It’s that time again! What time you may ask? It’s time for a new series on our Education Blog! This series will focus on the animals that we house here in our education building. Most of the animals we use for our educational programming reside in the Children’s Zoo and are taken care of by their very knowledgeable staff. However, here in the Brown Education Center we do house a few select fish, invertebrates and reptiles.
So why not jump in head first? Let’s meet our plethora of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa). This species of invertebrate hails from the island of Madagascar, off the coast of east Africa. They usually feed on fruit and plant material which they find on the forest floor.
Our Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches chowing down on some lettuce
Here at the Houston Zoo we have so many that we can’t even name them all! We have every size…from “Teeny tiny are you a piece of shrunken carrot?” to “My oh my you could be the national bird of Madagascar!”
These cockroaches may range in size from itty bitty to a small bird, however they cannot fly like other species of cockroaches. Their main way to ward off predators is to hiss! They make this noise by exhaling air through several breathing holes. Although both males and females can hiss, only males display unique horns on the tops of their heads which make them look more impressive to other males.
A male cockroach enjoying a fruit snack
These cockroaches can also use their hissing noise to attract mates. Can anyone say triple threat?
Here in the Education Department we love to use these inverts to bring to Adventure Classes, Critter Encounters, or on ZooMobiles. There’s nothing like engaging a group of students while simultaneously scaring the heebee jeebies out of teachers and parents!
Don't be scared, put your hand in there!
What do you think…would you touch our cockroaches?
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My son’s hissing coachroach just had another batch of babies. The male and female haven’t been together since we discovered the first batch of babies. How is this possible. Do you have any ideas of how to give them away so that they won’t be food to something.
cheryl
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for your question. Some species of cockroaches are unique in that when a female first mates, she can remain fertilized for life. We have not been able to verify whether or not this is the case with Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Another way this could have happened is with the nymphs (juvenile cockroaches). Male nymphs become sexually mature at about 6 months old, so if you did not separate the nymphs immediately, then the males and females could have mated with each other.
In terms of giving them away, we suggest that you contact school districts to see if any science teachers are interested in taking any. Whatever you choose to do, it is VERY important that you do NOT release these cockroaches into your backyard or outside anywhere. Because Madagascar hissing cockroaches are not native to Texas, if released they could become an invasive species which would be extremely detrimental to the area.
If you have further questions feel free to contact education@houstonzoo.org!