Austral Ellipsidion - Ellipsidion australe
The Beautiful Cockroach, Family Blattellidae
This page contains pictures and information about the Austral Ellipsidion Cockroaches that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 18mm
- Not all cockroaches are ugly. This Austral Ellipsidion Cockroach looks beautiful. Its body is brown to dark brown with a white pattern. Its thorax is dark brown in colour with a good looking yellow around the edge. The Cockroach is winged, with brown forewings covered the hind wings and black abdomen.
- Last instars, body length 18mm
Cockroaches are classified as order Blattodea. Most of them are beautiful insects although this perception is always outweighed by their name "cockroaches". They have long spiny legs, their antennae are longer than their body. Their body is usually flat and broad so that they can squeeze into very tight places. The head is small and pointing downwards, concealed under the pronotum.
They are very good runners. This Cockroach is active at day time, running freely on the leaves and flowers. Most other cockroaches are scavengers, they feed on almost everything. We are not exactly sure what this Austral Ellipsidion Cockroach feed on, but they are always found on plants, seldom on the ground. They are believed feed on pollen, honeydew and mould fungus.
In spring season, we found the above female cockroach with ootheca. There was another ootheca found near-by. We took the ootheca home and tens of small cockroaches hatched after one week. They were dark brown in colour with 1.5mm body length.
- Nymph, body length 8mm and 14mm
- Last Instars Nymph, body length 18mm
- The above photos show the last instars stage nymph. The second picture shows it became an adult after moulting.
We found that they grow very slowly, could be one generation per year. We can only see the young little nymph in spring season. They develop in in-complete metamorphosis.
- The photos show the winged adult wandering in bush. Although most cockroaches are active at night, the Austral Ellipsidion Cockroaches forage on foliage of shrubs during the daytime. They run away very fast when disturbed. They can be found in our backyards and bushlands in Brisbane.
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A few species of cockroaches have given the group a bad name. They transmitted diseases when they occur in house and restaurants. They can contaminate food and must be controlled. However, the Austral Ellipsidion Cockroaches never found inside houses. They always look beautiful and clean.
- A closer look at this lovely cockroach nymph. Did they change your perception on cockroaches?
