While stereotypically considered a household pest that simply will not die, Hung Ting-yang’s (洪鼎揚) experience with Archimandrita tesselata, commonly called the peppered roach, might change a person’s mind.
The peppered roach originates in South America, is omnivorous and, as it is capable of growing to 7cm to 9cm long, is a giant compared with other roaches, which have an average length of about 4cm.
The peppered roach goes through six separate chrysalis stages and takes nine months to reach full maturity. Mature roaches have wings, but cannot fly and can only glide. They have an average lifespan of three years.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
As his parents were against letting him keep dogs or cats as a child, Hung said that he raised insects and has been infatuated with them ever since.
He was introduced to peppered roaches when he was visiting an exhibition overseas, Hung said.
“My first thought when seeing the roach was: ‘Cool!’” Hung said.
Hung said that he started looking up information about the roaches after returning to Taiwan, and after discovering that there were others in Taiwan who kept them as pets, he decided he would join them.
“Raising the peppered roach’s larvae is more like raising stag beetles. You observe their every little movement, arrange better environments for them and enjoy watching them become a chrysalis,” Hung said.
It is important to raise the roaches in a perpendicular case, or simulate an environment with trees, as gravity’s pull on the cocoon is an imperative step in the roach’s survival, he said.
The golden-flecked membranous wings of the peppered roach are beautiful when viewed under the light, Hung said.
He stressed that the owner must constantly monitor the humidity and temperature of their habitat, as Taiwan is hotter than their original habitat.
“I keep the air conditioner on all day,” Hung said, adding that the roaches find it difficult to escape, as they are unable to walk on smooth surfaces.
He said he is not concerned about the roaches breeding if they escape, as they have many natural enemies.
“I hope that more people will come to appreciate their beauty,” he added.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS