Blaberus giganteus

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Blaberus giganteus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Blaberidae
Genus: Blaberus
Species:
B. giganteus
Binomial name
Blaberus giganteus
Synonyms
  • Blatta livida Gronovius, 1764
  • Sisapona marginalis Walker, 1868
  • Blabera mexicana Saussure, 1862
  • Blatta scutata Seba, 1765
  • Blabera stollii Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865

[1]

Blaberus giganteus, the Central American giant cave cockroach or Brazilian cockroach, is a cockroach belonging to the family Blaberidae. One of the world's largest cockroaches, it is native to the warm parts of the Neotropical realm.

Description

Blaberus giganteus is considered one of the largest cockroaches in the world, with males reaching lengths of up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) and females 10 cm (3.9 in),[2] although others list 9 cm (3.5 in) as the maximum length.[3] These cockroaches are lightly built with flattened bodies, allowing them to hide in cracks from predators. Their bodies are brown with black markings.[4] The wingspan of these insects is usually around 15 cm (6 in).[3] Both males and females bear paired appendages (cerci) on the last abdominal segment, but only the males have a pair of tiny hair-like appendages called styli. Adults bear two pairs of wings folding back over the abdomen.[4] The heavier females are less likely to fly.[4]

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to the

Neotropics and can be found in caves and rainforests in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic), Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.[1][5] Habitat preferences include areas of high moisture and little light, such as caves, tree hollows, and cracks in rocks.[5]

Lifecycle

Adult (left) and nymph (right)

As typical for all roaches, individuals undergo

colony life could slow the developmental process.[8] In other instances, lower temperatures and reduced humidity can lead to delayed maturation and an increase in the number of molts.[8] This is a response by the insect to unfavourable habitat conditions and can also be seen as a predatory response. Their lifespans can last up to 20 months depending on habitat conditions and diet.[9]

Diet

Blaberus giganteus is a nocturnal

sweets, meats, and starches
as their daily meal.

Mating

Blaberus giganteus
Blaberus giganteus – hatching
Blaberus giganteus mating
Blaberus giganteus mating (male on the left)

Two chemical signals play important roles in the sexual behaviour of B. giganteus.

molted numerous times and reached maturity.[10]

Defense against fungal infection

When exposed to infection or invasion of various

microorganisms, insects have two general responses of their immune systems. In B. giganteus, such an invasion elicits a humoral response, where specific proteins are produced or activated by the existence of a pathogen.[9] The fat body, which is usually associated with storing and releasing energy depending on demands, induces several novel proteins when confronted with fungal cell walls.[9] The giant cockroach exhibits adaptive humoral responses,[9] which means their immune response has a specific memory similar to what can be found in mammalian immune systems.[9] This is beneficial for long-lived individuals, as they have increased chances of encountering the same infection numerous times.[9] The biological significance of these proteins is yet to be determined, but they are known to play a role in defense against fungal infections.[9]

Endosymbiosis

As for the majority of cockroaches, the Central American giant cave cockroach has a relationship with a genus of obligate flavobacterial endosymbiont called Blattabacterium.[2] They engage in a host-microbe relationship.[2] The microbe's job is to take nitrogenous waste such as urea and ammonia and process it into amino acids that can be used by the cockroach in the form of amino acids.[2] This is very beneficial to the cockroach because overall its diet is plant-based and considered very nitrogen-poor.[2] Though carbohydrate consumption is beneficial in mating, it does not play an active role in male-to-male competition.[7]

Locomotion

Cockroaches always have

three legs in synchronous contact with the ground during movement.[11] The three legs are classified as the leading leg, middle leg, and trailing leg and the leading and trailing leg from one side with the middle leg of the other side forms a tripod.[11] The leading leg pulls the body, while the trailing leg pushes the middle leg forward.[11] The middle leg is important because it acts as a pivot and creates the characteristic zigzag locomotion.[11] The process is repeated with the next tripod, and to move forward, the tripods alternate.[11] The ability of cockroaches to have ground reaction force distributed equally to these three legs is explained by joint torque minimization,[11] which has been shown to help limit mechanical, energetic, and metabolic demands, and can also decrease the axial load on a single leg.[11] Cockroaches can easily walk up a 45° slope on a smooth surface with little to no difficulty.[11] However, aged cockroaches or cockroaches with damaged tarsi
can overcome such slopes only with difficulty.

