Together with Mexican hairless dogs, Sphynx cats and Vietnamese lop-eared pigs, the Madagascar cockroach confidently wins the title of an extravagant, but loved by many originals pet. It is difficult to call him a cute or very responsive friend (even the term "four-legged" is not suitable for him!), but many features of biology and a very original appearance make him an attractive pet for exotic lovers.
Moreover, Madagascar cockroaches are very convenient to keep: they do not stain the apartment and do not smell, they are harmless and calm, and in most cases they are not noticeable to guests at all.
Nevertheless, the Madagascar hissing cockroach still makes certain requirements for the conditions of detention. Therefore, for the successful breeding of these insects in the house, even before you buy them, you need to become well acquainted with the features of their biology and take into account the experience of hardened cockroach breeders.
The appearance of cockroaches and their photos
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are not one species, but a whole genus of cockroaches that live exclusively in Madagascar, and in other countries of the world found only in terrariums of amateurs or in random boxes with bananas.
In total, science knows 20 species of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, taxonomists are still arguing about the status of some of them.
A characteristic feature of Madagascar cockroaches is their lack of wings at all stages of development. In the vast majority of other cockroaches, only larvae are wingless, while adults (adults) have wings, and some species even fly very well. In Madagascar originals, it is sometimes even difficult to distinguish an older nymph from an adult insect.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches have a very characteristic appearance: a very powerful chitinous shield on the cephalothorax, a wide and rather thick abdomen. But their main feature is their size - adults of some species can reach a length of 9 cm! In the photo, you can easily estimate the size of a cockroach compared to a human hand:
The color of the abdomen of these insects varies from light red to almost black. As a rule, their nymphs are darker than adults and have a slightly more dense physique. The top photo shows early instar nymphs, the bottom photo shows one late instar larva:
The real decoration of the adult Madagascar cockroach are the peculiar outgrowths on the upper part of its chest shell. Only adult males have such "horns", and it is thanks to them that in some species males differ well from females.
In the photo above - a male, below - a female of the species Gromphadorhina portentosa - the most popular Madagascar cockroach:
In those species of Madagascar cockroaches in which males do not have outgrowths on their backs, sexual dimorphism is less pronounced. However, males can be distinguished from females by other signs:
- according to the condition of the whiskers - in males they are almost always broken and crooked, since insects actively use them in the fight for the female. In females, on the contrary, the antennae are even and whole. The photo clearly shows the differences between the sexes;
- along the last two segments of the abdomen: in females, both of them are black, in males, only the last one is black. And in general, females have a slightly wider abdomen. It is clearly visible in the photo.
In nymphs, the sexes cannot be visually distinguished. The nymphs themselves are very similar to adult insects, but their cephalothoracic shield is not as strongly developed as that of their parents.
Lifestyle and ecology of Madagascar hissing cockroaches
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are very timid and shy insects. Under natural conditions, they live in the jungles of Madagascar, hiding in the forest floor during the day, and at night crawling along its surface and eating various rotting plant and animal remains. They do not bite and cannot harm humans in any way.
To escape from predators, these insects have chosen guerrilla tactics: they try to give themselves away as little as possible by movement, and if a lemur or a bird finds them, they cling to the surface with all their might.
Due to the smooth back, the animal cannot grab the cockroach from above, and prying it from below also turns out to be a big problem. And then the cockroach throws out his trump card, for which he, in fact, was named.
Madagascar cockroaches can hiss very loudly and sharply. This hissing is reminiscent of the scaring sound of some snakes and is beneficial to cockroaches, as it can help them get rid of annoying pursuers. Such hissing can even frighten experienced terrariumists, since it is produced by insects very sharply.
All adult cockroaches hiss, using special organs for this - spiracles - on the surface of the body. It is enough for a cockroach to sharply bend the body and contract the lungs to make a hiss, which in some species resembles a whistle.
Female cockroaches hiss only in case of danger, scaring off enemies with this sound. Males use hissing additionally during the period of courting a female and during a fight with other males.
It is noteworthy that in the colony of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, a clear hierarchy is established among males. During the fight, the males push with their horns, and the weaker male eventually rolls onto his back, demonstrating his defeat. Most males wear some kind of damage on their body, received during fights.
Many are interested in how long Madagascar cockroaches live. As a rule, in nature, the average life expectancy of an insect is 1-1.5 years, in captivity - about 3 years.Very rarely, individual individuals live up to 5 or even 6 years. At the end of their lives, they tend to lighten a little.
Another equally interesting question is what Madagascar cockroaches eat. In this regard, they are no different from most other species, eating the rotting remains of fruits, berries, and green parts of plants.
It is interesting
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are constantly inhabited by one type of tick that is not found on any other living creature. At one time it was assumed that these mites parasitize insects, piercing their chitinous membrane and feeding on lymph or blood. But studies using colored liquids that cockroaches were given to drink showed that this was not so: ticks eat the same food that cockroaches consume - fruits and green parts of plants, and cockroaches themselves are used only as a vehicle.
