Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog

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While a number of venomous animals paralyze prey as live food for their young, the Emerald Cockroach wasp is slightly different, in that it initially leaves it’s cockroach victim mobile; and modifies it’s victim’s behavior in a very unique way.

As early as the 1940s, female Emerald Cockroach wasps have been used as natural exterminators, against cockroach pests. When it attacks, this natural pest control provider will sting the cockroach two times, delivering a powerful venom. In 2003, a study showed that the wasp is able to sting directly into specific ganglia of the cockroach, paralyzing the front legs. This strike allows for a second venomous sting, which is delivered to a carefully chosen area in the cockroach’s brain; specifically the region that controls the escape reflex. As a result of this second attack, the cockroach will become sluggish, and fail to show normal escape responses.

At this point, the Emerald Cockroach wasp will proceed to chew off half of each of the cockroach’s antennae. It is believed that this is done to replenish fluids, or to regulate the amount of venom released; by the natural pest control provider. The wasp, which is obviously too small to carry the paralyzed cockroach, then leads it’s hapless victim back to the wasp’s burrow, by pulling on one of the roach’s antennae. Much like walking a dog, on a leash. Once the two have reached the burrow, the Emerald Cockroach wasp will lay a single white egg (approx. 2 mm long), on the cockroach’s abdomen. It then leaves the burrow and fills in the entrance with pebbles, more to keep other predators out; than to keep it’s helpless victim in.

With the escape reflex disabled, the helpless cockroach lays in the burrow, while the Emerald Cockroach wasp’s egg hatches; in approximately three days. The hatched larva then lives and feeds for up to 5 days on the cockroach, chewing its way into it’s victim’s abdomen. Over the next eight days, the Emerald Cockroach wasp larva will consume the victim’s internal organs, in an systematic manner which will guarantee that the cockroach remains alive until the larva enters the pupal stage; and forms a cocoon inside the hollowed-out body. Eventually, the fully grown wasp will emerge from the cockroach’s carcass, and begins its adult life as an exterminator of cockroaches; and provider of natural insect control services.

The End.

Related articles

• Revenge of the Zombifying Wasp (blogs.scientificamerican.com)
• Can Cockroaches Jump? Meet the Leaproach. (blogpestcontrol.com)
• Roach Control Services (bulwarkpestcontrol.om)

Yes. The cockroach can jump… well at lest the Leaproach can jump, and up to 50 times it’s own length!

But this unique roach is the only 1 of ~4000 known roach species that can jump. While a few roach cousins like the American Cockroach are equipped with wings and do fly, the Leaproach has no wings. The secret to the roach jumpers success lies in it’s knees, modified with rubber-band-like resilin. Other differences from most cockroach species are in the antennae and eyes. The antennae also have an additional fixation point to apparently help with navigation. The eye’s are more rounded, perhaps an aerodynamic feature, and larger, possibly helping in sight for better landing. Oh one more distinction of honor for this particular roach…

Leapingroach wins Award for New Species 2011

Leaproach Awarded Top 10 New Species of 2011

According to the local Phoenix school of Arizona State University, the Jumping Roach made the top 10 New Species list for 2011! Who would of ever thought that cockroach would win a popularity contest? Hats off the this modern bug who is setting a new precedents for roaches everywhere.

And if you need Phoenix Roach Control then try Bulwark Exterminating… Shameless I know.

Make it a great day!

Related articles

• Leaping Cockroach Gets Around on Spring-Loaded Knees (wired.com)
• Leaping cockroach jumps as high as a grasshopper (newscientist.com)
• Cockroach Infestation Takes Police Cruisers Off The Road (boston.cbslocal.com)

You haven’t really made it big in a place like Hollywood or New York City until you’ve been a guest on any of the late-night talk shows. Leno, Letterman and Conan, among others, are the milestones to many up-and-comers and been-there-done-thats that keep those names relevant to us, the wanting public.

This week a very special and well-deserved guest made his, or her, debut to late-night television. The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach made a guest appearance on Chelsea Handler’s “Chelsea Lately” show. Chelsea herself was actually absent, so funnyman and Leno sidekick Ross Matthews filled in as host. Animal enthusiast Mireya Mayor couldn’t get it to actually hiss, but it did a great job of scaring the laughs out of Mr. Matthews.

