The Florida woods cockroach or palmetto bug (''Eurycotis floridana'')
[ is a large ]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 ...
species which typically grows to a length of .[ When alarmed, adults can eject an extremely foul-smelling directional spray up to 1 m,][ which inspired several of its other common names: Florida skunk roach, Florida stinkroach, skunk cockroach, skunk roach, stinking cockroach, and stinkroach.][ Two other naming variations include Florida cockroach and Florida woods roach.][
The Florida woods cockroach is slower moving than many other cockroach species. It prefers damp locations with abundant moisture, and does well in warm, damp climates. It is found in its native habitats, such as the U.S. state of ]Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. The species wanders indoors at times, especially into damp locations, such as bathrooms; however, it prefers the outdoors and is not considered a major pest in the home. It is cold intolerant and requires a warm, subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
or tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
climate. It can be found in sheltered outdoor locations, such as under leaf litter, in tree holes, and under lumber and boards, and other crevices, as well as in bushes and wooded areas. Often it can be seen on palmetto trees, which gave it one of its early popular names, the palmetto bug. It is not to be confused for the American cockroach
The american cockroach (''Periplaneta americana'') is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. In certain regions of the U.S. it is colloquially known as the waterbug, though it is not a true waterbug since it is not ...
(''Periplaneta americana''), another common Florida insect, that is sometimes also referred to as a palmetto bug.
Description
The Florida wood cockroach is a dark to blackish brown, or a reddish brown after recent molting.[ Tegmina (fore wings) are very short, extending just past the mesonotum (the dorsal plate just behind the pronotum), and hind wings are absent.][
Adults typically range from .][ The winning specimen in a Florida cockroach size contest was a Florida wood cockroach which measured . The Florida woods cockroach looks remarkably similar to the female ]oriental cockroach
__NOTOC__
The oriental cockroach (''Blatta orientalis''), also known as the waterbug (as they live in damp areas) or black cockroaches (as their bodies are mostly dark), is a large species of cockroach, adult males being and adult females being ...
(''Blatta orientalis''), and the two could be mistaken for each other by the casual observer.
The species' dark brown ootheca (egg case) is long, contains 21-23 eggs, and has indentations that show where the eggs are located.[
]
Reproduction
Males can mate about 18 days after maturation, and females produce oothecae about every 8 days, beginning about 55 days after maturation.[ The oothecae are buried in soil or decaying logs, and hatch in 50 days at .][ ]Parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...
(asexual reproduction) can occur, but the nymphal clones do not develop to adulthood.[
]
Defense
When alarmed, adults can emit an extremely foul-smelling glandular secretion through a sternal membrane, ejected up to . Nymphs do not have this ability, and the secretion is built up over roughly 60 days from its final molt into adulthood. Males that were artificially drained required 30 days to replenish the stored amount. The secretion is composed primarily of (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-hexenol, and (E)-2-hexenoic acid.
The secretion is used both to deter antagonizers and as an alarm pheromone to elicit escape responses in others of its species.[ It can irritate the eyes of humans, and can be toxic to the cockroach in a small container.][ In tests with two species of mice abundant in central Florida, the chemical defense was found effective at deterring predation by '']Peromyscus polionotus
The oldfield mouse or beach mouse (''Peromyscus polionotus''), is a nocturnal species of rodent in the family Cricetidae and primarily eats seeds. It lives in holes throughout the Southeastern United States in beaches and sandy fields. Predators ...
'', but at least some ''Peromyscus gossypinus
The cotton mouse (''Peromyscus gossypinus'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae found in the woodlands of the US South.
Description
Adults are about long, with a tail around , and weigh 34-51 g. Its general appearance is very si ...
'' mice were able to avoid chemical exposure by pushing the cockroach's abdomen downward and feeding from its head end.
Habitat
Natural habitats of the species include holes in dead trees, stumps, and woodpiles, cavities beneath bark, and sometimes leaf litter.[ It occasionally enters buildings.][
It typically only becomes established in non habitable areas of buildings. Not uncommonly, palmetto bugs become established inside attics, where they commonly leave behind their distinctively large droppings along with occasional body parts from dead specimens.
]
Distribution
The species is reported in the West Indies and in a limited southeastern region of United States, consisting of the state of Florida, and coastal regions of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, south and southeast Texas, and southeast North Carolina. It is considered adventive
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
, but not established, in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
.
Parasites
The wasp species ''Aprostocetus hagenowii
''Aprostocetus hagenowii'' is a species of parasitoid wasp. It is a parasitoid of cockroach
Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cock ...
'' is an egg parasite of several species of cockroaches, including ''E. floridana''.[ The small, parasitic wasp deposits its eggs into the ootheca of the cockroach, resulting in an average of 648 parasites per ootheca.][ The parasites eat the cockroach eggs and emerge from the ootheca as adults.][
Another wasp species, '']Anastatus floridanus
''Anastatus'' is a large genus of parasitic wasps belonging to the family Eupelmidae.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species
*'' Anastatus absonus''
*'' Anastatus acherontiae''
*'' Anastatus adamsi''
*'' Anastatus aereicorpus'' Gir ...
'', is also an ootheca parasite of ''E. floridana'', laying eggs in an ootheca carried by the female, or into a deposited ootheca as many as 36 days old.[ Several ''A. floridanus'' wasps may lay eggs in the same ootheca. As many as 306 adult wasps may develop from one cockroach ootheca.][
]
References
External links
Gallery of cockroaches
on the UF / IFAS IFAS may refer:
* Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
* Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge, a sewage treatment process
* International French adjectival system
In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, clim ...
Featured Creatures Web site
Black and white photographs
of top view of ''E. floridana'' male and female specimens, from ''Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections''.
Drawings
of ''E. floridana'' male specimens, and body parts; plate VI, figures 11 shows dorsal view of male, figures 12-14 shows male subgenital plate, female supra-anal plate, and female subgenital plate. From a 1917 article by Morgan Hebard
Morgan Hebard (February 23, 1887 – December 28, 1946) was an American entomologist who specialized in orthoptera, and assembled a collection of over 250,000 specimens.
Early life and education
Morgan Hebard was born on February 23, 1887, in Cle ...
, with a key to the figures on pages 279-280.
{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2018
Cockroaches
Insects of North America
Insects described in 1868