- This page contains pictures and information about Cockroaches that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
This page is about cockroaches in nature environments. If you are looking
for information about cockroaches as pest, you may want to search for some
other web sites.
- The largest Cockroach found in Brisbane Botanic Garden.
- Cockroaches are classified as order Blattaria or Blattodea. Most of them are
beautiful insects although this perception is always outweighed by their name
- There are many different species and most of them are yellow to dark brown or
black in colour. They have long spiny legs. The antennae are longer than the body. Their body is usually flat
and broad so that they can squeeze into very tight gaps. Adults may or may not have wings. If they have, the wings are membranous
with toughened forewings which overlap left over right. The head is small and
pointing downwards, concealed under the pronotum. The cerci are conspicuous and segmented.
- Most cockroach adults have wings but some species are wingless. In some species males are winded but females
are wingless. For the winged species, they can fly although not very often. All
cockroaches are very good runners. Most of them are active at night
although some are active during the day time.
are scavengers, they feed on almost everything. The have strong mouth parts. Some species eat wood and digest cellulose with symbiotic bacteria in
their gut. They are usually found on plants (Ellipsidon,
Methana), under bark (Laxta, ) on ground (Platyzosteria
) or under rotting wood (Panesthia).
- Most cockroaches are nocturnal, usually they are found near the ground and
hide under bark, logs or rocks in day time. Only a few, such as those in
genus Ellipsidon, are active during
the day. They usually found running on plants under bright sunlight.
develop in in-complete
metamorphosis. Nymphs look similar to adults but may be different in
colours. The number of instars stages may be different in different
- Cockroach ootheca
eggs are laid in ootheca, or the egg sac. The ootheca are sometime seen attached to the end
of the female abdomen until eggs are about to hatch. The ootheca are than
laid attached on leaves or tree trunk, depend on different species. Some cockroaches
(Blaberidae) give birth to live young.
- More details
information about cockroaches can be found in this Cockroach Biology
few species of cockroaches have given the group a bad name. They transmitted
diseases when they occur in house and restaurants. They contaminate food and
must be controlled.
are five cockroach families and three of them are common in Australia. Up
to now we found three families and listed as follow.
- Family Blattidae
- The well known pest cockroach, including the American Cockroach and
Australian Cockroach are in this family. Members in this family are usually
large in size.
- Family Blattellidae
- Some members in this family the females are wingless. Most are active at night.
Cockroaches in this family are relatively smaller in size. There are some beautiful cockroaches in the
- Family Blaberidae
- Cockroaches in this family has shorter legs. Their cerci are very short or
absent. Most of them live just under
ground covers and slow moving.
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p320.
- 2. Grasshopper
Country - the Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia, D Rentz,
UNSW Press, 1996, p211.
- 3. Northern
Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.
- 4. Order BLATTODEA Cockroaches -
30 June 1997, A.M.E. Roach & D.C.F. Rentz, CSIRO Entomology, Australian Faunal Directory, Australian Biological Resources Study.
- 5. Blattaria - Cockroaches - Graeme's Insects of Townsville, Australia.
- 6. The cockroach genera
Beybienkoa, gen. nov., Escala Shelford, Eowilsonia, gen.
nov., Hensaussurea Princis, Parasigmoidella Hanitsch and Robshelfordia Princis
(Dictyoptera : Blattaria : Blattellidae) - LM Roth, 1991, Invertebrate Taxonomy 5 (3) 553 - 716.
- 7. Cockroaches & Earwigs - Australian Wildlife, Insects, Lochman Transparencies.
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[ Cockroaches ] [ Family Blattidae ] [ Family Blattellidae ] [ Family Blaberidae ]