''Cariblatta lutea'' is a small species of

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...

native to the United States and other countries, measuring usually around 7 millimeters long as an adult and under 2 millimeters from head tip to abdomen tip at the 1st instar or hatchling. It consists of two subspecies, the small yellow cockroach (''Cariblatta lutea lutea''), and the least yellow cockroach (''Cariblatta lutea minima''). The

ootheca An ootheca (pl. ''oothecae'' ) is a type of egg mass made by any member of a variety of species including mollusks (such as ''Turbinella laevigata''), mantises, and cockroaches. The word is a Latinized combination of ''oo-'', meaning "egg", f ...

, or egg case, of ''C. lutea'' has been suggested as a possible host of an

ensign wasp Evaniidae is a family of parasitoid wasps also known as ensign wasps, nightshade wasps, hatchet wasps, or cockroach egg parasitoid wasps. They number around 20 extant genera containing over 400 described species, and are found all over the world e ...

, ''

Hyptia floridana ''Hyptia floridana'' is a species of ensign wasp in the family Evaniidae Evaniidae is a family of parasitoid wasps also known as ensign wasps, nightshade wasps, hatchet wasps, or cockroach egg parasitoid wasps. They number around 20 extant gen ...

''.

Subspecies

There are two identified subspecies of ''Cariblatta lutea'': ''Cariblatta lutea lutea'' (Saussure & Zehntner 1893) and ''Cariblatta lutea minima'' Hebard 1916. Habitat differences and the broad overlap in distribution of the two subspecies in peninsular Florida have prompted the suggestion that they may warrant recognition as distinct species.

Description

''Cariblatta lutea lutea'' is a pale brownish-yellow, with a pale brown head, a band between the eyes, and usually some dark brown spots on the face. The disc of the pronotum (head shield) is usually marked with several small brownish spots, and its sides are transparent. The

tegmina A tegmen (plural: ''tegmina'') designates the modified leathery front wing on an insect particularly in the orders Dermaptera (earwigs), Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets and similar families), Mantodea (praying mantis), Phasmatodea (stick an ...

(leathery forewings) typically don't quite reach the apex of the abdomen. The tegmina of males are stinctly shorter than those of females, and the tips of the tegmina are rounded on females. The subgenital plate of the between the styles of the male is three times as long as it is broad. In females, the subjenital plate is large and boat-shaped with a rounded apex. Females of the subspecies tend to be larger than the males, with much shorter wings. Female body length ranges from compared to male body length from . Female pronotum length ranges from compared to male pronotum length from . ''Cariblatta lutea minima'' is on average smaller and has shorter tegmina than ''Cariblatta lutea lutea''. Males of the ''C. l. minima'' subspecies also have shorter inner rudimentary wings, and a much narrower subgenital plate, than ''C. l. lutea''. Males of ''C. l. minima'' are slightly smaller than females; the length of the body of males ranges from , and the length of the pronotum of males ranges from , while the body of females ranges from , and the pronotum of females ranges from .

Etymology

The genus '' Cariblatta'' was named after the

Carib people “Carib” may refer to: People and languages *Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of South America **Carib language, also known as Kalina, the language of the South American Caribs *Kalinago people, or Island Caribs, an indigenous pe ...

of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. ''Blatta'' means “an insect who shuns light” in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, referring to cockroaches as well as moths and other insects. Lutea means yellow, saffron, if mud or clay, good for nothing in Latin.

Distribution

''Cariblatta lutea lutea'' is found in the coastal plains of the southeastern USA including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, as well as the island nation of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. ''Cariblatta lutea minima'' is documented only in Cuba and several counties of the state of Florida.

Habitat

''Cariblatta lutea lutea'' is found in leaf, grass, and pine needle litter in forests in the southeastern US. In Florida it is commonly found in a variety of plant communities in Florida, and has also been found in gopher burrows, disturbed areas, and near houses. ''Cariblatta lutea minima'' is found in hardwood hammocks in southern peninsular Florida and in the

Keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

, in open pinelands in Dade County, and in a variety of scrub, flatwoods, and hammock plant communities in northeastern Florida. It has also been collected in ''

Spartina ''Spartina'' is a taxon of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Its species are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north ...

'' marshes, and sawgrass marshes, and in grasses behind beaches.

Additional Images

File:Cariblatta_lutea_lutea_female_laying_ootheca.jpg, Adult female laying ootheca. Parents of this captive bred individual are from North Carolina File:Adult_male_Cariblatta_lutea_from_Virginia.jpg, Adult male ''Cariblatta lutea''. This individual was caught as a nymph from Southampton County, Virginia in pine needles. File:CaiblattalutealuteaL1Happy1892.jpg, 1st instar of ''Cariblatta lutea''. Originally parents collected from Wake County or Granville County North Carolina. File:CariblattalutealuteaoothecaeDukeGardensDurhamNC.jpg, Oothecae of ''Cariblatta lutea'' from Durham, NC. The ruler is centimeters and millimeters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10442779 Cockroaches Insects described in 1893 Insects of the United States