Peppered cockroach

Appearance

Measuring up to 5-7 cm, females are taller and wider than males. The color of this cockroach is a beautiful peppery beige.

Both males and females have wings but their massive body makes them too heavy to fly.

Naming

Origin of the common name: A legend in Colombia says that a ghost once sprinkled pepper on the cockroaches so that they would not be eaten.

Distribution

Native from Central America, also found in South America.

Behavior

Nocturnal animal.

Habitat

They are found during the day grouped together everywhere, on the ground under the leaves, in stumps or in hollow trees.

Reproduction

She is ovoviviparous and the gestation period of her eggs is approximately six months. She does not lay an ootheca but keeps her eggs, side by side in a cluster of 3 cm, inside her body. At term, the babies will all be born one after the other, emerging from their respective eggs. Newborns, like all cockroaches, are independent from birth and disperse. The growth is very slow, the young will take eight to nine months to become adults.

These cockroaches live 12 to 24 months, females longer than males.

Food

It is an omnivorous cockroach that feeds on fruits, seeds, vegetation, dead insects ...

Uses

Bred as pet.