Balta bicolor is a type of cockroach from the genus Balta.[1] Native to eastern Australia, the species has been identified in New Zealand since 2009.

Balta bicolor
A Balta bicolor specimen in Auckland, New Zealand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Ectobiidae
Genus: Balta
Species:
B. bicolor
Binomial name
Balta bicolor
Hebard, 1943

Description

edit

Balta bicolor has a relatively pale face, occiput and interocular area, with dark antennae. It is visually similar to Ellipsidion cockroaches, and can be distinguished from Balta transversa by its deeper head proportions.[1]

Distribution and habitat

edit

The species is native to eastern Australia.[2] In 2009, Biosecurity New Zealand first identified the species in New Zealand (as Balta bicolour), after being found in an Auckland kitchen.[3]

Balta bicolor is typically found in plant litter or under bark.[4]

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Hebard, M. (1943) Australian Blattidae of the subfamilies Chorisoneurinae and Ectobiinae (Orthoptera). Monogr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 4, 1–129.
  2. ^ "species Balta bicolor Hebard, 1943". Cockroach Species File. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  3. ^ MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (2009). "Pest watch: 20/02/2009 – 31/03/2009". Biosecurity Magazine (91): 26–27.
  4. ^ "Species Balta bicolor Hebard, 1943". Australian Faunal Directory. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

Further reading

edit
  • Dahms, E. 1972. Type-specimens of cockroaches (Blattodea) in the Queensland Museum. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 16: 275
  • Rentz, D. (2014). A Guide to the Cockroaches of Australia. Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing. p. 260.