Premium
First field record of an introduced pet‐feeder cockroach, Blaptica dubia (Serville, 1838) (Blattidae, Blaberinae), in a temperate zone of Japan
Author(s) -
Kato Toshihide,
Yamasako Junsuke
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
entomological science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1479-8298
pISSN - 1343-8786
DOI - 10.1111/ens.12450
Subject(s) - biology , temperate climate , cockroach , ecology , blattidae , zoology , dictyoptera
The expansion of the worldwide pet trade has increased the invasion risks from not only exotic pet animals, but also live feeder organisms for predatory pet animals. Here, we report the first field record of a tropical live feeder cockroach, Blaptica dubia (Serville, 1838), in the central part of Japan. This widely traded feeder insect may be able to colonize temperate zones because they were estimated to survive through two winters in Japan at temperatures close to the upper limits of their critical thermal minimum. Further field observations are needed to understand the behavior of this species in the wild and predict the risk of invasion in temperate zones.