Like all cockroaches, Madagascar hissers gravitate to places with a pronounced smell of wood or with the presence of wood dust and sawdust. Therefore, in nature, they are easiest to find in rotten stumps and under logs in the forest.
Reproduction of Madagascar hissing cockroaches
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are viviparous species. After fertilization, the eggs in the abdomen of the female stick together and form a special chamber - the ootheca. Most of the time, the ootheca is located in the abdomen of the female, but she has the ability to push it through the anus to ventilate the eggs.
It is interesting
In those species of cockroaches that reproduce by live birth, the ootheca has a light - white or white-yellow - color and seems soft. In other species, the females of which shed the ootheca long before the larvae emerge from the eggs, the ootheca is hard and has a protective coloration.The photo shows the ootheca of the Madagascar and the ootheca of the brownie black cockroach:
Egg development lasts about 50-70 days. This time depends on the ambient temperature - the colder the air, the longer the peculiar pregnancy lasts.
The nymphs emerge from the eggs in the body cavity of the female, after which they are immediately pushed out along with the remnants of the ootheca. Newborn larvae are small - only a few millimeters long - and have a soft white carapace. They diligently eat the ootheca and darken within a few hours, turning into small copies of their mother.
It is interesting
Madagascarians are one of the few cockroaches whose females take care of the nymphs. Until the larvae themselves spread in different directions, the mother hisses angrily at all insects and animals approaching her, and makes attacks towards a potential enemy.
In one brood of cockroaches, there are usually 20-25 larvae. A few days after birth, they stay with their mother, and then spread.
The chitinous cover of the larva cannot grow in size, and therefore the insect itself grows inside it, as in clothes. Several times during her childhood, the nymph molts - her shell cracks on her back, its halves diverge to the sides and a bright, grown-up nymph crawls out of it. Her new shell is soft and light, but while the insect eats its previous small shell, the integument of the body hardens, and the nymph acquires its usual dark brown color.
And further: Do not write off the chalk from cockroaches Masha - it really works, we checked it during the experiment ...
The larval stage from hatching to the last molt lasts from 6 to 12 months, depending on environmental conditions and nutrition. During this time, the nymph molts 6 times.
As a result, as a pet, the Madagascar will delight its owner for about 4-5 years. But for such joy, insects still need to create suitable conditions ...
Keeping cockroaches at home
Let's say right away that Madagascar hissing cockroaches are bred at home not only for pleasure, but also as a very convenient food for terrarium animals - lizards, amphibians, snakes, spiders. They are high-calorie, harmless to animals, do not emit an unpleasant odor, and, therefore, are very attractive as feed.
It is interesting
It is Madagascar cockroaches that are used as running insects in cockroach races. - a very popular entertainment in many countries of the world. In addition, they are also used for food, no matter how terrible it may sound - an adult insect is an excellent high-calorie source of protein, surpassing dietary chicken and veal in many respects. And today, extravagant couturiers even use live Madagascarians to make necklaces, but such animal life is unlikely to ever be widespread.
Regardless of the purpose, keeping Madagascar cockroaches at home is usually carried out in spacious plastic cages, in which:
- There is a sawdust bedding. It is undesirable to use softwood sawdust, but coconut dust or ordinary sawdust for cat litter will work perfectly. You can mix sawdust with sand. Bedding should be changed once a month to prevent tick infestation.
- There are shelters. The practice of cockroach lovers shows that egg trays laid one on top of the other are ideal shelters.
- A high temperature is maintained in the range of 25-30°C.Cockroaches normally tolerate a decrease in temperature to 18 ° C and an increase to 35 ° C, but at such extremes they stop breeding.
- Moist - The entire cage should be sprayed with water from a spray bottle at least once a week. In the ideal case - warm water, which will immediately turn into a mist, ideal for cockroaches. Constantly getting the substrate wet should be avoided - it can rot or become moldy.
Cockroaches constantly need water. In nature, he gets it from juicy fruits or with dew. In the cage, it is necessary to install a drinking bowl, in which cotton wool is placed and filled with water. Insects should not be able to drown, but they should have access to water.
Caring for Madagascar hissing cockroaches consists in spraying the cage with them with water, providing them with food regularly and adding water to the drinker. Knowing how to care for Madagascar cockroaches, you can ensure that they will breed very actively and live long enough.
You should not particularly puzzle over what to feed the Madagascar cockroaches. They perfectly eat any fruit (especially bananas), boiled cereals, vegetables, dry food for fish, bread. The main thing is that the food is constantly in their cage and is varied, otherwise the insects may exhibit cannibalism or begin to self-mutilate.
Buying a Madagascar cockroach in Moscow or another major city in Russia is not difficult: today they are sold in many bird markets and zoos. Knowing where to buy a Madagascar cockroach, many terrariumists do without food crops for their reptiles at all, constantly buying cockroach larvae of the right size.