Muscle metabolism and respiratory system

Cincinnati Zoo

The rate of oxygen consumption in some animals and in insects is proportionate to body weight.

Periplaneta americana, but in comparison, it is quite sluggish.[12] Rates of oxygen consumption are significantly higher in P. americana when compared to B. giganteus, likely due to higher daily rhythmic activity.[12]

Hemolymph

amino acids, and the contents vary by species in terms of which amino acids are present and their overall concentrations.[13] The amino acids present in B. giganteus are alanine, arginine, cysteine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, leucine, proline, threonine, tyrosine, and valine.[13] The amino acids present in greatest proportions were glutamic acid, alanine, glycine, and histidine.[13] The overall concentration of amino acids is roughly 265 mg/100 ml of hemolymph.[13] The presence of alanine, cysteine, glutamic acid, leucine, proline, tyrosine, and valine is shared among different species of cockroaches, such as Blattella germanica and P. americana.[13] The presence of arginine, however, is species-specific to B. giganteus.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b George Beccaloni, David C. Eades. Blattodea Species File - Blaberus giganteus
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Huang. C. Y., Sabree, Z. L. and Moran, N.A. 2012. Genome Sequence of Blattabacterium sp. Strain BGIGA, Endosymbiont of the Blaberus giganteus Cockroach. Journal of Bacteriology. 194: 4450-4451.
  3. ^ a b Allpet Roaches
  4. ^ a b c Stephen W. Bullington Biology and Captive-Breeding of the Giant Cockroach Blaberus giganteus Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Smith, A. J. and Cook, T, J. 2008. Host Specificity of Five Species of Eugregarinida Among Six Species of Cockroaches (Insecta:Blattodea). Comparative Parasitology. 75: 288-291.
  6. ^ Kambhampati, S. 1995. A Phylogeny of Cockroaches and Related Insects Based on DNA Sequence of Mitochondrial Ribosomal RNA genes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 92:2017-2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f South, S.H., House, C.M., Moore, A.J., Simpson, S.J., and Hunt, J. 2011. Male Cockroaches Prefer a Higher Carbohydrate Diet That Makes Them More Attractive to Females: Implications for the Study of Condition Dependence. Evolution. 65: 1594-1606.
  8. ^ a b Banks, W.M. 1969. Observations on the Rearing and Maintenance of Blaberus giganteus(Orthoptera: Blaberidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 62: 1311-1312.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Bidochka, M.J., St. Leger, R.J., and Roberts, D.W. 1997. Induction of Novel Proteins in Manduca sexta and Blaberus gigantus as a Response to Fungal Challenge. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 70: 184-189.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Sreng, L. 1993. Cockroach Mating Behaviours, Sex-Pheromones, and Abdominal Glands (Dictyoptera, Blaberidae). Journal of Insect Behavior. 6: 715-735.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Günther, M., and Weihmann, T. 2011. The Load Distribution Among Three Legs on the Wall: Model Predictions for Cockroaches. Archive of Applied Mechanics. 81: 1269- 1287.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bruce, A.L. and Banks, W.M. 1973. Metabolism of Muscle of Cockroach Blaberus giganteus. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 66: 1209-1212.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Banks, W.M., and Randolph, E.F. 1968. Free Amino Acids in the Cockroach Blaberus giganteus. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 61: 1027-1028.
  • Hogue, Charles Leonard (1993). Latin American insects and entomology - University of California Press. p. 175
  • Media related to Blaberus giganteus at Wikimedia Commons
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