Download Fact Sheet: Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

Fact Sheet: Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Gromphadorhina portentosa
Description:
 Brown-black insect with 6 legs, antennae and no wings
 Size: About 2.5 inches long
 Weight: About 40 grams
In the Wild
Habitat and Range:
 Native to the island of Madagascar – are an endemic species (are only found on
Madagascar)
 Live in tropical lowland forests, rainforests
 Primarily found on the forest floor
Diet

Detritivores: Eat decaying plant and animal matter; may also eat smaller insects
Adaptations
 Hiss by expelling air through spiracles – holes in the sides of the abdomen
o Adult males hiss during aggressive encounters and during courtship and mating
o Females and late-stage nymphs hiss only when disturbed or threatened
o Hiss is their defense against predators
o Hiss can be heard up to 12 feet away
 Males have “horns” (females may also, but much less pronounced)
o Called pronatal humps
o Males ram each other when vying for females
 Defensive stance where they lean to one side on their toes is called “stilting”
 “Hooked” feet are perfect for climbing
 Flattened body is good for navigating narrow places
 Brown coloring provides camouflage
Lifespan
 Typically live 2-5 years
Ecosystem relationships
 Decomposers – help “recycle” and keep waste at a minimum
 Prey for many animals, including ground-feeding birds, tenrecs (a mammal similar, but
unrelated to shrews and hedgehogs but endemic to Madagascar) and arachnids
Reproduction
 Breed year round
 Females are ovoviviparous, meaning they bear live young
1/27/2015
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore


o Gestation lasts about 2 months
o Females create an “ootheca,” a cocoon-like egg-case to carry the eggs and
neonatal nymphs inside their bodies
o May bear up to 60 nymphs
Nymphs reach maturity in 5-10 months, or usually after 6 molts
Incomplete metamorphosis: eggnymphadult
Activity
 Nocturnal
Other “fun facts”
 3,000-4,000 species of cockroaches exist
 99% of cockroach species, including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, are not
considered pests
 Have no wings and therefore cannot fly
 Nearest relatives include mantids, grasshoppers, stick insects and termites
 Known as “living fossils”, these insects are very similar to the prehistoric cockroaches
that lived on Earth long before the dinosaurs
 People eat hissing cockroaches too!
o High in protein
o Eating insects is called “Entomophagy”
Conservation Status and Threats:
 Not-listed by the IUCN
 Although they are not endangered, they are an important part of the ecosystem of the
rainforest habitat where they live
At the Zoo
The current group of roaches was first acquired in 2005 and has been added to several times
since.
What We Can Do

Make environmentally responsible lifestyle decisions to help conserve habitat –
conserve energy, reduce litter and pollution
References:
 Buchsbaum, Ralph. Animals without Backbones. Third ed. Chicago: University of
Chicago, 1987. Print.
 Grzimek, Bernhard. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 1972. Print. Insects.
 http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/madagascar-hissing-cockroach.
html
 http://rosamondgiffordzoo.org/assets/uploads/animals/pdf/Madagascar%20Hissing
%20Cockroach.pdf
 http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef014.asp
1/27/2015
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore