Project on

(Biology)

Morphology of Cockroach

Submitted by
Bedantika Mondal
Class: XI Roll No.: 11 Section: A

Sprindale High School

Kalyani * Nadia * West Bengal
 Acknowledgement
I, Bedantika Mondal, Class-XI, Roll No.-11, Sec.-A would
like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my Teachers,
especially, Bobita Ma’am as well as our Principal, Ranjita Ma’am
who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project of
Biology on the topic, Morphology of Cockroach”, which also
helped me in doing a lot of Research and I came to know about so
many new things. I am really thankful to them. Secondly I would also
like to thank my parents and friends for their valuable suggestions
that helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time
frame.

Teacher’s signature Student’s signature

INTRODUCTION
The cockroach, Periplaneta americana (L.) is a large species with
adults 34–53 mm in length. It is reddish brown, with substantial variation in
light and dark patterns on the pronotum. Adults are winged and capable of
flight. Nymphs typically complete development in 13–14 months while
undergoing 13 molts. Adults live an average of 15 months, but longevity may
exceed 2 years. Females drop or glue their oothecae (8 mm long) to substrates
within a few hours or days of formation. Each ootheca has 12–16 embryos. A
female generally produces 6–14 egg cases during her life (mean of 9).

The taxonomic position of cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.) is

given below - 

Kingdom: Animalia 
Phylum: Arthropoda 
Subphylum: Hexapoda 
Class: Insecta 
Superorder: Dictyoptera 
Order: Blattodea
Family: Blattidae
Genus: Periplaneta
Species: P. americana

The cockroach is perhaps the most cosmopolitan peridomestic pest

species. Together with other closely related Periplaneta species, P. americana
is believed to have spread from tropical Africa to North America and the
Caribbean on ships engaged in slave trading. Today this species infests most of
the lower latitudes of both hemispheres and extends significantly into the more
temperate regions of the world. At present, the habitats of this species are quite
variable.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study is -

 To study the external morphology of the
cockroach, Periplaneta americana
 EXTERNAL MORPHOLOGY
Periplaneta americana

The American cockroach shows a characteristic insect morphology with

its body bearing divisions as head, trunk, and abdomen. The trunk, or thorax, is
divisible into prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax. Each thoracic segment
gives rise to a pair of walking appendages (known as cursorial legs). The
organism bears two pairs of wings. The fore wings, known as tegmina, arise
from mesothorax and are dark and opaque. The hind wings arise from the
metathorax and are used in flight, though cockroaches rarely resort to flight.
The abdomen is divisible into 10 segments, each of which is surrounded by
chitinous exoskeleton plates called sclerites, including dorsal tergites, ventral
sternites, and lateral pleurites.

Shape:
A cockroach has a flattened, oval body and long antennae (about the
length of their body). When looking at a cockroach from above, its head is
hidden from view. It has six strong legs covered with spines. Many adult
cockroaches have fully developed wings, but only few fly. The bodies of
cockroaches are oily to the touch and may be cool or warm, depending on the
temperature of their environment.

Size:

Periplaneta americana adults are about 1 3/8 to 2 1/8 inches (34-53 mm)

long and is about 7 mm (0.28 in) in height.

Colour:

Their color is a reddish brown except for a submarginal pale brown to

yellowish band around the edge of their pronotal shield (Pronotal shield - an
expanded version of the top surface plate of the front segment of the thorax).

Head parts:
 The head of the
cockroach has a distinct
triangular shape. It is formed
by the fusion of six segments.
The head shows great
mobility due to the presence
of a flexible neck. A pair of
compound eyes is present on
the head. In front of the eyes,
membranous sockets are
present, out of which two
antennae protrude out.
The antennae monitor
the surrounding environment
with the help of the sensory
receptors. The head also has
appendages that bear similarity to the mouthparts, such as labrum, a pair of
mandibles, a pair of maxillae and a labium. There is also flexible lobe called
the hypopharynx that acts as a tongue.

Thorax:

The thorax is further divided into prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax.

Each segment of the thorax has a pair of walking legs. The first pair of wings
called the tegmina comes out from the mesothorax and the second pair comes out
from the metathorax. The tegmina are dark and cover the hind wings, which are
membranous, transparent and used in flight.
Abdomen:

The abdomen is made up of 10 segments. The 7 th, 8th and 9th sterna form a

genital pouch in females. In males, the genital pouch is present at the hind end of
the abdomen. The male cockroach has thread-like anal styles, which are missing
in the female cockroach.  The 10th segment has a filamentous structure called the
anal cerci, in both male and female cockroach.
 BODY ANATOMY OF COCKROACH
Alimentary Canal
The three parts into which the alimentary canal is divided are the foregut,
midgut, and
hindgut. The mouth
leads into a
pharynx which
leads into a narrow
passage called the
oesophagus. The
oesophagus opens
into a sac-like
structure called the
crop that stores
food.

The gizzard
is the next structure
that is present after
the crop. It is also
called the proventriculus. It helps in grinding the food particles due to the
presence of six chitinous plates called teeth. A cuticle lines the entire foregut. At
the junction of the foregut and midgut, there is a ring of tubules called the gastric
caecae, which secrete digestive juice.

Another ring of 100-150 yellow coloured thin filamentous Malpighian

tubules is present at the junction of the midgut and hindgut. These Malpighian
tubules help in the removal of excretory products. The hindgut opens outside
through the anus.
Blood Vascular System
An open blood vascular
system is found in a cockroach
as the blood vessels are poorly
developed. There is an open
space called the hemocoel into
which the visceral organs are
located.

These visceral organs

are bathed in hemolymph
which is the blood of a
cockroach. The hemolymph is
made of colorless plasma and hemocytes. An elongated tube with a muscular
wall regulates the blood in the hemocoel. This elongated tube which is the heart
of the cockroach has many funnel-shaped chambers and lies mid-dorsally in the
abdomen and thorax.

Respiratory System
In cockroach, the
respiratory system has a network
of the trachea. They open through
10 pairs of spiracles that are
present on the lateral side of the
body. Thin tubes carry oxygen
from the air to all the parts of the
body. The spiracles are regulated
by the sphincters. Exchange of
gases takes place by diffusion.

Nervous System
 Fused ganglia that are
segmentally arranged make up
the nervous system of this
insect. The thorax region has
three ganglia and the abdomen
has six ganglia. In a cockroach,
the nervous system is spread
throughout the body.

In the head region, only a

little bit of the nervous system is present while the majority is situated
on the ventral side of the body. The supra-oesophageal ganglion
supplies the nerves to antennae and compound eyes. The sense organs
in a cockroach are the antennae, eyes, maxillary palps, labial palps,
anal cerci.

Excretory System
The Malpighian tubules
perform the excretion in a cockroach.
There are glandular and ciliated cells
that are present lining each tubule,
which absorb the nitrogenous waste
products. These are converted into
uric acid and excreted out through the
hindgut. This is the re ason why a
cockroach is called a uricotelic.

Reproductive System
 Reproductive System
The reproductive system is well developed in both the male and female
cockroaches. The male reproductive system has a pair of testes that lie on the
lateral side in the 4th -6th abdominal segments. There is an accessory
reproductive gland in the 6th and 7th abdominal segments that is mushroom
shaped. Chitinous asymmetrical structures called the male gonapophysis or
phallomere from the external genitalia.
 The female reproductive system has two large ovaries that are present
laterally in the 2nd to the 6th abdominal segments. A group of eight ovarian
tubules forms one ovary. They contain a chain of developing ova. The fertilized
eggs are encased in a casing called the oothecae. Female cockroaches produce
around 9 to 10 oothecae which contain around 14 to 16 eggs each.

Difference between male and female cockroach (Periplaneta

americana)

Male Cockroach Female Cockroach

The body of male cockroach is
smaller than the female
cockroach's body.
The abdomen of male cockroach is
slender as well as the last segment
of the abdomen is pointed.
The wings of male cockroaches are
larger.
The antennae of male cockroach
are smaller than that of the
female’s cockroach antennae.
In the 9th sternum of abdomen a
pair of small, un-jointed anal styles
along with the 10th tergum of
abdomen a pair of long, palp-like
jointed anal cerci are present.
The sternum of mesothorax is not
bifurcated in male cockroaches.
The body of female cockroach is
relatively larger than the male
body.
The abdomen of the female
cockroach is boat-shaped and the
last segment is blunt.
The wings of female cockroaches
are smaller.
The antennae of female
cockroaches are relatively larger
than that of the males.
There is only a pair of anal cerci
is present in of female cockroach.
The sternum of mesothorax is
bifid in the female cockroach’s
body.

Conclusion:
 According to a World Health Organization report, cockroaches
have been in existence for about 360 million years (Upper
Carboniferous). In the present time there are around 45 pathogens known
that can transmit of mechanical and natural way, mainly bacteria flora,
different protozoan, pathogenic worms, fungus, and viruses. Cockroaches
can sometimes play a role as carriers of intestinal diseases, such as
diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid fever and cholera. However, The cockroach
has been used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, with
references to its usage in the Compendium of Materia Medica and
Shennong Ben Cao Jing. In China, an ethanol extract of the American
cockroach, kang fu xin ye, is used as a prescribed drug for wound healing
and tissue repair.

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