Parcoblatta divisa

Description

Parcoblatta divisa, the southern wood cockroach, is a species of cockroach native to the United States. Due to morphological similarities, it was earlier considered a subspecies of Parcoblatta pensylvanica, termed P. pensylvanica divisa, found in the lower part of the southeastern United States. In particular, males of the two species are different from others of their genus in that the seventh dorsal abdominal segment conceals almost all of the eighth segment (more pronounced in P. pensylvanica), and share a specialialized character of protuberances of the median segment. Individuals of the species are typically dark in color, but a pale morph is uniquely found in Alachua County, Florida, with no dark individuals among hundreds of specimens collected from the location.