The scientific name is Periplaneta fuliginosa. It is no doubt that this is the most hated insect by people in Japan. It is true that there is a possibility that it may come to our food, taking pathogens that are harmful to the human body. But I have never had the experience of stomach ache due to it. Books on pests state that the biggest reason for being a pest was that it looks unpleasant. How selfish we are!

Because it does not live in a house in cold regions such as Hokkaido, my friend from the north says that he does not have much disgust and that he has the almost same feeling as a stag beetle.

The basis is unknown, but the insect is supposed to be native to southern China. However, Obata (2018) reported that a trace of its egg sheath was found on the surface of pottery 4000 years ago.

This was a big news for me. Though the discovery does not always mean that the insect is native to Japan, it actually coexist with people in Japan so long time.

The pottery was found at the Motonohara site in Miyazaki prefecture. Source: Obata, H. (2018) Insect archeology. Kadokawa Shoten, 240pp.