Blatta (Shelfordella) lateralis Walker, 1868 - Turkestan cockroach - Κατσαρίδα του Τουρκεστάν - Cyprus

Family: Blattidae

Male

Female

The Turkestan cockroach (Blatta lateralis, or Shelfordella lateralis in some classifications), also known as the rusty red cockroach, red runner cockroach or simply rusty red, red runner, or lat, is a primarily outdoor-dwelling cockroach native to an area from northern Africa to Central Asia. Adults measure around 3 cm (1.2 in) in length. Adult males are a brownish orange or red, are slender, and have long, yellowish wings which allow it to fly. Adult females are dark brown to black, with cream-colored markings on the shield and a cream-colored stripe edging its wings; they are broader than males, and have short vestigial wings. Nymphs are brown in front, black on the rear, and are wingless

Habitat
The Turkestan cockroach is primarily an outdoor insect, not known as an aggressive indoor pest, unlike some cockroach species such as the German and brown-banded cockroaches, though it will inhabit areas around dwellings where shelter can be found. However, in specific localities or tropical locations, it can become a significant indoor pest. Of occasional indoor interlopers, males are more commonly encountered than females, due to their ability to fly and an attraction to lights. In Arabia, it lives beneath stones in damp hollows, desert farms, and wadis, feeding primarily at night.

Nymph

Nymph

Distribution

The species is found in central Asia, the Caucasus Mountains, northeastern Africa, and its distribution includes the following countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kashmir, Libya, Palestine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States (adventive).

US introduction
The Turkestan cockroach was first noticed in the US in 1978, around the former Sharpe Army Depot in California, followed shortly after by appearances at Fort Bliss in Texas and several other military bases. Researchers believe the species arrived on military equipment returning from central Asia, perhaps Afghanistan. Since then the species has been rapidly replacing the common oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) in urban areas of the southwestern US “as the most important peri-domestic species”, with advantages of laying more eggs and maturing more quickly than the oriental cockroach. “They typically inhabit in-ground containers such as water meter, irrigation, and electrical boxes, raises of concrete, cracks and crevices, and hollow block walls.” They are well established in the Southwest and parts of the Southeast, and have been reported in the Northeast.

Uses

Pet food

In the US, Turkestan cockroaches are sometimes kept to feed to pet reptiles and other insectivores, chosen partly because they can't climb smooth surfaces and don't burrow. Cockroaches have been replacing crickets, the most popular feeder insect for decades, due to the cricket's noise, odor, short lifespan, and expense. Turkestan cockroaches are a popular choice of species, and are readily available for sale over the Internet, which may hasten their spread to new habitats.

Although reliable information on specific dietary requirements of insectivores is scant, Turkestan cockroaches provide a high-protein, low fat nutrition composition similar to crickets, more so than mealworms or superworm larvae provide. The gut contents of the cockroach, depending on its diet, may provide essential nutrients unavailable from a cockroach with an empty gut.

In a study of commercially ordered specimens, small second instar nymphs (0.9–1.3 cm) consisted of 21% dry matter, made of 76% crude protein and 14% crude fat, while medium third instar nymphs (1.3-1.9 cm) consisted of 28% dry matter, made of 53% crude protein and 27% crude fat. Mineral content is well represented except for a low calcium:phosphorus ratio typical in cockroaches, and calcium supplementation may be advisable. Vitamin A and E content was relatively low, and is generally significantly higher in free ranging cockroaches. Insectivores fed unsupplemented invertebrates have been found to suffer from vitamin A deficiencies, and a study of panther chameleons (Furcifer pardalis) found vitamin A deficiency shortened life spans and reduced reproduction rates.

Parasitic host
Blatta lateralis has been identified in Iraq as a parasitic host for larvae of the wasp Ampulex assimilis. An adult wasp stings the cockroach, pulls or leads it by its antenna to the wasp's nest, deposits its egg on the femur of the cockroach's midleg, then closes the nest with debris. Upon hatching, the wasp larva feeds externally, then bores into the cockroach for further food and pupation. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ootheca (Egg case)

Ootheca (Egg case)

Photos at Alaminos, 21/7/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 

This is the first record of the Species for Cyprus

Υδατοφράκτης Παλαιχωρίου - Palechori dam - Cyprus

See also

List of dams and lakes of Cyprus

Είναι χωρητικότητας 620 χιλιάδες κυβικών μέτρων νερού και το σημείο υπερχείλισης βρίσκεται στα 33 μέτρα ύψος. Σε κατάσταση υπερχείλισης δημιουργεί λίμνη ίση με 11 εκτάρια, Άρχισε να αποθηκεύει νερό τον χειμώνα του 1973 και έκτοτε έχει εμπλουτιστεί με πολλά είδη ψαριών.

