Madagascar hissing cockroaches what is? Family Relationships and Homeland, behavior in open space, looks, tips on topics, interesting facts. Well, who does not know 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 an undesirable inhabitant in their apartments, which it is not so easy to get rid of. But today there are two kinds of people – those who, with all possible means and means, are trying to get rid of annoying visitors and those who buy it in markets and pet stores to have it in their homes.

Of course, in Madagascar hissing cockroaches there is a significant difference between those insects that are considered pests and those that are bred as pets. But the essence is the same – both they and other cockroaches. Just imagine the reaction of your grandmother, who found out that in your apartment you do not have a kitten, a puppy, or even a guinea pig, but a cockroach. She will think you’re completely mad!

But modern people from Europe and many Asian countries find this a very fashionable and popular phenomenon, but all the developments that come to us from abroad automatically become a matter of course, but in Australia, they are almost the most common pets. Many people immediately have problems: “How come a Frenchman or an Italian gets a cockroach or a spider and I’m worse?” In addition, such previously popular features as aquariums and even terrariums are now gradually disappearing into the background, insect areas have replaced them.

But not everyone brings these living beings into their homes to love and care for them in every possible way. Many people use insects as live food for various domestic animals such as tarantulas, tarantulas, and various reptiles.

In order to live in the same territory with such an exotic pet would be comfortable and not promise awkward moments, it would be better to get to know them better before you start acquiring them.

Origin and place of birth of the sharp cockroach from Madagascar

The Madagascar Whistling Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is an amazing character in various books and encyclopedias on insect life, belonging to the group of the same name, the cockroach family and the genus Madagascar hissing cockroaches that whistles.

This representative of the planet’s living world admires as his homeland the large and remote island of Madagascar, which is not difficult to guess, by name. It is there, among fallen leaves, in the bark and on the tree trunks, and on the branches of the shrub plants, that such a wonderful natural creation lives on.

Exterior lighting Madagascar hissing cockroach

What distinguishes the Madagascar insect from all other representatives of the giant cockroach family is that the purebred hissing insect completely lacks wings, in addition to exactly all stages of development. In most of their relatives, these flying elements are seen not only in the larvae and already the more mature representatives of the cockroach empire have wings and even feel very confident during the flight. If we talk about the hissing wildlife representatives in Madagascar, then sometimes it is not so easy to distinguish a nymph from a mature person.

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 adults can reach about 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.

Mother Nature also gave them more features of their appearance – this is a very powerful shield formed from chitin, which is located on the cephalothorax insects, in addition, cockroaches have a fairly large and thick abdomen.

The color of the popular arthropod is not generally, the projection of the celiac cavity is usually slightly lighter and appears in light red tones, but the color scheme of the whole body is painted with darker brown tones, sometimes even blackish. It is usually very easy to distinguish men from women, this sexual characteristic is some conical outgrowths that resemble horns, they are located on the front of the chest. The female half has no such growth and their first name is smooth and even surface. There are also representatives of the stronger sex where these angles are absent, but nevertheless, it is still possible to understand sexual ambiguity. First of all, you should pay attention to the cockroach’s antennae, in men they are usually far from perfect, broken, and twisted, as they use their mustache in the fight for female attention. Women, on the contrary, are fast-growing and tidy. If this difference does not help, it is necessary to examine the stomach of the insect. The first thing you need to notice is the size – in women, it is usually much wider than in men, the second sign is that in the “female” cockroach the last two abdominal parts are painted in carbon black but in “men” only one.

Animal behavior Madagascar hissing cockroaches

Living in an open space for these little “animals” is a real struggle for survival. After all, they are only large among their relatives but compared to all the inhabitants of Madagascar, it is probably impossible to find tiny and helpless creatures. For this reason, cockroaches are very alert and fearful. During the day they usually hide carefully in the fallen leaves or dense thick tropical forests of the island and at night they feel safer and more comfortable, they can afford to crawl to the surface of the shelters to replenish the reserve of strength and energy.

But if all their precautions have failed and some predator still caught them, then this desperate fighter for the right to life will not give up. It clings with full force to the surface of the tree, it is very difficult to tear off and due to the smooth back cover, no predator can grab it from above.

The second and perhaps most important weapon of these insects is their special awesome sound – hiss. Thanks to this, the cockroach got its unusual name. These sounds are not as cruel and frightening as unexpected and a little reminiscent of the howls of some worms and then dangerous predators begin to retreat. The Madagascar Wildlife Service can send these signals due to its anatomical and physiological properties. The thing is that it has a special respiratory system located in the body. When the cockroach bends the body sharply to the right angle, the lungs contract, and this sound is obtained. In addition, the faster and stronger he bends his small body, the sharper and louder the sound, sometimes it can resemble a louder whistle.

But in the family of dormant arthropods, there are also the strictest rules, both males and females can give this peculiar sound, but only the female half can afford to hiss only if danger lurks, but males also use this sound as a serenade during the mating season.

