American cockroaches

The homeland of the American cockroach, which has the beautiful Latin name Periplaneta Americana, is considered to be far away Africa. Back in the 17th century, establishing economic relations between countries, from the African continent to America, along the paved sea routes, ships went, delivering unusual goods, gold, slaves.

In the boxes with the packaged goods, the natives of tropical areas, ubiquitous insects, moved along with the items of trade. The same way, with agricultural products (Cuban sugar), the cockroach, later called the American, penetrated into Europe and spread across the continent with enviable speed.

Affected by Periplanet's excellent adaptability to any living conditions. The habitat habitat of the American cockroach, hot rainforests, successfully replaced the human dwelling.

 

American cockroach - a citizen of the world

This cosmopolitan,spread throughout the world, the American cockroach still competes with the tribesmen of other species and usually does not live in the same territory with them. Favorite place of residence - warm collector systems, plating sewer pipes, greenhouses.

If the habitat is a place in the wild, then this is a warm and humid haven, not far from the human settlement. Insects easily spread to rather cold regions of Europe and Russia, choosing residential houses and industrial buildings for living conditions with suitable conditions - humidity and temperature.

Large buildings with ventilation tunnels are also quite a suitable place to justify and quickly increase the colony of American cockroaches.

• American cockroach is omnivorous. Preferring garbage and remnants of human food, he can eat and fresh agricultural products, paper, cloth, garbage from the genital cracks, soap, leather products, organic vegetable and animal origin.
• Unique adaptability allows it to transfer even increased radiation. The lethal dose for a cockroach is 15 times greater than the human one.
• The body of an adult American cockroach, as seen in the photo, has a long, elongated shape, a shiny red or brown chocolate chitin shell and nimble long claws. This is a fairly large insect, its length can reach up to 5 cm.
• The wings are well developed. Periplaneta Americana - the flying kind of cockroaches.

 

Breeding american cockroach

These insects live in colonies and under favorable circumstances, their numbers are constantly increasing. Their reproduction in rooms with a sufficient amount of food, optimal temperature and humidity occurs all year round.

Adult males of the American cockroach at the end of the abdomen have a genital plate of symmetrically located stylus. The females have in their body a swell - an egg bag, a special leathery capsule where the egg is laid.

The usual number of eggs is 12-16. Ooteka cockroach is formed from individual eggs, periodically down the oviduct into the egg chamber, where they stick together with each other, forming a capsule, using a special adhesive secret.

A female cockroach hides a sheltered puff in a secluded place.An egg develops into a larva in 20 days under favorable conditions.

Adult cockroach is called imago. The development cycle of cockroaches is incomplete. It is characterized by three stages: the egg, the larva and the imago. The larva of the cockroach is also called a nymph. Moreover, the length of development of each stage directly depends on external factors and does not have a constant value.

Under all favorable conditions, the full development cycle of the American cockroach is 600 days, 400 of which pass through the imago stage. Unfavorable conditions for reproduction and development: low humidity and temperature, lack of sufficient food, can delay the development cycle of the insect up to 4 years!

Each female of the American cockroach is able to postpone for life up to 90 eotek. With the beginning of the reproductive period, the female can produce 2 dwelling per week.

In the larva stage, the insect experiences a molt period 9 times, each of which makes it more and more like an adult. The larva is distinguished from an adult cockroach by the absence of wings and organs of reproduction.

"Kindergarten" for the first two or three weeks after hatching take care of several adult females at once.They help them adapt to the environment.

Looking at the photo, it is easy to determine that the larvae and adults of the American cockroach have the same way of life in a common colony.

When the ambient temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius, cockroaches and larvae fall into hibernation, their life stops, and with a subsequent decrease in temperature, death is possible.

Despite the fact that almost all types of cockroaches reproduce by mating, there are species that reproduce by parthenogenesis, that is, the adult egg cell develops in the body without fertilization. This way the colony of the American cockroach can grow. An interesting fact, but this species is also capable of the classical mode of reproduction.

 

American cockroach. Benefit and harm

The speed of reproduction of the American cockroach, its rapid growth and taste preferences of terrarium animals, became the basis for the breeding of this species at home.

Bred cockroaches in bulk plastic containers or glass aquariums, with the obligatory presence of a tight-fitting lid. This is necessary because of the ability of the insect to easily climb on smooth sliding surfaces, to avoid loss of control over the colony.

Ventilation is also required - a fine mesh soldered mesh. Peat, sawdust, coconut substrate are laid on the bottom to imitate natural conditions. Meals are dry and juicy food - oat bran, crackers, aquarium food and grated or chopped vegetables and herbs.

For all species of lizards and amphibians, American cockroaches are a universal feed.

However, for ordinary people, cockroaches are pests, possible carriers of various diseases. Genital secretions secreted by females are considered to be the most powerful allergen for susceptible people, and can cause asthma attacks and complex forms of atopic dermatitis. Allergies are also caused by chitinous cover particles, periodically discharged by insects.

A cockroach can even painfully bite a sleeping person, increasing the possibility of infection by pathogenic bacteria.

There are various methods of getting rid of American cockroaches. One of the possible ways is strong cooling of the room, freezing. Naturally, this is possible only in the cold season in areas with frosty winters. It is necessary to open all the doors and windows in the room.

Freezing the home will significantly or completely eliminate insects, but care must be taken to ensure that the radiators do not burst.

If this option does not suit you, then it makes sense to turn your attention to modern means of cockroaches, which are almost equally effective as from red cockroaches (Prusakov), and from their American "brothers". Read more about this in the section “Cockroach Remedies” on this site.

 

American cockroaches in the apartment