Today, cockroaches can even be bought online.It is only important to consider that insects can travel in a packaged package for no more than 3-4 days, so you should choose an online store from those that are close to home.
Today, nymphs of Madagascar cockroaches cost about 100-150 rubles, depending on age, the price of adult cockroaches is about 400-500 rubles. Given the ease of maintenance, these insects can please even those nature lovers who cannot afford to keep a cat or dog, but want to have a little piece of the wild world in the house.
The nuances of keeping Madagascar cockroaches at home
Very interesting article. I'll try to get myself a couple of these cuties ... Tomorrow!
I can give) If you live in Moscow
How?
Yes, dad bought me 2 of these and 1 cub, at first they didn’t twitch, then they took root.
What cuties. I'll do it if my parents let me 🙂
I already have one, cool, loves music, almost no longer hisses at me.
Miracle, not a beast)))
I can take the male, Astrakhan. Or buy, but not expensive, for 50 rubles.
I have two of these, a male and a female.
How often will they breed?
Approximately every 4 months.
I have 2 of these: Bonya is a boy, and Masya is a girl.
Tell me if anyone knows. I have had a female Madagascar cockroach for a year now. Lives alone. And already twice an ootheca crawled out of it. How is this possible without a male? Or am I not understanding something? The cockroach just put it off and it dried up.
I don’t know, it actually looks like nonsense, but if this is really true, then this is definitely some kind of pathology.
And I have the same thing, and I read somewhere that this also happens and this is a variant of the norm. In general, I really like the way my female looks.
You need a male for fertilization.
Tell me, maybe I don’t understand something, but ... I bought 2 pregnant females of the Madagascar cockroach, after 10 days one of them brought about 20 offspring, I didn’t count. This happened on September 20, 2014. To date, 12/26/2014, most of the cockroaches have shed for the fifth time and are in the pre-adult stage. And two weeks ago the second female was born. So the question is: tell me, is it normal that cockroaches have developed so quickly? Indeed, in almost all forums they write that the stage of development from a nymph to an adult is 6-8 months.
Depends on the conditions of detention.
My female gave birth 4 times a year. Handed out to grown-ups. Now I have 35 adults.
Is it true that Madagascar cockroaches eat redheads?
Why does a cockroach have plaque on its paws?
I have a whole company of them. I breed myself. At first I took 4 females and 4 males, then as soon as they rushed, they bred like rabbits))
Hello everyone, I love these hissing cockroaches. I will buy inexpensively, for 100-50 rubles, Privolzhsk. Please respond, they just don’t sell them here, but I want them badly. Who lives in Ivanovo or Moscow - please bring it, I will buy it with pleasure.
I can sell. Moscow region, Chekhov.
And how many liters for housing do you need? )
It depends on the quantity, but you will understand it with time.
I have 2 cockroaches: Bonnie and Clyde.
I live in Ulyanovsk, but I can give away small cockroaches for free! I have 30 of them.
I have 3 males and 3 females. Females have become huge, directly fat and do not breed at all. The conditions for housing are cool, I feed fruits, etc.
Try only vegetables. And check the floor again. And make the temperature of the content 20-25 degrees.
I will buy Elliptorhina javanica, Gromphadorhina grandidieri, Princisia vanwerebecki. Who has such cockroaches - write, please!
I bought two cockroaches for the spider, but it's a pity to give it to him. In two weeks they multiplied, there are practically no conditions, but they breed. My wife plays with them every day.
I have a cockroach, she is alone, she will soon give birth to a nyasha.
I have a female and she ran away. And I'm afraid that she is pregnant and will give birth. How to poison them then?
Spider
In theory, it will not multiply outside the aquarium (or where you keep them there).
There used to be two cockroaches: Bonnie and Clyde, and then they bred. And then we sold the adults. But left two small ones. I don't even know what gender they are. They are now 2 cm long. I sometimes have them fight for food, although they are only 2 cm 5 mm long.
Yes, the story is like yours, I started with two, now there are more than a hundred)) By the way, I gave the names Bonnie and Clyde to my snakes))
Give (sell) a couple? For nephews. Moscow.
I can sell a couple
Where could I buy? Altai region.
Hello, but tell me, please, what could lead to stillborn cockroaches? The female did not give birth to the living, but shed the ootheca half open, but they are all dead and underdeveloped. Pregnancy lasted 2 months, the conditions of detention are correct!
My cockroach lifts strongly ass. What does it mean?
Wants to mate.
How to understand if my cockroach is pregnant? I thought it was a boy, I called it Kiryukha, and then I determined from the pictures that it was a girl. She is large, 6-7 centimeters, she took it from a large company, so contact with a man could well have taken place))
Altai Territory, Barnaul. I breed beetles, who are interested - write, I will sell.
Looks like I'm in your company now. My daughter brought me a cockroach, I don’t know who - he or she, they called Joe. It was a pity, our cat is at a loss, and I'm with him. Damn Joe...
And if the cockroach escaped, will it breed if it is a female? And then what to do, how to search?