Photos 22/7/2016 by George Konstantinou

Large marsh horsefly - Tabanus autumnalis Linnaeus, 1761 - Cyprus

Tabanus autumnalis, the large marsh horsefly, is a medium-sized species of biting horse-fly. It is somewhat scarce compared to T. bromius and T. bovinus. This species shows slightly more of a preference for coastal marsh than some of the other European Tabanus, sometime even found in saltmashes. Wing length is 13–16 mm and about 16–22 mm in body length.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Geri 21/7/2016 by George Konstantinou

Supella longipalpa (Fabricius 1798) - Brown-banded cockroach - Cyprus

Suborder: Blattodea
Family: Blattellidae

The first record of the species in Cyprus. Published later in the book Wildlife of Cyprus.

The brown-banded cockroach (Supella longipalpa) is a small species of cockroach, measuring about 5⁄8 in (10 to 14 mm) long. It is the only species of the genus Supella. It is tan to light brown and has two light-colored bands across the wings and abdomen, they may sometimes appear to be broken or irregular but are quite noticeable. The bands may be partly obscured by the wings. The male has wings that cover the abdomen, while the female has wings that do not cover the abdomen completely. The male appears more slender than the female, the female appears wider.

Distribution
The brown-banded cockroach has a fairly wide distribution, being found in the northeastern, southern, and midwest regions of the United States quite commonly. They are one of the most recent alien cockroaches to form breeding colonies in Britain and Ireland. They need less moisture than the German cockroach so they tend to be more broadly distributed in the home, such as in living rooms and bedrooms. They can often be found in homes and apartments, but are less common in restaurants. They tend not to be found in the daytime, since they avoid light.

In an experiment by Tsai and Chi they found that populations of brown-banded cockroaches would be expected to thrive in environments with a temperature between 25 to 33 °C.


Diet
The brown-banded cockroach eats a wide variety of items. In an experiment by Cohen and colleagues they found that the larva of the brown-banded cockroach when given a choice will choose a casein:glucose ratio of 15.5:84.5. The larvae that ate only casein died early in the experiment, a few larvae that ate only glucose survived past the larval stage but did not make it to adulthood. A decline in consumption of carbohydrates was seen at the time of first and second moults.


Physiology
Prakash and colleagues explain that the brown-banded cockroach has five segmented maxillary palps and the most distal fifth segment has the largest segment with the most variety of sensilla. With the variety of shapes and sizes of the maxillary it is expected that they would have a variety of functions. In Prakash and colleagues experiment they observed that the curved edge of fifth segment that remained most ventral and probes the substratum with it during foraging. On the fifth segment parallel to the curved ventral edge on the medial surface is a longitudinal furrow that's densely lined with papillaform sensilla. The shaft of the papilla has a longitudinal slit near the distal tip, allowing dendrites of the sensillum to sense the external environment. These dendrites proceed in a wavy form through the shaft of the sensillum. The sensillum contains antennal glomeruli, suggesting that it has an olfactory role. Prakash and colleagues suggest that since the location of this sensilla is in the maxillary palp that this is a short-range olfactory detector for the micro-environment. The olfactory sensilla on the antenna and the double-walled sensilla on both palps probably serve as long-range odour sensors. The maxillary and labial palps show sexual dimorphism which suggests involvement in courtship. Females have more sensilla chaetica on both appendages than males whereas, males have more chemosensilla on the maxillary palps and taste sensilla on the labial palps.

According to Schall and colleagues the site of sex pheromone production in the female Supella longipalpa is located on the fourth and fifth abdominal tergites. Cuticular pores occur on all tergites, but the density is highest on the lateral margins of the fourth and fifth tergites. Each pore is connected via a long duct to modified epidermal cells, suggesting that these structures are involved in pheromone production. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


Photos at Strovolos 16/07/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis.




