Family ties and home territories of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, behavior in the open area, appearance, tips on content, interesting facts. Well, who is not familiar with such a living creature as a cockroach? Probably, if not you personally, then someone from a large circle of your relatives and friends came across such undesirable residents in their apartments, from which it is not so easy to get rid of. But today there are two types of people - those who, using all possible means and methods, are trying to get rid of annoying guests, and those who buy them in the markets and in pet stores in order to keep them in their home.
Of course, there is a significant difference between those insects that are considered pests and those that are bred as pets. But the essence remains the same - both those and other cockroaches. Imagine just the reaction of your grandmother, who found out that in your apartment you are not keeping a kitten, not a puppy, or even a guinea pig, but a cockroach. She will think that you are completely out of your mind!
But modern people from Europe and many Asian countries consider this a very fashionable and popular phenomenon, but all the trends that come to us from abroad automatically become something for granted, but in Australia they are almost the most common pets. Many people immediately have a dilemma: "How is it that a Frenchman or an Italian gets himself a cockroach or a spider, and I'm worse?" Moreover, such previously popular attributes as an aquarium and even a terrarium are already gradually fading into the background, an insectarium has come to replace them.
But not all people bring these living beings into their homes in order to love them and take care of them in every possible way. Many people use insects as live food for various domestic animals such as tarantulas, tarantulas and a variety of reptiles.
In order to make living in the same territory with such exotic pets comfortable and not promising any unpleasant moments, it would be better to get to know them better before you go to acquire them.
The origin and birthplace of the Madagascar hissing cockroach
Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is an amazing character in various books and encyclopedias about insect life, belonging to the class of the same name, the cockroaches family and the genus Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
This representative of the living world of the planet reveres as his native land the large and distant island of Madagascar, which is not difficult to guess, following from its name. It is there, among the fallen leaves, in the bark and on the trunks of trees, and on the branches of shrub plants, that such wonderful creations of nature live.
Description of the exterior of the Madagascar hissing cockroach
The most distinctive feature of the Madagascar insect from all other representatives of the huge cockroach family is that the purebred hissing insect completely lacks wings, moreover, at absolutely all stages of development. In most of all their relatives, these flying elements are not observed only in larvae, and already more mature representatives of the cockroach empire have wings and even feel very confident in the process of flight. If we talk about hissing representatives of the fauna of Madagascar, then sometimes it is not so easy to distinguish a nymph from a more mature individual.
If you have the opportunity to see this miracle of nature with your own eyes, you will easily recognize it as the Madagascar cockroach. After all, you will definitely not meet such a large insect in our apartments. The size of an adult can reach approximately 7 to 9 cm, the female half is usually 1–2 cm larger than the male. This is one of the hallmarks of sexual characteristics.
Also, mother nature awarded them with some more features of their appearance - this is a very powerful shield formed from chitin, which is located on the insect's cephalothorax, in addition to this, cockroaches have a fairly large and thick abdomen.
The color of the popular arthropod is not entirely uniform, the projection of the celiac cavity is usually slightly lighter and is presented in light red tones, but the color scheme of the entire body, painted with darker shades of brown, sometimes even blackish. Usually, males are very easy to distinguish from females; this sex characteristic is some cone-shaped outgrowths that resemble horns, they are located on the front of the chest. The female half has no such outgrowths and their pronotum has a smooth and even surface. There are also representatives of the stronger sex in whom these horns are absent, but, nevertheless, it is still possible to understand sexual dimorphism. First, you should pay attention to the antennae of the cockroach, in males they are usually far from being in perfect condition, broken and twisted, since they use the mustache in the fight for the attention of the female. In females, on the contrary, the whiskers are neat and well-groomed. If this difference does not help, it is necessary to look at the belly of the insect. The first thing you need to pay attention to is the size - in females it is usually much wider than in males, the second sign is that in the “female” cockroach the last two abdominal segments are painted in a coal-black color, but in “men only one.
Wildlife behavior of a hissing cockroach
Living in an open area for these little "animals" is a real struggle for survival. After all, they are large only among their relatives, but in comparison with all the inhabitants of Madagascar, it is probably impossible to find more tiny and helpless creatures. For this reason, cockroaches are very alert and fearful. In the daytime, they usually carefully hide in the fallen leaves or dense thickets of the tropical forests of the island, and at night they feel more confident and safe, they can afford to crawl to the surface of their shelters in order to replenish their reserves of strength and energy.
But if all their precautions have failed and some predator still overtook them, this desperate fighter for the right to life is not going to give up. It clings with all its strength to the surface of the tree, from which it is very difficult to tear it off, and because of the smooth dorsal covering, no predator can grab it from above.
Another, and perhaps the most important weapon of these insects is their specific frightening sound - hiss. Thanks to this, the cockroach got its unusual name. These sounds are not so much fierce and scary as unexpected and somewhat reminiscent of the hissing of some snakes, and then dangerous predators begin to retreat. A representative of the Madagascar fauna is able to emit these signals due to its anatomical and physiological characteristics. The thing is that it has special respiratory organs located on the body. When the cockroach sharply bends the body at the right angle, the lungs contract and this sound is obtained. Moreover, the faster and stronger he bends his little body, the shrill and louder the sound turns out, sometimes it can resemble a loud whistle.
But in the family of effervescent arthropods there are also the strictest rules, both males and females can make this peculiar sound, but only the female half can afford to hiss only in case of danger lurking her, but men also use these sounds as serenades in mating season.
Madagascar cockroaches feed on the rotting remains of berries, various fruits, leaves and shoots of plants.
The life span of these insects under natural selection is on average 1–2 years, sometimes it happens that they live up to the “retirement” age - 5–6 years, but this is a very rare phenomenon.
