30mm | July 2, 2011 | Monte Alegre, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I saw quite a variety of cockroaches in my relatively short outing to Monte Alegre. The first one, above, was the largest and was not altogether unattractive. It blended in well with the leaf litter.

The second one was a bit smaller, and was spotted in some low foliage.

25mm | Dorsolateral view

This last one was the smallest, but the most robust.

20mm | Dorsal view

It was moving slowly about until it encountered something tasty (rodent dropping?).

Lateral view | Feeding

5cm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I found this impressively large two inch long cockroach just like this, sticking out its abdomen from the side of a creek bank after dark. I found the behavior odd, and I suspected that it might be releasing pheromones to attract a mate. I really had no idea if cockroaches did that or not. After some recent reading, that does appear to be part of the courtship ritual. To initiate courtship, a female will call nearby males in this manner. Presumably then, this is a female.

A while later, I managed to catch her in a different pose.

Another pose

Checking the plates of the Electronic Biologia Centrali-Americana, I wonder if this might be Cacoblatta scabra (or a related species) from this plate.

Reference:

The Compleat Cockroach
by David George Gordon