Greenhouse cockroach
The Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach (Pycnoscelus surinamensis) is a species of burrowing cockroach. It is a common plant pest endemic to the Indomalayan realm that has spread to tropical and into subtropical regions around the world, and in isolated populations to temperate climates where protective habitat such as greenhouses provide shelter for individuals inadvertently shipped in the soil of plants. Its populations are almost exclusively female, and it reproduces through parthenogenesis, having evolved several clonal strains from its sexual progenitor P. indicus.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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starts withAdults are around 18–25 mm (0.71–0.98 in) in length, and have dark brown to black bodies with shiny paler brown wings. The front edge of the pronotum (head shield) has a pale white band. While males are rarely produced, male adults have longer wings than females, completely covering the abdomen, although both sexes are poor flyers.
Nymphs are around 4.5 mm (0.18 in) long at birth, translucent white with orange-brown mandibles and spines, and darker eye spots than the rest of the head. The exoskeleton gradually hardens on exposure to air, becoming a glossy brown in 5 to 6 hours, while its underside and legs remain translucent. Older nymphs develop shiny black anterior abdominal segments, and roughened, dull black posterior segments.
P. surinamensis originated in the Indomalayan region and is now cosmopolitan, found around the world in tropical regions, extending into subtropical regions, and temporarily establishing populations in protective habitats in temperate climates, particularly in greenhouses (also called glasshouses) or other areas heated during colder periods. It can be spread to greenhouses with shipments of tropical plants. In the United States it is common in the southeastern region from North Carolina to Texas, in addition to temporary populations in more temperate climates.
P. surinamensis is a burrowing cockroach, commonly burrowing in loose soil, humus, mould, compost piles and lawn thatch, or hiding beneath rocks, rotten branches, trash and other debris. It is considered peridomestic, found living only near human constructions or crops in a 1996 study, and may be considered synanthropic. It has a relatively high rate of cutaneous water loss compared to non-burrowing species of cockroaches, and is nearly exclusively associated with moist soil across its range.
Reproduction is usually ovoviviparous, the ootheca carried internally during gestation until nymphs hatch within the body and are delivered, usually at night or in darkness. Occasionally stress or other factors may result in premature release of the ootheca, which can result in non-viability of the eggs. The ootheca itself measures 9x3.5x2.5 mm, housing 30-36 eggs in two rows of alternately spaced segments. Remains of the egg case are expelled around the time the nymphs are being born, sometimes pulled out with the hind limbs, and the ootheca fragments are usually quickly devoured by the newborn nymphs.
