Megaloblatta
Megaloblatta longipennis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Ectobiidae
Subfamily: Nyctiborinae
Genus: Megaloblatta
Dohrn, 1887
Species

Megaloblatta is a genus of Neotropical cockroaches in the family Ectobiidae. Species in this genus are 4 to 9.7 cm (1.6–3.8 in) long and can have a wingspan of up to 20 cm (8 in); the world's largest cockroach by length and wingspan is M. longipennis.[1][2][3]

Megaloblatta, like many other insects, use stridulation in order to steer their predators away.[4] The stridulating insects are less likely to be preyed upon in comparison to individuals of the species with an inability to stridulate.[5]

Range

Megaloblatta blaberoides in Costa Rica; the three other species are all restricted to South America

The four Megaloblatta species have separate distributions: M. blaberoides ranges from southern Mexico, through Central America to Colombia and Ecuador; M. insignis is restricted to French Guiana and Suriname; M. longipennis is restricted to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (although sometimes reported from Panama, this is based on misidentifications of M. blaberoides); and M. regina is from Amazonian Ecuador and Brazil.[1][6][7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Estrada-Álvarez, Julio C. (December 2012). "Primer registro de Megaloblatta Dohrn, 1887 (Dictyoptera: Ectobiidae: Nyctiborinae) para México". Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa. 51: 349–350.
  2. ↑ "Largest cockroach". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  3. ↑ Alpert, Gary; Frye, Matthew (2014). "Bugs in Strange Places: The Brown-banded Cockroach" (PDF). NYS IPM Type: Community IPM Fact Sheet. New York State IPM Program.
  4. ↑ Bell, W., Fraser, J., Schal, C. (1981). Disturbance stridulation and chemical defense in nymphs of the tropical cockroach Megaloblatta blaberoides. Journal of Insect Physiology, 28(6), 541-552. Retrieved July 2, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1910(82)90035-X.
  5. ↑ Masters, W. (1979). Insect Disturbance Stridulation: Its Defensive Role. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 5(2), 187-200. Retrieved July 2, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/4599228.
  6. ↑ VIDLIČKA, ĽUBOMÍR (2013). "Cockroaches (Blattaria) of Ecuador—checklist and history of research". Zootaxa. Magnolia Press. 3599 (5): 401–455. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3599.5.1. PMID 24613997.
  7. ↑ Salazar-E, J.A.; Maláver, J.C.R. (2012). "Relación e ilustración de algunas especies de Nyctiborinae de Colombia y Costa Rica (Insecta, Blattodea, Ectobiidae)". Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas. 16 (2).
  8. ↑ "Genus Megaloblatta Dohrn, 1887". Cockroach Species File. Retrieved 26 June 2023.


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