Madagascar hissing cockroach: Difference between revisions
| Line 39: | Line 39: | ||
[[Tyler the Creator]] featured a hissing cockroach in his video for [[Yonkers (song)|Yonkers]] off of the album ''[[Goblin (album)|Goblin]]'' during which he bites the thorax off of the cockroach before [[vomiting]] it up.<ref>http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/tyler-the-creator/#page2</ref> |
[[Tyler the Creator]] featured a hissing cockroach in his video for [[Yonkers (song)|Yonkers]] off of the album ''[[Goblin (album)|Goblin]]'' during which he bites the thorax off of the cockroach before [[vomiting]] it up.<ref>http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/tyler-the-creator/#page2</ref> |
||
In season 3 of Sony's The Tester TV show, these cockroaches are featured prominently in the first episode's challenge. Each candidate sits in a chair with a square-glass box placed over their head and then the cockroaches are dumped in, and are then asked questions by the judges as if it was a job interview. |
In season 3 of Sony's ''The Tester" TV show, these cockroaches are featured prominently in the first episode's challenge. Each candidate sits in a chair with a square-glass box placed over their head and then the cockroaches are dumped in, and are then asked questions by the judges as if it was a job interview. <ref>[http://http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/shows-and-tv-series/thetester/]</ref> |
||
==As pets== |
==As pets== |
||
Revision as of 00:45, 17 February 2012
| Madagascar hissing cockroach | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | Portentosa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Gromphadorhina portentosa (Schaum, 1853)
| |
The Madagascar hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa), also known as the Hissing Cockroach or simply Hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 2–4 inches at maturity. They are from the island of Madagascar off the African coast, where they can be found in rotting logs.
Unlike most cockroaches, they are wingless. They are excellent climbers and can scale smooth glass. Males can be distinguished from females by their thicker, hairier antennae and the pronounced "horns" on the pronotum. Females carry the ootheca (egg case) internally, and release the young nymphs only after the eggs have hatched. As in some other wood roaches, the parents and offspring will commonly remain in close physical contact for extended periods of time. In captivity, these insects can live 5 years. They feed primarily on vegetable material.
Hissing
The Madagascar cockroach has become characterized by its hissing sound, large size, and appearance. Their nickname, "hissing cockroach," is due to their ability to force gas through the breathing pores (spiracles) found on each segment of their thorax and abdomen.[1] The Madagascar hissing cockroach is believed to be the only insect that can hiss in this exact manner,[2] as most insects that make a "hissing" sound do so by rubbing together various body parts. (Some long-horned beetles, e.g., the Giant Fijian long-horned beetle, can squeeze air out from under their elytra, but this does not involve the spiracles). This hiss takes three forms: the disturbance hiss, the female-attracting hiss, and the fighting hiss. All cockroaches from the fourth instar (fourth molting cycle) and older are capable of the disturbance hiss. Only males use the fighting hiss; they use it when challenged by other males. This establishes a dominance hierarchy by one of the males backing down and the fight being over. Males hiss more often than females. Males hiss sometimes as a challenge of battle.
Associations with other animals
The mite species Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi lives on this species of cockroach and takes some of its host's food. As these mites do not harm the cockroaches they live upon, they are commensals, not parasites.
Popular culture
The Madagascar hissing cockroach has been featured in Hollywood movies, prominently in Bug (1975) as cockroaches who could set fires by rubbing their legs together and, in Damnation Alley (1977), as post-nuclear-war mutant armor-plated "killer" cockroaches. In Starship Troopers, a movie about a war against an enemy called "The Bugs," a teacher is shown encouraging her students to step on this species as part of a TV propaganda broadcast.
A Madagascar hissing cockroach has been used as the driver of a mobile robot.[3] They were used in the reality television series Fear Factor. The species also made an appearance in the movie Men In Black in 1997. This was later parodied in the comedy Team America: World Police (2004), where one emerges from Kim Jong-il's body after his death, enters a tiny spaceship, and flies away.
In September 2006, amusement park Six Flags Great America announced that it would be granting unlimited line-jumping privileges for all rides to anyone who could eat a live Madagascar hissing cockroach as part of a Halloween-themed FrightFest. Furthermore, if a contestant managed to beat the previous world record (eating 36 cockroaches in 1 minute), he would receive season passes for four people during the 2007 season. This is a difficult record to break because raw cockroaches contain a mild neurotoxin that numbs the mouth and makes it difficult to swallow.[citation needed] The promotion ended on October 29, 2006.
The cockroaches were used in a runway challenge for the sixth cycle of America's Next Top Model, in which they were adorned with colorful decorations and attached to the models with a leash while they walked the runway dressed in the Jared Gold "Glinka" collection - getting very mixed reactions from the models (as one of them in particular harbored a phobia of cockroaches).[4]
Mutated Madagascar hissing cockroaches figure heavily into the plot of the comic book The Exterminators.
On August 12, 1999, "Jungle" John LaMedica of Newark, DE, USA was placed in a plexiglass coffin with 20,050 giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches on the set of Guinness World Records Primetime in Hollywood, CA, USA.
Tyler the Creator featured a hissing cockroach in his video for Yonkers off of the album Goblin during which he bites the thorax off of the cockroach before vomiting it up.[5]
In season 3 of Sony's The Tester" TV show, these cockroaches are featured prominently in the first episode's challenge. Each candidate sits in a chair with a square-glass box placed over their head and then the cockroaches are dumped in, and are then asked questions by the judges as if it was a job interview. [6]
As pets
 | This section contains instructions, advice, or how-to content. (September 2011) |
Madagascar cockroaches are often kept as exotic pets, and do not bite. They need a small living area and a spot for them to hide because they do not like the light. They also need sticks because they sometimes like to climb. They sometimes will choose trees if rotten logs and leaves are not available. Remember no cockroach will choose this over a log or leaves. The living area must be tested to see if they can climb it as they can climb most kinds. Fish tanks with screens work best but it is also wise to coat the first few inches with petroleum jelly to keep them from getting out. They can live on fresh vegetables along with any kind of pellet food that is high in protein, such as dry dog food. In the USA, some states require permits before this species can be kept as a pet or in breeding colonies. For example, the state of Florida requires such a permit. In fact, during outreach programs, the University of Florida's Department of Entomology and Nematology, which has such a permit, allows only males to be taken out of the laboratory. This is to prevent the possible introduction of a pregnant female into the environment.
References
External links
- Madagascar Hissing cockroach as Pets
- CockroachGuy.com Care information and photos
- Rearing cockroaches and details of a society dedicated to keeping cockroaches
- Live roach cam
- Photos of Madagascar hissing cockroach - black form and Madagascar hissing cockroach - red form
- When Cockroaches Seize Controls - Cockroach-controlled mobile robot story in Wired News