The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach is also known as the hissing cockroach or hissers. They are found on the African Island, Madagascar. It is one of the most unique and fascinating cockroach species because of its distinguishing traits.
HOW TO IDENTIFY MADAGASCAR HISSING COCKROACHES
Appearance
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are giant cockroaches and they are much longer in size and can grow up to 7.5cm in length. They have an oval-shaped body and bear shiny-brown color. They are wingless and possess one pair of antenna. Male hissing cockroaches are larger in size as compared to female hissers; they have thick antennas and possess horns.
Behavior
Madagascar hissing cockroaches get their name because of the unique hissing sound they produce. They produce a very loud hissing sound that is used for several different purposes.
There are three types of hisses:
- Disturbance hiss
- Female attracting hiss
- Aggressive, fighting hiss
They use their hiss for communication for warning, for courtship and in determining the colony’s hierarchy. Only male hissers use the female-attracting hiss and the aggressive hiss.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are quite aggressive in nature and male hissing roaches use their horns to fight with their rivals. If some other roach member intrudes on their colony or antlered mammals challenge them, then they collide with them and fight out with their horns. It’s used for determining the roach colony’s hierarchy, as the winning roaches hiss more than the losers and thus establish their dominance.
The disturbance hiss is produced to threaten and warn away predators like birds, arachnids, and tenrecs.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are excellent climbers and have sticky feet which bear pads and hooks; these help them in climbing on smooth surfaces like glass.