| Periplaneta japanna | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Blattodea |
| Family: | Blattidae |
| Genus: | Periplaneta |
| Species: | P. japanna |
| Binomial name | |
| Periplaneta japanna Asahina, 1969 | |
Periplaneta japanna is a subtropical field-dwelling cockroach endemic to southern Japan. [1] The Japanese common name means urushi cockroach, or lacquer tree cockroach. [2]
Nymphs and adults are a dark black, and typically live under stones and pieces of wood. [1] Their ability to bore or live in rotting wood enables their spread via ocean currents. [3]
The species is found on several Japanese islands, distributed continuously from Japan's southwestern Ryukyu Islands chain to the south of Kyushu Island, and on Hachijō-jima Island. [1] [4]
Nymph specimens from Hachijō-jima Island and Naha, Okinawa responded to photoperiodic stimuli quite differently during laboratory-induced diapause tests. This “might be regarded as the result of divergent evolution” between the parapatric populations. [1]