Hiss Hiss I'm Not A Snake!

My love for entomology started when we were catching dragonflies and grasshoppers as a kid. We love the insect world. My brothers were collecting spiders as I collect beetles and grasshoppers. We even look for praying mantis and then take care of it for it days. We catch flies as for their meal. We would be amazed with stick insects as they looked like twigs. We would get them for a while and then freed them after.

I still love insects. They represent how beautiful our planet is. They represent to take care of the environment. Right now let me tell you about the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. When I told my friends that I want one, they just go “Eeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww!” I hate roaches that fly but this one is harmless and does not carry deadly diseases. Most especially I like how they create their hissing sound.

This insect hails from the island of Madagascar. Well Madagascar has a lot of unique and fascinating animal species and one of them is the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. They are shiny brown and oval shaped. They have no wings and have a single pair of antennae. The males have horns which gives them an unusual look. Males use their horns as to defend theirselves or to fight with other horned mammals. Winning roaches hiss more so the sounds may be used to help determine a roach hierarchy.

The reason why I want one is because of their hissing sound. Hissing is part of their mating ritual and used as an effective alarm cry. How do they hiss? They exhale air through their breathing holes. These breathing pores or spiracles are found on each segment of their thorax and abdomen. There are three forms of hiss, first the disturbance hiss, the female attracting hiss and the fighting hiss.

They inhibit the Madagascar grounds where they hide in leaf litter, logs and other debris. They scavenge at night feeding on fruit or plant materials. They are vegetarian so don’t worry about getting disease. They don’t bite as well.