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Transvaal Museum index South Africa

Giant Wingless COCKROACHES

Most cockroaches are not pests, and seldom come into houses, also, most are less harmful to us than many of the insecticides that are used against them. Almost nothing is known about most of the cockroaches of South Africa, so there are plenty of opportunities for school projects! Some cockroaches make wonderful pets.

Acknowledgement: Mike Picker

The Giant Table Mountain Cockroach, Aptera fusca (Thbg.), Order Blattodea.

Like most other South African Cockroaches, very little is known about the Giant Table Mountain Cockroach. Although this cockroach is considerably smaller that the Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (which may measure up to 60mm.) and the Australian Giant Cockroach, it is one of the biggest and most interesting cockroaches in South Africa, and was selected partly because we know so little about them. A specimen of Aptera fusca may measure more than 36mm in length. Although the females are wingless, adult males are fully winged and capable of flight. To the best of our knowledge they have never been bred in captivity, but could make good pets. Females give birth to live young which remain together for some time. Some other African cockroaches actually carry their offspring around with them for a while, so cockroaches may be amongst the most primitive animals practising parental care. These wingless cockroaches illustrate the point that many insects have become completely wingless. Some flightless insects can give rise to fully winged offspring, suggesting that their ancestors had wings and that the genetic ability to produce wings was retained.

Photograph of a live specimen of a Giant Table Mountain Cockroach.

Note the attractive colouration on the sides of this insect. These colours tend to fade once the insect is dead.