Madagascar hissing cockroach: Difference between revisions
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The '''Madagascar hissing cockroach''' (''Gromphadorhina portentosa''), also known as the '''hissing cockroach''' or simply '''hisser''', is one of the largest species of [[cockroach]], reaching 2 to 3 inches at maturity. They are from the island of [[Madagascar]] off the [[Africa]]n coast, where they can be found in rotting logs. |
The '''Madagascar hissing cockroach''' (''Gromphadorhina portentosa''), also known as the '''hissing cockroach''' or simply '''hisser''', is one of the largest species of [[cockroach]], reaching 2 to 3 inches at maturity. They are from the island of [[Madagascar]] off the [[Africa]]n coast, where they can be found in rotting logs. |
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Unlike most cockroaches, |
Unlike most cockroaches, are gay They are excellent climbers and can scale smooth glass. Males can be distinguished from females by their thicker, hairier [[antenna (biology)|antennae]] and the pronounced "horns" on the [[pronotum]]. Females carry the [[ootheca]] (egg case) internally, and release the young nymphs only after the eggs have hatched. As in some other wood roaches, the parents and offspring will commonly remain in close physical contact for extended periods of time. In captivity, these insects can live 5 years. They feed primarily on vegetable material. |
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==Hissing== |
==Hissing== |
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Revision as of 16:32, 25 February 2013
| Madagascar hissing cockroach | |
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| Female Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Species: | Portentosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Gromphadorhina portentosa (Schaum, 1853)
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The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa), also known as the hissing cockroach or simply hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 2 to 3 inches at maturity. They are from the island of Madagascar off the African coast, where they can be found in rotting logs.
Unlike most cockroaches, are gay They are excellent climbers and can scale smooth glass. Males can be distinguished from females by their thicker, hairier antennae and the pronounced "horns" on the pronotum. Females carry the ootheca (egg case) internally, and release the young nymphs only after the eggs have hatched. As in some other wood roaches, the parents and offspring will commonly remain in close physical contact for extended periods of time. In captivity, these insects can live 5 years. They feed primarily on vegetable material.
Hissing
As the name suggests, the Madagascar hissing cockroach is characterized by its hissing sound, large size, and appearance. Their nickname, "hissing cockroach," is due to their ability to force gas through the breathing pores (spiracles) found on each segment of their thorax and abdomen.[1] The Madagascar hissing cockroach is believed to be the only insect that can hiss in this exact manner,[2] as most insects that make a "hissing" sound do so by rubbing together various body parts. (Some long-horned beetles, e.g., the giant Fijian long-horned beetle, can squeeze air out from under their elytra, but this does not involve the spiracles). This hiss takes three forms: the disturbance hiss, the female-attracting hiss, and the fighting hiss. All cockroaches from the fourth instar (fourth molting cycle) and older are capable of the disturbance hiss. Only males use the fighting hiss; they use it when challenged by other males. This establishes a dominance hierarchy by one of the males backing down and the fight being over. Males hiss more often than females. Males hiss sometimes as a challenge of battle.
Associations with other animals
The mite species Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi lives on this species of cockroach and takes some of its host's food. As these mites do not harm the cockroaches they live upon, they are commensals, not parasites, unless they build up to abnormal levels.
Popular culture
The Madagascar hissing cockroach has been featured in Hollywood movies, prominently in Bug (1975) as cockroaches who could set fires by rubbing their legs together and, in Damnation Alley (1977), as post-nuclear-war mutant armor-plated "killer" cockroaches. In Starship Troopers, a movie about a war against an enemy called "The Bugs," a teacher is shown encouraging her students to step on this species as part of a TV propaganda broadcast.
A Madagascar hissing cockroach has been used as the driver of a mobile robot.[3] They were used in the reality television series Fear Factor. The species also made an appearance in the movie Men In Black in 1997. This was later parodied in the comedy Team America: World Police (2004), where one emerges from Kim Jong-il's body after his death, enters a tiny spaceship, and flies away.
