The homeland of the American cockroach, which has a beautiful Latin name Periplaneta Americana, is considered distant Africa. Back in the 17th century, while establishing economic relations between countries, ships sailed from the African continent to America along the laid sea routes, delivering outlandish goods, gold, and slaves.
In boxes with packed goods, along with trade items, the indigenous inhabitants of the tropical regions, the ubiquitous insects, moved. In the same way, with agricultural products (Cuban sugar), the cockroach, later called American, entered Europe and spread across the continent with enviable speed.
The excellent adaptability of Periplanet's to any living conditions affected. The habitual habitat of the American cockroach, hot tropical forests, has been successfully replaced by a human dwelling.
The American cockroach is a citizen of the world
A true cosmopolitan that has spread throughout the world, the American cockroach still competes with fellow tribesmen of other species and usually does not live in the same territory with them. Favorite place of residence - warm collector systems, sheathing of sewer pipes, greenhouses.
If a place in the wild is chosen as a habitat, then this is a warm and humid haven, not far from a human settlement.Insects easily spread to rather cold regions of Europe and Russia, choosing residential buildings and industrial buildings for living with suitable conditions - humidity and temperature.
Large buildings with ventilation tunnels are also quite a good place to establish and quickly increase a colony of American cockroaches.
- The American cockroach is omnivorous. Preferring the garbage and leftovers of human food, he can also eat fresh agricultural products, paper, cloth, garbage from the genital crevices, soap, leather products, organic matter of plant and animal origin.
- Its unique adaptability allows it to endure even increased radiation. The lethal dose for a cockroach is 15 times that of a human.
- The body of an adult American cockroach, as seen in the photo, has a long, elongated shape, a shiny red or brown-chocolate chitinous shell and agile long segmented legs. This is a rather large insect, its length can reach up to 5 cm.
- The wings are well developed. Periplaneta Americana is a flying species of cockroach.
Reproduction of the American cockroach
These insects live in colonies and, under favorable circumstances, their numbers are constantly increasing. Their reproduction in rooms with sufficient food, optimal temperature and humidity occurs all year round.
Adult male American cockroaches have a genital plate of symmetrically arranged styli at the end of the abdomen. Females have an ootheca in their body - an egg sac, a special leathery capsule where an egg is laid.
The usual number of eggs is 12-16.A cockroach ootheca is formed from individual eggs that periodically descend through the oviduct into the egg chamber, where they stick together to form a capsule, using a special adhesive secretion.
The female American cockroach hides the pending ootheca in a secluded place. The egg develops into a larva in 20 days under favorable conditions.
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An adult cockroach is called an adult. The development cycle of cockroaches is incomplete. It is characterized by three stages: egg, larva and adult. The cockroach larva is also called a nymph. Moreover, the length of development of each stage directly depends on external factors and does not have a constant value.
Under all favorable conditions, the full development cycle of the American cockroach is 600 days, 400 of them pass in the adult stage. Unfavorable conditions for reproduction and development: low humidity and temperature, lack of sufficient food, can delay the insect development cycle up to 4 years!
Each female American cockroach can lay up to 90 ootheca in her lifetime. With the start of the reproductive period, the female can produce 2 ootheca per week.
In the larval stage, the insect experiences a period of molting 9 times, each of which makes it more and more like an adult. From an adult cockroach, the larva is distinguished by the absence of wings and reproductive organs.
“Kindergarten” for the first two or three weeks after hatching is taken under guardianship by several adult females at once. They help them adapt to the environment.
Looking at the photo, it is easy to determine that both larvae and adults of the American cockroach lead the same way of existence in a common colony.
At an ambient temperature below 0 degrees Celsius, cockroaches and larvae fall into suspended animation, their life stops, and death is possible with a subsequent decrease in temperature.
Despite the fact that almost all species of cockroaches reproduce by mating, there are species that reproduce by parthenogenesis, that is, an adult egg develops in the body without fertilization. In this way, a colony of the American cockroach is also able to grow. An interesting fact, but this species is also capable of the classical method of reproduction.
American cockroach. Benefit and harm
The reproduction rate of the American cockroach, its rapid growth and the taste preferences of terrarium animals, became the basis for breeding this species at home.
Cockroaches are bred in voluminous plastic containers or glass aquariums, with the obligatory presence of a tight-fitting lid.This is necessary because of the insect's ability to easily climb smooth sliding surfaces to avoid losing control of the colony.
Ventilation is also necessary - a soldered mesh with small cells. Peat, sawdust, coco substrate are laid on the bottom to simulate natural conditions. Food is dry and juicy food - oat bran, crackers, aquarium food and grated or chopped vegetables and herbs.
For all types of lizards and amphibians, American cockroaches are a universal food.
However, for ordinary people, cockroaches are pests, possible carriers of various diseases. Female sex secretions are considered the most powerful allergen for susceptible individuals, and can cause asthma attacks and complex forms of atopic dermatitis. Allergies are also caused by particles of chitinous cover, periodically dropped by insects.
A cockroach can even painfully bite a sleeping person, increasing the possibility of infection with pathogenic bacteria.
There are various methods of getting rid of American cockroaches. One of the possible ways is a strong cooling of the room, freezing. Naturally, this is possible only in the cold season in areas with frosty winters. All doors and windows in the room must be opened.
Freezing your home will significantly or completely get rid of insects, but you need to make sure that the radiators do not burst.
If this option does not suit you, then it makes sense to turn your attention to modern cockroach remedies, which are almost equally effective both from red cockroaches (Prussians) and from their American "brothers". Read more about this in the section "Remedies for cockroaches" on this site.
American cockroaches in the apartment
