''Parcoblatta divisa'', the southern wood cockroach, is a species of
cockroach
Cockroaches (or roaches) are a Paraphyly, 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 we ...
native to the United States.
[
Due to morphological similarities, it was earlier considered a subspecies of '' Parcoblatta pensylvanica'', termed ''P. pensylvanica divisa'', found in the lower part of the southeastern United States.][ In particular, males of the two species are different from others of their genus in that the seventh dorsal abdominal segment conceals almost all of the eighth segment (more pronounced in ''P. pensylvanica''), and share a specialialized character of protuberances of the median segment.][ (The article comprises the whole issue.)]
Individuals of the species are typically dark in color, but a pale morph is uniquely found in Alachua County, Florida, with no dark individuals among hundreds of specimens collected from the location.
Distribution
The distribution of the species includes the eastern and southeastern United States, including Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.[
]
Habitat
''Parcoblatta divisa'' has been found in diverse habitats including dry pine lands, oak scrub, moist hammocks of northern Florida, and cool ravines along Florida's Apalachicola River.[
Many collected specimens have been taken from under signs attached to trees (]red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and white oak
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...
s, shortleaf and longleaf pines, American sweet gum
American sweetgum (''Liquidambar styraciflua''), also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temper ...
, and other deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
trees), and trapped in molasses-baited jars.[ One researcher who collected specimens extensively found it to be the most adaptable of the ''Parcoblatta'' species, trapping adults among logs and undergrowth on the borders of woodland areas, and taking specimens from pasture grasses, in grass under backyard trees, under dried ]cow dung
Cow dung, also known as cow pats, cow pies or cow manure, is the waste product ( faeces) of bovine animal species. These species include domestic cattle ("cows"), bison ("buffalo"), yak, and water buffalo. Cow dung is the undigested residu ...
, under trash and debris at woodland campsights, and from homes in wooded areas, which the species is sometimes reported to invade.[
]
Additional images
File:Parcoblatta divisa adult male North Carolina.jpg, Adult male
File:Parcoblatta divisa male nymph North Carolina.jpg, Male ''P. divisa'' nymph from North Carolina.
References
External links
Drawings
from a 1917 article by Morgan Hebard. Plate V, labeled 11-16, of ''P. divisa'' body parts and views of two female specimens, one with exceptionally developed wings. Key to drawings on pages 278-279.
Cockroaches
Insects described in 1893
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