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 HISSING COCKROACHES 
Click on the photo to hear a cockroach hissing. Our Hissing Cockroaches Links The Madagascar hissing
cockroach is no ordinary roach. It can grow to
up to 3 inches long and over an inch wide. This
type of cockroach is clean, odorless,
sanitary, docile and harmless. They do not
bite.
The hissing cockroach is unique for the sound it makes. The hissing noise can be heard during mating rituals, aggression between males or when an adult male, adult female or nymph are handled or disturbed in some way. Sometimes they will hiss for no apparent reason. Research studies have shown that males can tell each other apart by hissing. Females are attracted to the tone and strength of a male’s hiss. Unlike most other insects, the hissing is created by forcing air through a pair of breathing pores located in the abdomen. Most other insects make sound by rubbing body parts together, like crickets. Females are ovoviparous, that is, they give birth to live young. The female carries the egg and neonate nymphs for approximately 60 days until they emerge as first instar nymphs. One female can produce as many as 30-60 nymphs. This insect has an incomplete life cycle: egg, nymphs and adult stage. The nymphs undergo 6 molts before reaching maturity in 7 months. Hissing cockroaches enjoy a rather large range of diet. They thrive on dog food, rat chow, as well as fruits and vegetables. They are also long-lived for insects. They can live up to 5 years.  This is a male
cockroach. Males have little horns
on their heads. A female has a smooth head
.
 This is about 20 cockroaches of various sizes in a plastic small animal cage. The fine netting under the lid is to prevent babies from escaping. The water bowl contains a sponge to prevent the babies from drowning in the water. These cockroaches are feed goldfish flakes. Their bedding is oatmeal which they can also eat. They like to climb on twigs and hide under pieces of cardboard egg cartons.  When a cockroach first molts it is completely white except for its eyes. It soon darkens to its regular color. This is a cockroach molting  This is the Exoskeleton left after the cockroach above finished molting.  This is four adult cockroaches in their plastic cage. A favorite treat of cockroaches is carrots and pieces of oranges, rinds too. University of Kentucky Entomology , Madagascar Hissing Cockroach http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef014.htm University of South Carolina Roach Camera http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/usc-roach-cam.html Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/insectsspiders/p/hissingroach.htm Giant Hissing Cockroaches FAQ http://www.angelfire.com/in/ghcfaq/ Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/foss/fossweb/teachers/materials/plantanimal/hissingcockroaches.html BACK TO MRS. GRAY'S CLASSROOM PAGE
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