Taipei Times
Date: Jun 28, 2020
By: Wang Chu-hsiu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

While stereotypically considered a household pest that simply will not die, Hung Ting-yang’s (洪鼎揚) experience with Archimandrita tesselata, commonly called the peppered roach, might change a person’s mind.

The peppered roach originates in South America, is omnivorous and, as it is capable of growing to 7cm to 9cm long, is a giant compared with other roaches, which have an average length of about 4cm.

The peppered roach goes through six separate chrysalis stages and takes nine months to reach full maturity. Mature roaches have wings, but cannot fly and can only glide. They have an average lifespan of three years.

As his parents were against letting him keep dogs or cats as a child, Hung said that he raised insects and has been infatuated with them ever since.    [FULL  STORY]