This about mirrored our first encounter with our very own Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. We bought him, or her, online from an online pest farm based in Ohio. We only assume that they (we bought 2) were imported straight from Madagascar. At least we like to think so. And we got ours to really hiss though!

*Did You Know: The head portion of the Madagascar Cockroach is said to be what George Lucas used to patten the design of Darth Vader’s helmet.

May the Hiss be with you!

My name is Luke and this story is about my first day on the job 2 years ago. I was an eager young lad ready for some hard work and had just been hired by the Atlanta Branch as a field technician. Like most employees on their first day out in the field, I was both nervous and excited. One of my advisors, Ben Montez, had just taught me how to drive a stick shift and I was ready to conquer the world. Picking up my paper work, I read through for the challenges of the next day so I could make sure I had everything I needed. A couple exterior sprays, a couple of ant mounds, and a German Cockroach account in Cumming. Sounds easy.

The next day went pretty smoothly – I was a new face for the company so there plenty of people to meet. The day went by very fast – it was relatively hot outside and was around 4 p.m. before I arrived at my last home, just on time. I walked up to the door and knocked when a young woman and her husband answered the door. “Hi! I’m here to help with the cockroach problem!” They smiled politely and welcomed me into their home. I took off my shoes and they proceeded to take me into the kitchen. A warm and curious smell entered my nostrils.  Mmm, I thought to myself…chicken.

They offered me a glass of juice and began to tell me a little bit about their problem. “I see a lot of roaches around the sink area, and if I wake up in the middle of the night to grab something, they are like everywhere, you know?” I nodded to myself. That would make sense, the kitchen is an area with heavy moisture and most roaches are nocturnal. According to my manual, roaches need moisture to survive and it’s likely they have infiltrated the cabinets. I pulled up my sleeves and prepared for an inspection. Armed with a flashlight and special bait formula, I decided to check under the sink first. Between the brillo pads and Windex bottle, I saw the yellow orange glow of what appeared to be some sort of shell. Being new to the job, this was a discovery the likes of which only Sherlock could have appreciated … my first egg capsule! I was getting closer to the source …

After I was done reviewing the immediate area around the sink, I had to stand up and stretch. I reached for my glass of juice and took a sip. What is that wonderful smell? As I set my glass down I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Standing between the sugar and some coffee filters was a tiny little cockroach staring back at me – I felt my heart skip a beat. If I can follow this thing, I’ll know exactly where they are coming from. As I moved in closer, the little guy scuttled behind a blender at the edge of the counter top. Happy to follow, I slowly picked up the blender and was surprised to find five more underneath. I was about to explode with excitement when all of them took off the counter and onto the wall behind the fridge. “Aha!” I thought to myself. I recruited the woman’s husband to help me pull out the fridge and grabbed my flashlight. What I was about to see has haunted me in my dreams ever since.

I couldn’t understand what was happening at first, but I’ll try my best to explain it. I poked my head behind the fridge and pointed the flashlight down. A large black vibrating mass began to scatter as about a hundred or so cockroches looked back up at me. In absolute shock and horror, I took a step back to catch up with my mind. That was when the walls started to move. I thought I was hallucinating at first and wondered if the family had put something in my juice. The lights began to flicker and to make matters worse, the woman began shouting nervously in her native language which really freaked me out. I took a couple steps back and heard a thick series of ‘crunches’ beneath the weight of my foot. I looked down to find previous white socks now covered with roaches. The woman continued to yell and started scooping up her crying children from the kitchen table as I looked around nervously for something to grab. I found a broom and began sweeping furiously against the flow of roaches as they made their way across the kitchen floor. Eventually the strength and size of the mass dwindled, as they began to scuttle back to various hiding places throughout the kitchen and cabinetry. The family had began to calm down and the blood was slowly returning to my face when I decided to step out and call some of the other technicians for advice.

Long story short, I scheduled a free follow-up visit after treating the residence and the family’s problem was solved. I however, have a harder time sleeping at night and can no longer stomach the smell of the chicken.