This rhinoceros cockroach lives in permanent burrows. Rhinoceros cockroaches are usually solitary but adult males sometimes live with females that are almost mature.
Like all other members of the family to which they belong (Blaberidae), females of this species give birth to fully developed nymphs rather than laying eggs. Females incubate their eggs in a special chamber in their body for about three months until they hatch, giving birth at the end of the dry season to about 20 nymphs. The nymphs stay in the mother’s burrow for about five months, feeding on the litter she has accumulated there, before leaving to dig their own homes. Nymphs take three to four years to mature and in captivity adults can live for up to seven years.
Adults and large nymphs can hiss by expelling air from their last pair of abdominal spiracles (tiny breathing holes in the exoskeleton). They hiss when disturbed, when courting and when fighting.
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