Think I found a Gyna bisannulata / Patchwork Cockroach

M

Malteser

Ootheca
Hello everyone! This will be my first post here, if this is the wrong part of the forum, I'm sorry.

So I'm not really in the roaches tbh, but this afternoon I saw a big (aprox 2 x 3.5 cm) what I thought was a bug or some kind of moth. I caught it in a jar, and started Googling (and that's how I ended up here). 

I'm 99% sure it's a Gyna bisannulata / Patchwork Cockroach. I live in Malta which is quite close to Africa, but not close at all to these countries where it is suppose to live http://www.roachcrossing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/gbisannulatamap.png

(Malta is the dot between Libya and Italy). 

So what do guys you think? Have they moved all the way up here or does my neighbour have an escaped pet roache? 

 
Interesting! Although I think it's unlikely that it has traveled that far on it's own. Let alone that it managed to cross the desert and the sea. 
More likely one of you neighbors is the culprit... 
Do you have a picture of the roach? 

 
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Probably an escaped pet roach, if it is indeed G.bisannulata. Can you get a picture of the roach?

 
Woah, this would be the craziest thing I've heard of since joining the roach hobby if it were true! But, like the others said, we'd need a pic to confirm.

 
Yeah, according to this site, they can be found both in Italy and Libya, so you are right in their range really. :)  I even found a few sources saying P.aegyptiaca can be found on the Maltese islands. Nice find!

 
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Yes, that's the one for sure :)  Thanks a lot! 

How did you find it? Do you know all the species or?

When I was trying to find out I started out searching for "black cockrach" and the patchwork roach came up. It had similar pattern/texture on the wings as the one I found, as well as the white line on the head. 

Found some more information here as well, which also confirms Malta is their natural habitat http://www.maltawildplants.com/!faunafungi/maltawildlife.php?species=Polyphaga aegyptiaca

 
This particular species is actually common in culture, and I have a colony myself, so that's how I am familiar with this species. :) Just got lucky lol!

They are pretty similar looking species, I can definitely see how one could confuse the two! ;)

 
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