[crevicedwelling]

cockroaches have always been a group I hold in high esteem among the insects, and I saw a lot of nice ones in Singapore & Malaysia this past summer.

first is the tiny Pseudophyllodromia laticeps, whose name means ‘broad-headed’ but really most of its head are huge eyes! unlike the rest of these cockroaches, which are nocturnal, these flit around in daylight like houseflies and are just as quick to take flight when approached.

I’m not fully sure what these next two are, perhaps blatellids.

Allacta is another pseudophyllodromiid and a very charming one, with delicate white markings on a shiny black background.

epilamprines are a lovely group of blaberid cockroaches that are diverse in the area; these three were Rhabdoblatta of three different species. the last one there was probably the prettiest roach I saw on the trip; sadly it was found dead on the path.

Pseudophorapsis nebulosa is a big epilamprine that tucks away its appendages and resembles a dead leaf during the day.

I’m not sure what these next two were, possibly more blaberids?

a male Pycnoscelus indicus was a nice sight—while very common, I’m only used to seeing female Pycnoscelus surinamensis, which descends directly from that species! several lineages of P. indicus independently developed the ability to clone themselves instead of mating; these female-only strains are together known as P. surinamensis.

the roach on the right is Ergaula pilosa, a cute burrowing cockroach (Corydiidae).

these two nonnative species need no introduction: Periplaneta australasiae and Periplaneta americana (Blattidae), two species that are big “pest” roaches worldwide. these two were just chilling in the forest, however.

blattids are a funny group since one bunch are all “pest roach-y” (the blattines above) but the rest are strictly outdoor species ranging from wildly colorful Australian forms to bumpy, ornate archiblattines like this Catara rugosicollis. I missed getting photos of another lovely species, Protagonista pertristis, which sprayed my hands with an eye-wateringly-powerful scent of oranges before making her escape into the leaf litter.

[slash-em-up]

War of the Neighbors pt. 3: The Collector x Reader

To think... I started tonight thinking I was gonna write something cute and romantic for Valentine’s Day... instead I wrote @voorheehees worst nightmare... :3

Part 1 & Part 2

———————————————————————

As you stumbled down the hall early that morning, the last – the VERY last – thing you wanted to feel was a tiny body crunching under your bare foot.

You grimaced at the unidentifiable glob that used to be some kind of bug sticking to your skin as you hobbled the remaining few steps to the bathroom. Gross.

Taking a wad of toilet paper, you cleaned the bug from your foot, flushing it before undressing and starting the water for your shower.

Distracted by grabbing your loofah, you barely noticed the dark shape flying toward your face.

You turned and ducked just in time to avoid getting a face full of black wings and scuttling legs. Screeching in surprise, you watched the large roach land on the floor and skitter into the corner.

The shivers that wracked your body were completely involuntary as you scrambled for a towel, a bottle, anything to squash the nasty interloper.

A glance back to the tub caused you to let out an ear-splitting scream as your horrified gaze took in the half-a-dozen other roaches scrambling up and over the shower walls.

They were coming up from the drain.

Oh god.

Still screaming in absolute disgust, you whipped a towel around your naked form and ran from the bathroom.

You dodged several more flying and crawling vermin on your way down the stairs. When you slid to a stop at the kitchen entrance your worst fears were confirmed.

The clogged sink practically moved with the multitude of roaches crawling through the detritus of rotted food and dirty dish water you hadn’t been able to clean until your landlord got off his ass to fix your grinder.

Backing away with a gasp, you grabbed your phone from the side table and jerked the front door open, sprinting into the cool morning air.

You took a deep breath, trying to calm your racing heart as you shakily opened your phone and googled ‘Exterminator near me’.

The first result was ‘Master Trap Exterminator’… wait, that couldn’t be right… google said it was only 500 feet away?!

Involuntarily your eyes rose to scan the street – as if you’d missed a whole storefront in the months you’d lived here.

You blinked in shock as you saw the white van that definitely hadn’t been parked across the street last night.

