Bug FAQThorax porcellana
Thorax porcellana · Order: Blattodea · Family: Blaberidae
Thorax porcellana is a fully winged cockroach found in Sri Lanka and India. Females carry 30-40 newborn nymphs under their forewings and the young feed on a pink liquid from the mother for about seven weeks. Both sexes have wings, but only males fly, and then only for short, rare trips.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Both sexes have fully developed wings, yet only the male flies, and then only briefly.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs in Sri Lanka and India.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Nymphs drink a pinkish liquid secreted between the mother’s abdominal tergites and also pierce her cuticle to feed on her haemolymph.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species is ovoviviparous, carrying 30-40 hatchlings for their first two instars under the mother’s domed forewings. During about seven weeks the young feed on the mother’s secreted liquid and haemolymph.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes Sri Lanka and India.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is also known as Paraphoraspis notata.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the young feed on?
The nymphs drink a pinkish liquid from between the mother’s abdominal tergites and pierce her cuticle to suck her haemolymph.
Source: Wikipedia
Can both sexes fly?
Both sexes have wings, but only males fly, and then only for short, rare flights.
Source: Wikipedia
Does this cockroach have any other scientific names?
Yes, it is also called Paraphoraspis notata.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Blaberidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorax_porcellana
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.