These arthropods are representatives of the viviparous species. Immediately after the end of the fertilization process, the eggs tend to stick together in the abdomen of the female, which forms a kind of chamber, which is called the ooteca. Basically, this formation is located in the abdomen of the female, but she has the opportunity to expose it through the anus, this procedure serves to ventilate the eggs. Eggs develop in about 50–80 days, the rate of their development depends on the ambient temperature; in cool weather conditions, developmental delay may be observed.
The birth of babies is as follows: first, the nymphs emerge from the eggs into the cavity of the mother's body, after which they immediately appear outside together with the residual elements of the ooteca. Newborn babies are tiny, their bodies are only a few millimeters long. The mother's ooteca serves as their first food. After a few hours, the color of their bodies becomes noticeably darker, and they look like adult cockroaches only in a reduced size. At the end of one so-called pregnancy of the female, approximately 15–25 small cockroaches are born. Their childhood usually does not last long, only a few days, then they leave their mother and spread out in different directions of their adult independent life.
Maintenance of Madagascar mutees, home care
The fact that an unusual pet lives in your house has its advantages: it takes up very little space, which should please the owners of small apartments. Also, the cockroach does not emit unpleasant odors, it does not need to be cleaned regularly, and the most important thing is that it does not need to set aside time for it to take it out for a walk.
- Personal accommodation for the Madagascar cockroach. As a house for a new tenant, an aquarium made of plastic is perfect, in which you can keep fish or small rodents. If we talk about the size of this container, then you need to take into account the number of members of your cockroach relatives. It is best to adhere to the rule that one individual should have a volume of 1 liter. You can take such an aquarium with you if you are planning long trips or business trips and this is its plus.
- Feeding. In grubs, such an insect does not touch at all. He will never give up apples, bananas, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, celery and many fruits and vegetables. You can safely feed your cockroach with various cereals and even bread and cookies. Soon you will understand what your tenant likes more. From time to time it is necessary to pamper him with greens. Also, to improve health, it is advisable to feed it with special vitamin complexes. It should be borne in mind that if you decide to try to feed your arthropod cat or dog food, then this is not worth doing, he, of course, will not refuse and will gladly gobble up another portion, but whether he will remain alive after such a feast is the next question. The fact is that insecticides are often included in the composition of these feeds.
- The optimal amount of liquid. A very common cause of death of Madagascar hissing cockroaches is dehydration of their small organisms. For this reason, your pet should be getting enough nutritious moisture. They usually get their water from various fruits, but if you want to provide your friends with clean drinking water, then it's yours. It should be remembered that you cannot put a container filled with liquid on them, because due to its small size, the insect can easily drown. To avoid such an unpleasant situation, you need to put on a small plate a certain amount of cotton wool or foam rubber, which is pre-soaked with water, they will gladly travel around such a structure and drink some water - it is both more fun and safe for them to live.
- Litter. You can use whatever your heart desires as bedding. Whether it's sawdust, paper, coconut, sand or compressed litter for the litter box, your pet doesn't care, it can do well without flooring. Cockroaches do not require daily cleaning, but from time to time you will still have to change the substrate, since ticks often start in stagnant soil.
- Entertainment for the Madagascar hissing cockroach. In order for the insects not to get bored, it is recommended to install various devices so that they can use up their energy there, as well as shelters. You, of course, can buy everything at a pet store, or you can do it yourself. These can be houses made of small boards, small stairs, you can make a building from several cardboard trays from chicken eggs. Also furnish the insectinarium with a variety of branches and snags, so your friend will feel just like at home. It is recommended to lubricate the sides of the insect dwelling with petroleum jelly, this will prevent your cockroaches from crawling out of their possessions.
- Suitable climatic conditions. Due to the fact that these hissing arthropods came from hot Madagascar, they accordingly need similar environmental conditions, otherwise their life expectancy will be significantly reduced.
- Air temperature in the aquarium of Magaskar cockroaches should range from 25 to 32 degrees. In the event that such thermometer indicators are not familiar to your home, then you will have to take care of additional heating devices. Indeed, at lower temperature indicators, the insect may not die, but the fact that offspring should not be expected from it is unambiguous.
The coefficient of air humidity for these arthropods is also a very important indicator, but hissing cockroaches are able to adapt to its changes. Ideally, the humidity in the aquarium with them should be approximately 60-70%. But this is not so categorical. In order to maintain comfortable conditions for your pets, it is enough to spray their apartment with hot water 1-2 times a week using a spray bottle. Alternatively, you can put a small jar filled with liquid in the aquarium, which is best closed with a gauze lid.
Interesting facts about Madagascar cockroaches
The fact is that the cockroach is a universal living creature, some see it as a pest, some as a pet, but well-known filmmakers were able to discern acting talent in them. During the existence of Hollywood cinema, Madagascar hissing cockroaches have played more than one role in cinema.
For example, the film "Slammer" with the legendary Sylvester Stallone, there, in the cockroach race, these insects took part. Arthropods did not remain without a role in the legendary saga about Indiana Jones, as well as in "Mutants". Viewers noticed their vocal abilities in Joe's Apartment. In the family comedy "Problem Child", the vociferous arthropod got a very important role - he was put on the plate of his hated stepmother during dinner. But the role of the villain in the world famous film "Men in Black" brought him almost worldwide fame. Perhaps these are the future Academy Award winners?
Another interesting but unpleasant fact for defenseless insects is that fried Madagascar hissing cockroaches are one of the many traditional dishes of Thai cuisine. Those gourmets who have tasted such an exotic dish claim that they taste like ordinary domestic ham, but only this dish is much healthier, since it is very rich in protein and does not contain fat.
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