The Warty Glowspot Cockroach (Lucihormetica verrucosa) is an insect in the Blaberidae family of giant cockroaches.
The Warty Glowspot Cockroach is mainly black or dark-brown with a white margin on its body. The male has a pair of large, yellow spots on its pronotum (front part of its body). Both the male and female have short wings.
It grows to about 4 centimetres (1.5 inches) in length. The male is slightly smaller than the female.
It is native to Venezuela and Colombia in South America. It lives on the ground most of the time, so it does not fly often.
The Warty Glowspot Cockroach is mainly nocturnal.
It is ovoviviparous. The female gives birth to about 20 live nymphs. The nymphs look like adult cockroaches, but smaller and without wings. They feed themselves, without the care of their parents. The nymph phase lasts for about 60 days, and they shed their outer skin 4-7 times as they grow larger. These stages are called instars or instar phases.
The adult stage is called the imago phase when the nymph gains its wings. It grows two pairs of wings. The adult phase lasts for about 200-300 days, and then it dies.
Location: Paris Zoo, France
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM