Japanese cockroach
TaxonCrescispina japonica
Authority(Karny, 1908)

The Japanese cockroach (Crescispina japonica), synonym Periplaneta japonica,[1][2] also known as the Yamato cockroach,[3] is a cockroach native to Japan, adapted to cooler northern climates.[4][5][6] It has a flexible univoltine or semivoltine (one- or two-year) life cycle, depending on the timing of its hatching, and is unusual in being able to spend two winters as diapause nymphs before reaching maturity.[5]

Description

Initial first-instar nymphs are dark brown, with white or brownish white tips of the maxillary and labial palps. Adults measure 25–35 mm cm in length, and have a shiny, uniformly black to blackish-brown body, with brown tarsi and maxillary and labial palps. The adult male's wings extend slightly beyond the body's length, while the female's wings are around half the body's length.[7]

Unlike most cockroaches, the major hydrocarbon in C. japonica’s cuticular lipids is .[8] Males have significant amounts of not found on females, as do V. australasiae and V. fuliginosa males and females.[8] Glucose, myo-inositol, scyllo-inositol and trehalose were found in overwintering nymphs and are thought to be a factor in their freeze tolerance.[9]

Freeze tolerance

Nymphs have been observed in the wild hibernating in subfreezing temperatures during winter in snow-covered habitats.[10] Overwintering nymphs were able to survive laboratory supercooling experiments in the -5 to -8 C temperature range, enduring 12 hours of tissue freezing,[9] as well as recover from burial in ice.[3] The ability to walk on ice was also found to be unique among several cockroach species tested.[3]

Habitat

Primarily an outdoors species, populations are adaptable to living indoors in houses and buildings where food is stored, prepared, or served.[7][11]

Defense

A C. japonica nymph alone or in sparse populations accumulates a viscous secretion along its rear dorsal surface, droplets of which it can be splashed some distance toward a threat through a shaking action. The presence of an aggressive species of ant, Formica exsecta, triggered this defensive response, rendering the ants helpless.[12]

Presence as an introduced species

Originally from Japan, C. japonica has spread to China, Korea and far eastern Russia, though it is considered a common pest primarily in central and northern Japan.[6][7][11][13]

The species was found in New York City in 2013 by Evangelista et al.,[14]: 581[15]: 40[16] the first time the species was found in the United States.[17] It was found by an exterminator beneath plantings in High Line, a Manhattan park, and was able to survive over a cold winter.[18] Scientists who confirmed the identity of the species through genetic testing theorize that it may have been imported in the soil of ornamental plants used in the park.[17] This identification demonstrates the use of DNA barcoding for urban pest control.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ Luo, X.; Deng, W.; Han, W.; Lo, N.; Cai, J.; Che, Y.; & Wang, Z. (2025). "Revision of the cockroach subfamily Blattinae based on morphological and molecular analyses". Systematic Entomology. doi:10.1111/syen.12680
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Tanaka, S (May 2002). "Temperature acclimation in overwintering nymphs of a cockroach, Periplaneta japonica: walking on ice". Journal of Insect Physiology. 48 (5): 571–583. doi:10.1016/s0022-1910(02)00077-x. PMID 12770085
  4. ^ Encyclopedia of Life. "Japanese Cockroach - Periplaneta japonica". Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  5. ^ Tanaka, Seiji & Uemura, Yoshinobu (August 1996). "Flexible Life Cycle of a Cockroach Periplaneta japonica with Nymphal Diapause". Journal of Orthoptera Research. ' (5): 213–219. Orthopterists’ Society. doi:10.2307/3503596. JSTOR 3503596
  6. ^ Forman, Rob (9 December 2013). "Cockroach Never Seen Before in U.S. Is Identified in New York". Rutgers Today. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  7. ^ Robinson, William H. (14 April 2005). Urban Insects and Arachnids: A Handbook of Urban Entomology. Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-521-81253-5. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  8. ^ Morris Rockstein (2 December 2012). The Physiology of Insecta. Elsevier Science. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-323-16157-2. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  9. ^ Tanaka, Kazuhiro & Tanaka, Seiji (October 1997). "Winter Survival and Freeze Tolerance in a Northern Cockroach, Periplaneta japonica (Blattidae : Dictyoptera)". Zoological Science. 14 (5): 849–853. The Zoological Society of Japan. doi:10.2108/zsj.14.849. ISSN 0289-0003. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  10. ^ Yuichiro, Tabaru & Atsushi, Kobayashi (1971). "Outdoor hibernation of Periplaneta japonica (Blattaria: Blattidae) in snowy area" (in Japanese, en). Japanese Journal of Sanitary Zoology. 22 (2): 76–77. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  11. ^ Resh, Vincent H. & Cardé, Ring T. (22 July 2009). Encyclopedia of Insects. Academic Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-08-092090-0. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  12. ^ Ichinose, T & Zennyoji, K (1980). "Defensive behavior of the cockroaches, Periplaneta fuliginosa Serville and P. japonica Karny (Orthoptera: Blattidae) in relation to their viscous secretion". Applied Entomology and Zoology. 15 (4): 400–408. doi:10.1303/aez.15.400. ISSN 0003-6862. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  13. ^ "Catalogue of Life – 19th November 2013: Species details". Catalogue of Life. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  14. ^ Foottit, R. & Adler, Peter H. (2017). Insect Biodiversity : Science and Society. 2 ed. Hoboken, NJ, USA. pp. xxxi+867. ISBN 978-1-118-94556-8. OCLC 972640368 ISBN 978-1-78064-537-7. ISBN 9781118945537.
  15. ^ Dhang, Partho (2016). Climate Change Impacts on Urban Pests. Vol. 10. CABI Climate Change Series – Climate and Weather Series. Boston, MA, USA. pp. ix+189. ISBN 978-1-78064-538-4. OCLC 950084506 ISBN 9781780645377.
  16. ^ Evangelista, Dominic; Buss, Lyle; Ware, Jessica L. (2013-12-01). "Using DNA Barcodes to Confirm the Presence of a New Invasive Cockroach Pest in New York City". Journal of Economic Entomology. 106 (6): 2275–2279. Entomological Society of America (OUP). doi:10.1603/ec13402. ISSN 0022-0493. PMID 24498724
  17. ^ "Cockroach that can endure cold moves into NYC". USA Today. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  18. ^ Frishman, Austin M. & Bello, Paul J. (October 2013). The Cockroach Combat Manual II. Author House. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-4918-2064-3. Retrieved 9 December 2013.