A New Cockroach Species Is Spreading Like Wildfire In Malta
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Don’t look now, but Malta is currently experiencing the rise of a cockroach species while almost witnessing the demise of another. In total, there are 12 different cockroach species in Malta – but one of them, the alien Brown-Banded cockroach, is the one taking over.
“I remember 15 years ago I had encountered one specimen in Qawra, and as a naturalist and pest controller I was thrilled of such a find. Although this species was mentioned in literature by Anthony Valletta and by Guido Lanfranco in the 1950s, since then only a handful of doubtful records are available,” said Arnold Sciberras, an entomological pest consultant and The Exterminator.
Life cycle of a Brown-Banded cockroach
The first population of Brown-Banded roaches was found in a hotel in Qawra way back on 2008. Since then the species started expanding its range to St. Pauls Bay and Bugibba and, by 2010, it had reached Mellieħa.
All the while, the German cockroach (kokroċ tal-faxx) were spreading over the north of the island, as well as the harbour area.
But then Brown-Banded roaches were found in Żabbar in 2013.
By late 2013, 24 cases were studied and they all showed the same result: the Brown-Banded cockroach was decimating the German cockroach.
The crazy thing is that the Brown-Banded weren’t preying on the German or anything – in some cases, they were even copulating.
The German cockroach simply began to die out and were getting replaced by the Brown Banded one.
From 2014 to 2015 the ratio between the two species was 50-50, and during the last two years only 10% of the colonies found in Malta are German.
The Brown-Banded is a slow reproducer compared to the German one, however eradication of the Brown-Banded is much more difficult.
Life cycle of a German cockroach
The Brown-Banded is a small species of cockroach, measuring about 10 to 14 mm long. It can live anywhere from 130 to 315 days, with an average life span of 206 days. During that time, a female brown-banded cockroach will produce approximately 14 egg capsules, or oothecas.
She produces the ootheca, which contains an average of 10 to 18 eggs, carries it for approximately 24 to 36 hours, and then attaches it to the protected underside of a surface until the young hatch.
These roaches are usually nocturnal, however, it is not uncommon to spot the latter actively looking for food in the daytime, or scurrying away from the light when a cabinet door or drawer is opened.
Special thanks to Arnold Sciberras
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