 

 

 

 

Male

A female carrying her egg case (ootheca) 

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East Atlantic peacock wrasse - Symphodus tinca (Linnaeus, 1758) - χειλού - Cyprus

The East Atlantic peacock wrasse (Symphodus tinca) is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Spain to Morocco and in the coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. This species lives around rocks surrounded by eelgrass and can also be found in brackish waters in lagoons. It occurs at depths from 1 to 50 m (3.3 to 164.0 ft). This species can reach 44 cm (17 in) in standard length, though most grow no larger than 25 cm (9.8 in). This species is sought as a game fish and is also important to local peoples as a food fish. It can also be found in the aquarium trade.

Body is oval and laterally flattened. Mouth is rather small, more or less protrusive, with rather strong canine-like teeth. There are a few cephalic pores on the snout; lips are with 6-9 folds.

Head is generally longer than body depth. Dorsal fin is very long and reaches almost to the tail. Both sexes have a small dark spot at base of caudal fin and a dark blotch just above pectoral fin. Also, many darker spots on the body form 3 or 4 longitudinal stripes.

Generally, color reflects sexual dimorphism. Females and juveniles are grey-greenish or brownish, fading to a silvery color on the belly. Between immature males and mature females there are almost no differences in color. Males are more brightly colored, especially in the breeding season. Pale green, green-bluish or green-yellowish, longitudinal rows of red spots, with upper part of head dark blue.

East Atlantic Peacock Wrasse can reach 44 cm (17 in) in standard length, though most grow no larger than 25 cm (9.8 in).

Due to relatively small dimensions, this species is rarely sought as a game fish, but it is sometimes sold locally for food when caught in local artisanal fisheries. It can also be found in the aquarium trade.

Peacock wrasse feeds on sea urchins, ophiuroids, bivalves, shrimps and crabs.

Spawning takes place in spring, when a seaweed nest is built and guarded by the male, with one or more females laying their adhesive eggs in it.

It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Spain to Morocco and can be found in the coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

This gregarious littoral fish is found on rocky reefs covered by algae, on sea-grass meadows, around rocks surrounded by eelgrass and can also be found in brackish waters in lagoons. It occurs at depths from 1 to 50 m (3.3 to 164.0 ft).

Photos 3mts deep,Protaras,13.07.2016 by Costas Constantinou

Saddled seabream - Oblada melanura (Linnaeus, 1758) - Μελανούρι - Μελάνα - Cyprus

The saddled seabream (Oblada melanura), also called the saddle bream or oblade, is a species of fish of the family Sparidae. It is monotypic in the genus Oblada

It has a fuse-shaped blueish-silver body, with a black spot near the tail. The maximum length recorded for this species is 34 centimetres (13 in), and maximum recorded weight is 0.6 kilograms (1.3 lb). Commonly specimens are around 20 centimetres (7.9 in). The mouth is relatively small, with lower jaw being little bit in front of the upper jaw.

It is a gregarious fish, spawning in June and July. The saddled seabream is an omnivorous fish, but feeds mainly on small invertebrates.

It is found over seagrass and rocky bottoms in the Mediterranean Sea, Bay of Biscay, Madeira, Cape Verde, Canary Islands and Strait of Gibraltar to Angola.

It can be found between 0 and 30m, but more commonly between 5 and 20m. Often can be found near surface, not far away from the shore.

It is important food fish, often found fresh on local fish markets. It is caught in fish traps and various nets all year long. Bait in traps are various fresh and/or salted fish and fish chunks.

Saddled seabream can be hooked day and night, but much better during night. It will bait on bread, cheese, paste, fish chunks, mussels, but best results can be achieved using live bait like live prawns.

When trolling near the shore, it is commonly caught on lures mimicking small Mediterranean sand smelts, various mullets or prawns.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos 3mts deep,Protaras,13.07.2016 by Costas Constantinou

Red Sea goatfish - Parupeneus forsskali (Fourmanoir & Guézé, 1976) - Cyprus

Lessepsian migrants to Cyprus 

Parupeneus is a genus of goatfishes native to the Indian and Pacific oceans.

 Photos 3mts deep,Protaras,13.07.2016 by Costas Constantinou

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