Cockroaches from Madagascar feed on the rotting remnants of berries, various fruits, leaves, and shoots of plants.

The lifespan of these insects under natural selection is on average 1-2 years, sometimes it happens that they are below retirement age – 5-6 years, but this is a rare phenomenon.

These arthropods are representative of living species. Immediately after the end of the fertilization process, the eggs tend to attach to the female abdomen, forming a kind of chamber called the ootheca. Basically, this formation is located in the abdomen of a female, but she has the opportunity to expose it through the anus, this method serves to ventilate the eggs. Eggs mature in about 50-80 days, their rate of development depends on the ambient temperature; in cold weather conditions development may be observed.

The birth of children is as follows: first, the nymphs emerge from the eggs in the mother’s cavity, but after that, they appear immediately outside along with the remaining ootheca. Newborns are tiny, their bodies only a few millimeters long. The mother ootheca serves as their first food. After a few hours, their body color becomes noticeably darker and they look like adult cockroaches only in a smaller size. At the end of a so-called female pregnancy, about 15–25 small cockroaches are born. Their childhood usually does not last long, only a few days, then they leave their mother and creep in different directions in the independent life of adults.

Maintenance of  Madagascar  mutees, home nursing

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. The cockroach also does not give off an unpleasant odor, does not need to be cleaned regularly and the most important thing is that it does not need to take the time to take a walk.

• Personal accommodation for the Madagascar cockroach. As a house for a new tenant, a plastic aquarium is perfect, where you can store fish or small rodents. If we are talking about the size of this container, then you need to take into account the number of members of your cockroach specialists. It is best to follow the rule that one person 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 a plus.
• 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 a variety of cereals and even bread and cookies. Soon you will understand what your tenant likes better. From time to time it is necessary to treat him to green. To improve health, it is also advisable to feed it with special vitamin complexes. It should be borne in mind that if you decide to try to give your arthropod cat or dog food, this is not worth doing, he will of course not deny it and will gladly swallow another dose, but whether he will survive after such a party is next question. The fact is that insecticides are often included in the composition of these feeds.
• The best amount of fluid. A very common cause of death for Madagascar hissing cockroaches is dehydration of their small organisms. For this reason, the pet should get enough moisture. They usually get their water from various fruits, but if you want to provide your friends with clean drinking water, then this is your right. It should be borne in mind that you cannot put them in a container filled with liquid, because the small size can easily drown the insect. To avoid such awkward situations, you need to put a certain amount of cotton or foam rubber on a small plate, which is pre-laid in soaked with water, they will gladly travel around such structures and drink water – it is both more fun and safe for them to live.
• Rusl. You can use what your heart desires as bedding. Whether it is sawdust, paper, coconut, sand or compacted rubbish for a rubbish bin, your pet does not care, it can work well without flooring. Cockroaches do not require daily cleaning, but occasionally you will need to change the substrate, as ticks often begin to stagnate the soil.
• Entertainment for Madagascar hissing cockroach. In order for insects not to get bored, it is recommended to install various devices so that they use their energy there as well as shelter. Of course, you can buy everything in a pet store, or you can do it yourself. These can be houses made of small tables, and small stairs, you can make a construction out of several cardboard trays made of chicken eggs. Also create an insectarium with various branches and hangers, so that your friend feels at home. It is recommended to lubricate the sides of the insect house with petroleum jelly, this will prevent your cockroaches from crawling out of their belongings.
• Suitable weather conditions. Because these howling arthropods came from hot Madagascar, they accordingly need similar environmental conditions, otherwise, their life expectancy will decrease significantly.
• The air temperature in the aquarium in Madagascar should be between 25 and 32 degrees. If such thermometers do not refer to your home, then you will need to take care of additional heaters. Indeed, the insect cannot die at lower temperatures, but the fact that no offspring are expected from it is unequivocal.

The humidity index for these arthropods is also a very important indicator, but hissing cockroaches can adapt to its changes. Ideally, the humidity in the aquarium with them should be about 60-70%. But this is not so categorical. 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 hissing cockroaches

The fact is that the cockroach is a universal living creature, some regard it as a pest, some as a pet, but well-known filmmakers were able to detect acting ability in them. During the existence of Hollywood cinemas, sizzling cockroaches from Madagascar have played more than one role in cinemas.

For example, in the movie “Slammer” with the legendary Sylvester Stallone, where, in the cockroach race, these insects took part. Arthropods were not without a role in the legendary story of Indiana Jones, as well as in “Mutations”. The audience noticed their vocal abilities in Joe’s apartment. In the family competition “Difficult Child”, the tall arthropod was given a very important role – he was placed on the plate of his hated stepmother at dinner. But the role of the villain in the world-famous film “Men in Black” brought him almost world fame. Maybe these are future Oscar winners?

Another interesting but uncomfortable fact for a defenseless insect is that fried Madagascar hissing cockroaches are one of the many traditional dishes of Thai cuisine. as it is very high in protein and does not contain fat.