Australian cockroach

{{Speciesbox

| name = Australian cockroach

| image = Periplaneta australasiae top view.jpg

| image_caption = Australian cockroach top view

| taxon = Periplaneta australasiae

| authority = (Fabricius, 1775)

| synonyms =

Blatta australasiae Fabricius, 1775
Blatta domingensis Palisot de Beauvois, 1805
Blatta aurantiaca Stoll, 1813
Periplaneta zonata Haan, 1842
Periplaneta inclusa Walker, F., 1868
Periplaneta repanda Walker, F., 1868{{ Cite encyclopedia | title = Synonyms of Australian cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae) | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Life | url = http://eol.org/pages/1076924/names/synonyms | access-date = 2 January 2014 }}
Periplaneta subcincta Walker, F., 1868
Periplaneta emittens Walker, F., 1871
Polyzosteria subornata Walker, F., 1871

}}

The Australian cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae) is a common species of tropical cockroach, with a length of {{convert|23|-|35|mm|abbr=on}}.{{cite book|last1=Furman|first1=Deane Philip |last2=Catts|first2=E. Paul |title=Manual of Medical Entomology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sw44AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA37|year=1982|publisher=CUP Archive|isbn=978-0-521-29920-6|page=37}}{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Dennis S. |title=Pests of Stored Foodstuffs and Their Control|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-YByqKgH1Z4C&pg=PA145|date=30 September 2002|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4020-0736-1|page=145}}

It is brown overall, with the tegmina having a conspicuous lateral pale stripe or margin, and the pronotum (head shield) with a sharply contrasting pale or yellow margin.{{cite journal| journal=Memoirs of the American Entomological Society | publisher=American Entomological Society | pages=185–188 | year=1917 | issue= 2 | first=Morgan | last=Hebard | title=The Blattidae of North America north of the Mexican boundary | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5350024#page/86/mode/1up }} (The article comprises the whole issue.) It is very similar in appearance to the American cockroach and may be easily mistaken for it. It is, however, slightly smaller than the American cockroach, and has a yellow margin on the thorax and yellow streaks at its sides near the wing base.

Distribution

Despite its name, the Australian cockroach is a cosmopolitan species, and an introduced species in Australia.{{cite web

|url=http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/system/c_481.htm

|title=Periplaneta australasiae (Fabricius)

|date=11 November 2004

|publisher=Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

|access-date=24 July 2010}} P. australasiae probably originated in Africa. It is very common in the southern United States and in tropical climates, and can be found in many locations throughout the world due to its travels by shipping and commerce between locations.

File:Periplaneta australasiae side view.jpg

Habitat

It prefers warmer climates and is not cold-tolerant, but it may be able to survive indoors in colder climates. It does well in moist conditions, but also can tolerate dry conditions as long as water is available. It often lives around the perimeter of buildings. It appears to prefer eating plants more than its relatives do, but can feed on a wide array of organic (including decaying) matter. Like most cockroaches, it is a scavenger.{{citation needed|date = July 2010}}

It may come indoors to look for food and even to live, but in warm weather, it may move outdoors and enter buildings looking for food. This species can be found in nature in tropical parts of Australia; it has also been found along the east coast of Australia, from Cape York to the Victorian border.{{cite book|title=A Guide to the Cockroaches of Australia |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6710.htm |author1=Rentz, David|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|year=2014|isbn=9780643103207}}

References

External links

[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9061683 Black and white photographs] of top view of P. australasiae male and female specimens, from Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.
[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5350315 Drawings] of body parts of a male P. australasiae; plate VII, figures 17–19 show detail of pronotum, end of abdomen with cerci, and enlarged view of the genital process. From a 1917 article by Morgan Hebard, with a key to the figures on pages 280–281.

Category:Cockroaches

Category:Cosmopolitan insects

Category:Insects described in 1775