In September 2006, amusement park Six Flags Great America announced that it would be granting unlimited line-jumping privileges for all rides to anyone who could eat a live Madagascar hissing cockroach as part of a Halloween-themed FrightFest. Furthermore, if a contestant managed to beat the previous world record (eating 36 cockroaches in 1 minute), he would receive season passes for four people during the 2007 season. This is a difficult record to break because raw cockroaches contain a mild neurotoxin that numbs the mouth and makes it difficult to swallow.[citation needed] The promotion ended on October 29, 2006.
The cockroaches were used in a runway challenge for the sixth cycle of America's Next Top Model, in which they were adorned with colorful decorations and attached to the models with a leash while they walked the runway dressed in the Jared Gold "Glinka" collection – getting very mixed reactions from the models (as one of them in particular harbored a phobia of cockroaches).[4]
Mutated Madagascar hissing cockroaches figure heavily into the plot of the comic book The Exterminators.
On August 12, 1999, "Jungle" John LaMedica of Newark, DE, USA was placed in a plexiglass coffin with 20,050 giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches on the set of Guinness World Records Primetime in Hollywood, CA, USA.
Tyler the Creator featured a hissing cockroach in his video for Yonkers off of the album Goblin during which he bites the thorax off of the cockroach before vomiting it up.[5]
In season 3 of Sony's serialized reality program The Tester, these cockroaches are featured in the first episode's challenge Bug Out, where each contestant will have a square-glass box placed over their head with the cockroaches in them and then interviewed by the judges.[6]
On 12 July 2010, Yuri Samodurov and Andrei Erofeev, curators of the exhibition "Forbidden Art 2006", were being sentenced in the Tagansky Courthouse, Moscow, on charges of "inciting religious hatred". The conservative Orthodox group "People's Synod" had objected to exhibits which depicted Mickey Mouse and Lenin as Jesus Christ. Members of Voina entered the court building, intending to release approximately 3500 live Madagascan giant cockroaches. It is not clear to what extent they succeeded. The process of raising and collecting the roaches is documented, but no photographic evidence from inside the courthouse has been released. Activist Yekaterina Samutsevich, among those who planned to infiltrate the court with insects, was later prosecuted in the same courtroom, before being sentenced to probation in the Pussy Riot trial. [7]
As pets
Madagascar cockroaches can be kept as exotic pets. They require a small living area with an area for them to hide because they do not like the light. Due to their propensity to climb, the living area must be tested to see if they can climb it as they do in their natural environment. Fish tanks with screens work best but it is also wise to coat the first few inches with petroleum jelly to keep them from getting out. They can live on fresh vegetables along with any kind of pellet food that is high in protein, such as dry dog food. In the USA, some states require permits before this species can be kept as a pet or in breeding colonies.
The state of Florida requires such a permit. In fact, during outreach programs, the University of Florida's Department of Entomology and Nematology, which has such a permit, allows only males to be taken out of the laboratory. This is to prevent the possible introduction of a pregnant female into the environment.
References
- ^ University of Florida Entomology.
- ^ Debbie Clark and Donna Shanklin MADAGASCAR HISSING COCKROACHES, Gromphadorhina portentosa. University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.
- ^ "Cockroach Controlled Mobile Robot – Garnet Hertz". Conceptlab.com. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ^ Jared Gold's Cockroach Collection[dead link]
- ^ Tyler The Creator – Page. Interview Magazine. Retrieved on 2012-05-21.
- ^ The Teaster Season 3 Episode 1 – Bug Out! | Watch Full Episode – PlayStation®. Us.playstation.com (2012-05-14). Retrieved on 2012-05-21.
- ^ http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Voina
External links
- Madagascar Hissing cockroach as Pets
- CockroachGuy.com Care information and photos
- Rearing cockroaches and details of a society dedicated to keeping cockroaches
- Live roach cam
- Photos of Madagascar hissing cockroach – black form and Madagascar hissing cockroach – red form
- When Cockroaches Seize Controls – Cockroach-controlled mobile robot story in Wired News