Australian Cockroach - Periplaneta australasiae

Family Blattidae

This page contains pictures and information about the Australian Cockroaches that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.

 

 

Australian Cockroaches, as all other household pest cockroaches, look very ugly. They have hairy legs and eye-pattern on their thorax. They are reddish brown in colour, with long antennae and yellow edges on the front part of forewings.

Despite their name, they are not native to Australia. They originated from Asia. They became totally adapted to the domestic life. They are pest in households. This species of cockroach, and the German Cockroach, have given the Cockroach group the bad name. They transmitted diseases when they occur in house and restaurants. They can contaminate food and must be controlled.

Australian Cockroach crawling in the dark. Notice its head, eyes, flat body and the way it use its legs. 

Australian Cockroaches are in the order Blattodea. They have long spiny legs, their antennae are longer than their body. Their body is flat and broad so that they can squeeze into very tight places. Their adults have wings but not the good flyer. Their wings are membranous with toughened forewings which overlap left over right. They have three pair of strong legs so they are very good runners. The head is small and pointing downwards, concealed under the pronotum. This protect their heads when they travel through the gaps and tunnels. Sometime their thorax are miss-considered as their big heads. They are active at night.

 

The young cockroach nymph, body length 7mm and 20mm

 

The young, or the nymph, cockroaches are wingless. Besides they look similar to their adults. Notice their flat bodies, at day time they usually hiding inside the  narrow gap. At night time they become active and can be found wandering around the house and in garden.  

 

 

The cockroach last instar and adult, body length 30mm and 40mm

Australian Cockroaches are scavengers, they feed on almost everything. They develop in in-complete metamorphosis. The eggs are laid in ootheca, or the egg sac, which sometime seen attached to the end of the female abdomen. 

 

Two cockroaches mating and cockroach with ootheca.

 

 

The Australian Cockroaches look very ugly. We discussed why we think butterflies are beautiful and cockroaches are ugly, detail please click here.  

 

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Last updated: July 11, 2004.