Oh well, you weren’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Dialing, you tapped your foot impatiently as you felt goosebumps begin to form on your bare arms.

Someone picked up on the third ring.

“Yes?”

You sighed in relief.

“Is this Master Trap exterminators?”

“It is.”

“Oh thank god. I think you’re in my neighborhood right now – I have an emergency, there’s like a million roaches in my house. Please send someone over!”

“Where do you live?”

You gave the man your address.

“Alright. I’ll be over in 30 seconds.”

“Oh gre- wait… 30 seconds?!”

The disbelief quickly turned into horror as a tall shape rose from the porch swing of the house next to yours.

Your jaw dropped as your neighbor casually drained the last of a mug of coffee and sat it on his porch before sticking his hands into his kaki pants pockets and striding across his lawn to mount your steps.

Though his face gave nothing away, you got the distinct feeling that he was laughing at you as he took in your nearly naked and shivering self.

“How unfortunate. Roaches usually don’t congregate in houses… unless there’s something for them to feed on…”

Your mouth opened and closed without making a sound. What the actual fuck?

“Were you… waiting for me?”

The man was definitely laughing at you now - you could see a mean spark in his black eyes that loudly proclaimed his disdain for you, and humor at the situation; but what he said was:

“Don’t be ridiculous. Now do you want me to get rid of your roaches or not?”

You wanted to scream and rage; but you were feeling very vulnerable and more than a little upended by the way this morning had gone, so instead you simply nodded.

The man vaguely smirked.

“Good. Wise choice. Stay here.”

Withdrawing a large set of keys from his jacket he strode over to the Master Trap van and opened the back.

You plopped down on the stairs and watched as he rummaged around for a moment before withdrawing, holding two covered cages.

Feeling a sense of dread in your gut, you pulled yourself to your feet as your neighbor strolled casually past you and into your house. He deposited whatever was in the carriers inside and returned, closing the front door with a divisive BANG.

He turned to you.

“Here is the invoice for my services. I’ll be back in three days to pick up the geckos.”

Your eyes bulged out of your head.

“The WHAT?!”

“They’re natural predators of periplaneta brunnea. The four I released in your house should finish off the roaches and their eggs in a day or so.”

You were flabbergasted. The paper in your hand crinkled as you opened it and quickly scanned the contents.

$500 x per lizard charge for eco-friendly pest removal

Technician: Dr. Asa Emory

Oh dear god.

The man -Asa… what kind of a name was ‘Asa’ anyway? – was halfway down the steps before he snapped his fingers and turned to face you once more.

“One more thing. I’d keep my fingers away from the geckos if I were you. They bite. And just try to ignore their barking, it’s very normal.”

You let out a screech of indignation at Asa Emory as he offered you a brief, professional nod and walked back to his house without a second glance.

Shaking once more, from rage now instead of the cold, you turned and twisted the door handle.

It wouldn’t budge.

That bastard had locked you out!

You kicked the wooden door frame and yelled in anger and pain as your foot met unyielding oak.

If Asa Emory wanted to fight dirty, then by god you’d oblige him.

[crevicedwelling]

Mad bug update!!! None of the people in the comments were right, unfortunately, the person said they were not even similar, so i made a little image to help (should've done this in the first place)

Fuzz comment: the fuzz has been referred to be similar on texture to a caterpillar or a velvet ant, just short.

Color comment: the color has been noted to vary between almost red and yellow, most commonly rust.

Wings comment: the person is unsure whether or not it had wings, but they do not remember it flying at all.

Legs and head comment: both seem to be not very noticeable.

I can’t think of a single insect that maps to every one of these points, but there’s a good amount of them that catch more than one

we’ve got orange, but under an inch and not terribly fuzzy. not super water-dependent either

squash borers are sort of fuzzy and maybe have the “eyebrows” but are always active and flying

not just a cockroach right???

another hemipteran, not super fuzzy but a baby Leptoglossus? again, no ties to water

maybe I’m missing something here but I would love to figure this one out