Appearance
The black and white pattern of adults is believed to have evolved to mimic the pattern of the aggressive ground beetle ''Anthia sexguttata'' that has strong defenses, including the ability to spray chemical irritants. The upperside of the abdomen is orange-yellow, but is hidden by the tegmina. The spots on the asymmetrical tegmina are placed so that when closed, the spots appear symmetrical. The right tegmen lobe is bright orange-yellow. The species has been said to be one of the few cockroaches with "grace and beauty". The head is bent back underneath the pronotal shield and the ocelli face forward, helping sense light and thereby time foraging activity during early morning and late evening.Behavior
Like other cockroaches, ''T. petiveriana'' uses chemical pheromones to communicate with each other. When disturbed, they are said to raise their wings and evert lateral glands on the second and third abdominal segments. Their glandular secretions were found to contain volatile compounds N-3-methylbutylacetamide and N-3-methylbutylpropanamide , making up nearly 60% of the volatile fraction. These chemicals appeared to induce alarm behaviour.Reproduction
Once a female has copulated with a male, she does not allow other males to approach, kicking them away with her hind legs. The eggs are laid in leaf litter. Up to 13 oothecae are produced by a female over 3 to 40 days . The oothecae are produced as in other cockroaches by the secretions from the asymmetrical colleterial glands of the females. Once the ootheca is extruded it is deposited in suitably moist leaf litter. Nymphs lead a life hidden below the ground and may go as deep as 30 cm during the dry season.Uses
This species is popular as a pet in many parts of the world and is easy to keep.References:
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