New Records of Plectoptera picta Saussure and Zehntner (Blattodea: Pseudophyllodromiidae) in the Southern United States and Review of Previous Bionomic Information

Described in 1893 from Mexico, the beetle-like pseudophyllodromiid cockroach Plectoptera picta Saussure and Zehntner is seldom collected. Its distribution is little known and bionomic information has remained scant. In August and September 2023 and 2024, I collected 62 adults and seven nymphs by beating lichen-covered branches of oaks (Quercus spp.; Fagaceae) at a site in southeastern Georgia. An apparent arboreal habit, while common in the Neotropics, is unusual among cockroach species of the temperate eastern United States, and probably has hindered attempts to collect P. picta. Cockroach enthusiasts are encouraged to search for P. picta by beating macrolichen-coated branches of oaks in southern states from Virginia to east Texas, including the Fall Line sandhills from North Carolina to Alabama, maritime forests of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and other xeric communities in southeastern states west to east Texas. Emphasizing oaks in those areas should enhance the likelihood of collecting enough adults to establish a colony for studying the cockroach's life history.