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Madagascar hissing cockroaches
This is of course a photo of a dubious technical quality, yet it does express my view on these insects quite well, as in that they scare me. Story time: It was in Tsingy, Madagascar earlier this year where after a very hot and long day full of walks I sat down at the porch of our cabin. It was pitch dark and I was just listening to the wildlife sounds, and trying to cool down from the day. For no real reason I switched on my flash light and surveyed my surroundings. There it was, just one meter away from me, an army of these mega huge cockroaches coming towards me. At eye height even, as they were crawling over the pole I was leaning on. I quickly went inside, sealed all openings and couldn't sleep for hours.
End of story. I admit it, I have an irrational fear of insects, yet they also fascinate me. This photo very much makes me relive that scene.
The Madagascar hissing cockroach , also known as the hissing cockroach or simply hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 2 to 3 inches at maturity. They are from the island of Madagascar off the African mainland, where they can be found in rotting logs. It is one of some 20 known species of large hissing roaches from Madagascar, many of which are kept as pets, and often confused with one another by pet dealers; in particular, ''G. portentosa'' is commonly confused with ''G... more
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