Gisborne cockroach



The introduced species Drymaplaneta semivitta called the Gisborne Cockroach is one of the larger cockroaches, It is about 20-45mm long and 12-15mm wide.It is coloured a glossy dark brown, with distinctive white stripes along each side of its head. D. semivitta, unlike many cockroaches, has no vestigial wings. D. semivitta is often found in sources of wood, such as timber or bark chips. It feeds off organic material but does not normally infest food. In cold weather, it can be found in roof cavities and the empty spaces between walls. D. semivitta is generally regarded as harmless. It is throughout the North Island of New Zealand. The "Gisborne" cockroach created much interest in the 1960's that it acquired its common name. However, it had probably come into the country from Australia earlier for as soon as it was noted in Gisborne, it was found in the Bay of Plenty and Auckland. It gradually  spread south to reach Wellington in the 1980's. It is now also present in Blenheim and Nelson (1990's) and specimens have been taken in Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill, so infrequently that these were probably transported rather than taken from local populations. It is the one species that could become a serious contaminant of our exports resulting in the denial of entry for our produce into the importing country.

This is a female cockroach with one pair of appendages (cerci).at the tip of the abdomen. A male has a pair of styli and a pair of cerci.