Japanese cockroach

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Japanese cockroach
Periplaneta japonica.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Blattidae
Genus: Periplaneta
Species:
P. japonica
Binomial name
Periplaneta japonica
Karny, 1908

The Japanese cockroach (Periplaneta japonica), also known as the Yamato cockroach, [1] is a cockroach native to Japan, adapted to cooler northern climates. [2] [3] [4] It has a flexible univoltine or semivoltine (one- or two-year) lifecycle, depending on the timing of its hatching, and is unusual in being able to spend two winters as diapause nymphs before reaching maturity. [3]

Contents

Description

Initial first-instar nymphs are dark brown, with white or brownish white tips of the maxillary and labial palps. Adults measure 25–35 millimetres (2+1⁄2–3+1⁄2 cm) in length, and have a shiny, uniformly black to blackish-brown body, with brown tarsi and maxillary and labial palps. The adult male's wings extend slightly beyond the body's length, while the female's wings are around half the body's length. [5]

Unlike most cockroaches, the major hydrocarbon in P. japonica’s cuticular lipids is cis-9-nonacosene. [6] Males have significant amounts of cis-9-heptacosene not found on females, as do P. australasiae and P. fuliginosa males and females. [6] Glucose, myo-inositol, scyllo-inositol and trehalose were found in overwintering nymphs and are thought to be a factor in their freeze tolerance. [7]

Freeze tolerance

Nymphs have been observed in the wild hibernating in subfreezing temperatures during winter in snow-covered habitats. [8] Overwintering nymphs were able to survive laboratory supercooling experiments in the −5 to −8 °C (23 to 18 °F) temperature range, enduring 12 hours of tissue freezing, [7] as well as recover from burial in ice. [1] The ability to walk on ice was also found to be unique among several cockroach species tested. [1]

Habitat

Primarily an outdoors species, populations are adaptable to living indoors in houses and buildings where food is stored, prepared, or served. [5] [9]

Defense

A P. japonica nymph alone or in sparse populations accumulates a viscous secretion along its rear dorsal surface, droplets of which it can be splashed some distance toward a threat through a shaking action. The presence of an aggressive species of ant, Formica exsecta , triggered this defensive response, rendering the ants helpless. [10]

Presence as an introduced species

Originally from Japan, P. japonica has spread to China, Korea and far eastern Russia, though it is considered a common pest primarily in central and northern Japan. [4] [5] [9] [11]

The species was found in New York City in 2013 by Evangelista et al., [12] : 581  [13] : 40  [14] the first time the species was found in the United States. [15] It was found by an exterminator beneath plantings in High Line, a Manhattan park, and was able to survive over a cold winter. [16] Scientists who confirmed the identity of the species through genetic testing theorize that it may have been imported in the soil of ornamental plants used in the park. [15] This identification demonstrates the use of DNA barcoding for urban pest control. [12] [13]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Tanaka, S (May 2002). "Temperature acclimation in overwintering nymphs of a cockroach, Periplaneta japonica: walking on ice". Journal of Insect Physiology. 48 (5): 571–583. doi:10.1016/s0022-1910(02)00077-x. PMID   12770085.
  2. ↑ Encyclopedia of Life. "Japanese Cockroach - Periplaneta japonica" . Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  3. 1 2 Tanaka, Seiji; Uemura, Yoshinobu (August 1996). "Flexible Life Cycle of a Cockroach Periplaneta japonica with Nymphal Diapause". Journal of Orthoptera Research (5). Orthopterists’ Society: 213–219. doi:10.2307/3503596. JSTOR   3503596.
  4. 1 2 Forman, Rob (9 December 2013). "Cockroach Never Seen Before in U.S. Is Identified in New York". Rutgers Today. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Robinson, William H. (14 April 2005). Urban Insects and Arachnids: A Handbook of Urban Entomology. Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN   978-0-521-81253-5 . Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  6. 1 2 Morris Rockstein (2 December 2012). The Physiology of Insecta. Elsevier Science. p. 236. ISBN   978-0-323-16157-2 . Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  7. 1 2 Tanaka, Kazuhiro; Tanaka, Seiji (October 1997). "Winter Survival and Freeze Tolerance in a Northern Cockroach, Periplaneta japonica (Blattidae : Dictyoptera)". Zoological Science. 14 (5). The Zoological Society of Japan: 849–853. doi: 10.2108/zsj.14.849 . ISSN   0289-0003 . Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Yuichiro, Tabaru; Atsushi, Kobayashi (1971). "Outdoor hibernation of Periplaneta japonica (Blattaria: Blattidae) in snowy area" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Sanitary Zoology (in Japanese and English). 22 (2): 76–77. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  9. 1 2 Resh, Vincent H.; Cardé, Ring T. (22 July 2009). Encyclopedia of Insects. Academic Press. p. 110. ISBN   978-0-08-092090-0 . Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  10. ↑ Ichinose, T; Zennyoji, K (1980). "Defensive behavior of the cockroaches, Periplaneta fuliginosa Serville and P. japonica Karny (Orthoptera: Blattidae) in relation to their viscous secretion". Applied Entomology and Zoology. 15 (4): 400–408. doi: 10.1303/aez.15.400 . ISSN   0003-6862 . Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Catalogue of Life – 19th November 2013: Species details". Catalogue of Life . Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  12. 1 2 Foottit, R.; Adler, Peter H. (2017). Insect Biodiversity : Science and Society (2 ed.). Hoboken, NJ, USA. pp. xxxi+867. ISBN   978-1-118-94556-8. OCLC   972640368.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) ISBN   978-1-78064-537-7. ISBN   9781118945537.
  13. 1 2 Dhang, Partho (2016). Climate Change Impacts on Urban Pests. CABI Climate Change Series – Climate and Weather Series. Vol. 10. Boston, MA, USA. pp. ix+189. ISBN   978-1-78064-538-4. OCLC   950084506.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) ISBN   9781780645377.
  14. ↑ Evangelista, Dominic; Buss, Lyle; Ware, Jessica L. (1 December 2013). "Using DNA Barcodes to Confirm the Presence of a New Invasive Cockroach Pest in New York City". Journal of Economic Entomology . 106 (6). Entomological Society of America (OUP): 2275–2279. doi: 10.1603/ec13402 . ISSN   0022-0493. PMID   24498724.
  15. 1 2 "Cockroach that can endure cold moves into NYC". USA Today. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  16. ↑ Frishman, Austin M.; Bello, Paul J. (October 2013). The Cockroach Combat Manual II. Author House. p. 8. ISBN   978-1-4918-2064-3 . Retrieved 9 December 2013.
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