''Parcoblatta notha'', the Arizona wood cockroach, is a species of wood
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 ...
that occurs only in the southwestern
US state of
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
.
[ It is a relatively large, light colored member of the 12-species wood cockroach genus ''Parcoblatta''.][ The male has fully developed wings and is able to fly, while the female wings are around half as long and does not fly.][
]
Description
The male is the most slender of the larger pale species in the genus. Its pronotum is relatively long for the genus.[ It has fully developed tegmina and wings.][ It has a specialization on the median and first dorsal abdominal segments: on the median segment are two subtriangular, rounded elevations with very heavy tuft of hairs, and a few scattered hairs on the rest of the segment; on the first dorsal abdominal segment, the same specialization occurs, but with narrower elevations and fewer scattered hairs.][ The same specializations occur in '' P. caudelli'' and '' P. lata'' on the same segments, but they are much more pronounced in ''P. notha''.][
The male general coloration is a light yellowish tan. The ocelli are cream colored.][ The disk of the pronotum and the hair tufts on its abdomen are a darker tan to brown. The edges of the pronotum, and the tegmina, are transparent.][
The female has complete tegmina and wings, but the tegmina stop before the apex of the abdomen (prior to the base of the supra-anal plate), and the wings can not support sustained flight.][ The pronotum of the female is larger and broader than in the male.][
The female general coloration is auburn.][
The only other pale species of the genus in which the female has complete tegmina and wings is ''P. caudelli'', which is smaller, has relatively longer tegmina and wings, and has fully powered flight.][
]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 Cl ...
's 1917 description included measurement ranges based on 5 male specimens and 2 female specimens:[
:
]
Distribution and habitat
The species is known only in the southwestern US state of Arizona, with specimens collected from the city of Prescott, the towns of Reef and Palmerlee in Cochise County
Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise.
The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...
, Kitt Peak
Kitt Peak ( ood, Ioligam) is a mountain in the U.S. state of Arizona, and at is the highest point in the Quinlan Mountains. It is the location of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. The radio telescope at the observatory is one of ten dishes co ...
in the Baboquivari Mountains Baboquivari may refer to:
* 2059 Baboquivari, a near-Earth asteroid
* Baboquivari Peak Wilderness, a protected area in the U.S. state of Arizona
* Baboquivari National Forest
Baboquivari National Forest was established as the Baboquivari Forest Re ...
, the Galiuro Mountain Range, the Huachuca Mountains
The Huachuca Mountains are part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, approximately south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista. Included in this a ...
, the Patagonia Mountains, Sabino Basin in the Santa Catalina Mountains
The Santa Catalina Mountains, commonly referred to as the Catalina Mountains or the Catalinas, are north and northeast of Tucson in Arizona, United States, on Tucson's north perimeter. The mountain range is the most prominent in the Tucson area, w ...
, and the Santa Rita Mountains
The Santa Rita Mountains ( O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km (26 mi) from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Pat ...
.[ Morgan Hebard predicted in his 1917 description that "it will unquestionably be found, probably widely distributed, in adjacent northern Mexico."][
The species has been found under bark, and sometimes in homes near wooded areas.][
]
References
External links
Drawings
of dorsal views of male and female specimens of ''P. notha'' (plate III, figures 15 and 19), and a views of the male abdomen, supra-anal plate, and subgenital plate (plate III, figures 16-18). From 1917 ''Memoirs of the American Entomological Society'', with a key to the figures on page 277.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10620173
Cockroaches
Insects of the United States
Endemic fauna of Arizona
Insects described in 1910