Markets in everything :: what's the value of a roach?

In the local market of Houston, TX they trade for 25 cents a piece.

Free exchange/economist.com reports:

Houstonians have an unusual money-making opportunity this month. The Houston Museum of Natural Science wants to build an insect exhibit and needs 1,000 roach colonists. And it is willing to pay—25 cents apiece.

That sounds like a great opportunity. There are trillions of cockroaches in Houston, and they are not hard to find in the summer months. But there is a catch. The museum wants them alive. Entomology curator Nancy Greig gave readers of the Houston Chronicle a step-by-step method for capturing roaches. First, you cover a glass jar with pantyhose. (These are still in fashion in Houston.)

Who knew roaches were scarce? Perhaps the museum is hoping to get a group of cockroaches together that aren't inbred?