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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about hissing cockroaches. Just like today’s animal, the sub button won’t bite; be sure to click it if you enjoy the content! Technically there are somewhere around twenty species of hissing cockroaches and all but one of them is endemic to Madagascar, so even the name Madagascar hissing cockroach doesn’t clearly define today’s subject. Most of what we’re discussing today applies specifically to the most well known species of hissing cockroach, though it should be noted that these guys in general are rather poorly studied in the wild since where their live is difficult to traverse.

Hissing cockroaches get their name from their unique ability to produce sound. Spiracles are basically the breathing holes in the bodies of many arthropods, but hissing cockroaches have special spiracles which produce their hissing voices. The loud mouths of the hissing cockroach world are the males who not only hiss to ward off predators, but also to attract females and to show dominance to other males. Usually the biggest, loudest males are the dominant males in an area and he’ll defend his turf so he can mate with the nearby ladies. Males will even fight on occasion using the raised bumps on their “heads”. These are technically present in females as well, but they’re more distinct in males and can be an easy identified between the sexes.

Mating can occur year round for these arthropods, though it needs to be warm. After mating, instead of laying the fertilized eggs, a female will let them develop inside of her. After about two months, the babies will hatch inside of her and at that point she’ll give birth to them. Hissing cockroaches don’t undergo full metamorphosis because the babies come out as nymphs looking like smaller versions of their parents. They’ll molt six times over the course of about half a year at which point they’ll reach their adult size and stop molting. These cockroaches are some of the largest in the world. They can reach four inches (10 centimeters) in length with males typically appearing bigger than females.

In order to maintain their chunk physique, hissing cockroaches eat decaying plant material and typically love rotting fruit. They’ll eat smaller insects and feed on carrion as well. In turn, they’re eaten by birds, reptiles, and small mammals - well at least if they aren’t scared off by the cockroaches’ hissing. Females and younger males only hiss to give a loud alert. It’s like when Chester fights with his sister. This is likely in an attempt to make any enemies drop them in fright. Unlike most cockroaches, hissing cockroaches don’t possess wings, so they can’t just fly away from an attacker, but they can scuttle; and special pads on their feet allow them to stick to many surfaces.

It’s generally thought that hissing cockroaches live on the forest floor in congregations probably favoring rotting logs. They can live anywhere from two to five years and even come with their own parasites who cling to their feet in order to eat the food the cockroaches consume. It’s free real estate, really.

For more facts on hissing cockroaches, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.