Periplaneta japanna explained

Periplaneta japanna is a subtropical field-dwelling cockroach endemic to southern Japan.^[1] The Japanese common name means urushi cockroach, or lacquer tree cockroach.^[2]

Nymphs and adults are a dark black, and typically live under stones and pieces of wood. Their ability to bore or live in rotting wood enables their spread via ocean currents.^[3]

The species is found on several Japanese islands, distributed continuously from Japan's southwestern Ryukyu Islands chain to the south of Kyushu Island, and on Hachijō-jima Island.^[4]

Nymph specimens from Hachijō-jima Island and Naha, Okinawa responded to photoperiodic stimuli quite differently during laboratory-induced diapause tests. This “might be regarded as the result of divergent evolution” between the parapatric populations.

External links

• Civil International Corporation's blog (in English, translated by Google), with many photos and observations concerning P. japanna. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
• Civil International Corporation’s blog (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 December 2013.

Notes and References

1. Zhu . Dao-Hong . Tanaka . Seiji . Different photoperiodic responses in two geographic populations of a subtropical cockroach, Periplaneta japanna Asahina . Acta Ecologica Sinica . 2007 . 27 . 9 . 3687–3693 . ja, en . 10 December 2013 .
2. Book: Asahina . Shojiro (朝比奈正二郎) . ja:日本産ゴキブリ類 . Blattaria of Japan . ja . 4-521-00281-1 . 1991 . http://rnavi.ndl.go.jp/mokuji_html/000004323050.html . Table of contents . y . 10 December 2013 .
3. Sakai . Masahiro . Ohbayashi . Nobuo . Yoshihara . Kazumi . Aita . Kazuhiro . Okada . Keiji . Yoshimichi . Syun Ichi . Yano . Shinji . Ono . Hiroshi . Konishi . Tomotaka . The enumeration of insects collected at Uchiumi-mura, Ehime Prefecture, Japan . Memoirs Of The College Of Agriculture Ehime University . 42 . 2 . 1998 . 169–190 . 10 December 2013 .
4. Web site: Catalogue of Life. Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist. 9 December 2013.