Diet and predators
In their native habitats, B. craniifer will feed on any organic food source available, including leaf matter. [1] In captivity, it is recommended they are provided foods like fresh fruit and vegetables, wet dog food and moist cereal. [3] B. craniifer is potential prey for both invertebrates, such as spiders, mantids, centipedes, and parasitoid wasps, and vertebrate insectivorous animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. [4]
Reproduction and sexual dimorphism
B. craniifer are ovoviviparous cockroaches and mate once at a time. The act of mating begins with the female emitting a sex pheromone, which stimulates loco-motor activity in the male to approach the female. [9] While the female emits the sex pheromones from pygidial glands, which are located posteriorly on the abdomen, [10] she will also assume a calling posture. The male touches the female with his antennae to assess her as a sexual partner. [11] The male raises his wings and wingsheaths vertically and rotates 180 degrees. [9] The female turns and moves towards the males' abdominal tergites, where an aphrodisiac sex pheromone made exclusively by males is emitted through secretions. A close relationship is known to exist between the release of these pheromonal signals from specific glands and the corresponding behaviours of female calling posture and male wing raising. [10] The female licks these secretions while the male slides backwards underneath the female and hooks the edge of the subgenital plate with his phallomere. The female allows insertion by the male into the genital atrium by turning 180 degrees and opening the abdominal cavity. [9]
The spermatophore is made by the male inside the females' genital atrium, which is rejected by her multiple days later due to the secretions of her spermathecal glands. Several days later, an ootheca is laid and placed by the female into her brood sac. The gestation period for B. craniifer lasts 55 to 65 days. After this period, the ootheca is ejected and the larvae free themselves from the embryonic covering. During the preoviposition period and during gestation sexual receptivity of females is inhibited. [9]
Both sexes have fully developed wings, but can be distinguished in that the females have a much larger subgenital plate than the males. [12] While sexual dimorphism of the antennae is often seen in other cockroach species, such as Periplaneta americana , no antennal sexual dimorphism is apparent in B. craniifer. [13]
Giant cockroaches, or blaberids, are the second-largest cockroach family by number of species. Mostly distributed in warmer climates worldwide, this family is based on the American genus Blaberus, but much of the diversity is also found in Africa and Asia.
The American cockroach is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. In certain regions of the U.S. it is colloquially known as the waterbug, though it is not a true waterbug since it is not aquatic. It is also known as the ship cockroach, kakerlac, and Bombay canary. It is often misidentified as a palmetto bug.
The German cockroach, colloquially known as the croton bug, is a species of small cockroach, typically about 1.1 to 1.6 cm long. In color it varies from tan to almost black, and it has two dark, roughly parallel, streaks on the pronotum running anteroposteriorly from behind the head to the base of the wings. Although B. germanica has wings, it can barely fly, although it may glide when disturbed. Of the few species of cockroach that are domestic pests, it probably is the most widely troublesome example. It is very closely related to the Asian cockroach, and to the casual observer, the two appear nearly identical and may be mistaken for each other. However, the Asian cockroach is attracted to light and can fly like a moth, while the German cockroach cannot.
The Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach is a species of burrowing cockroach. It is a common plant pest endemic to the Indomalayan realm that has spread to tropical and into subtropical regions around the world, and in isolated populations to temperate climates where protective habitat such as greenhouses provide shelter for individuals inadvertently shipped in the soil of plants. Its populations are almost exclusively female, and it reproduces through parthenogenesis, having evolved several clonal strains from its sexual progenitor P. indicus.
The Asian cockroach is a species of cockroach that was first described in 1981 from insects collected on Okinawa Island, Japan. It is a small species of cockroach, typically 1.3 to 1.6 centimetres long and tan to dark brown in colour with dark parallel stripes on the back of their heads. It is commonly mistaken with the German cockroach for their similar appearance. It is commonly found in the United States in and around houses.
The smokybrown cockroach is a large species of cockroach, winged, and growing to a length of 32–35 millimetres (1.3–1.4 in).
Cockroaches are insects belonging to the order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as pests.
The giant burrowing cockroach is also known as the rhinoceros cockroach, and Queensland giant cockroach. These cockroaches are native to Australia and mostly found in tropical and subtropical parts of Queensland. They are the world's heaviest species of cockroach and can weigh up to 30-35 grams and measure up to 7.5-8 cm (3.1 in) in length. It is a member of the family Blaberidae, which contains hundreds of species. It is part of the blaberid subfamily Geoscapheinae. It is prominent in the wild and can also be sold and kept as a pet.
Blaberus discoidalis, commonly known as the discoid cockroach, tropical cockroach, West Indian leaf cockroach, false death's head cockroach, Haitian cockroach, and drummer, is a cockroach native to Central America of the “giant cockroach” family, Blaberidae.
Blaberus giganteus, the Central American giant cave cockroach or Brazilian cockroach, is a cockroach belonging to the family Blaberidae. One of the world's largest cockroaches, it is native to the warm parts of the Neotropical realm.
Blaptica dubia, the dubia roach, orange-spotted roach, Guyana spotted roach, or Argentinian wood roach, is a medium-sized species of cockroach which grows to around 40–45 mm (1.6–1.8 in).
Therea petiveriana, variously called the desert cockroach, seven-spotted cockroach, or Indian domino cockroach, is a species of crepuscular cockroach found in southern India. They are members of a basal group within the cockroaches. This somewhat roundish and contrastingly marked cockroach is mainly found on the ground in scrub forest habitats where they may burrow under leaf litter or loose soil during the heat of the day.
Helicoverpa assulta, the oriental tobacco budworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. H. assulta adults are migratory and are found all over the Old World Tropics including Asia, Africa, and Australia.
The speckled cockroach, lobster cockroach, or (small) cinereous cockroach is a species of cockroach in the family Blaberidae. It is the sole species in the genus Nauphoeta.
Eublaberus distanti, known as the six-spotted, four-spotted, four-spot, or Trinidad bat-cave roach or cockroach, is a primarily cave-dwelling Central and South American cockroach of the genus Eublaberus and named after William Lucas Distant.
Cariblatta lutea is a small species of cockroach native to the United States and other countries, measuring usually around 7 millimeters long as an adult and under 2 millimeters from head tip to abdomen tip at the 1st instar or hatchling. It consists of two subspecies, the small yellow cockroach, and the least yellow cockroach.
Parcoblatta uhleriana, the Uhler's wood cockroach, is a species of Parcoblatta native to the United States and Canada. It is a forest species also found in disturbed and urban environments. The male of the species flies freely, while the female does not fly.
Parcoblatta lata, the broad wood cockroach, is a species of wood cockroach native to the United States. It is one of the largest species of wood cockroaches.
Lucihormetica verrucosa is a species of giant cockroach in the family Blaberidae, commonly known as the warty glowspot cockroach. It is native to Venezuela and Colombia.
Diploptera punctata, the Pacific beetle cockroach, is a species of cockroach in the family Blaberidae and subfamily Diplopterinae. It is one of the few cockroach species that is viviparous. Adults are chemically defended, having a modified tracheal gland and spiracle on each side which squirts quinones which can poison or discourage a predator.
