NEW YORK (AP) — The High Line, a park that turned a dilapidated stretch of elevated railway on Manhattan’s West Side into one of New York’s newest tourist attractions, might have brought a different kind of visitor: a cockroach that can withstand harsh winter cold and never before seen in the U.S.
NEW YORK (AP) — The High Line, a park that turned a dilapidated stretch of elevated railway on Manhattan’s West Side into one of New York’s newest tourist attractions, might have brought a different kind of visitor: a cockroach that can withstand harsh winter cold and never before seen in the U.S.
Rutgers University insect biologists Jessica Ware and Dominic Evangelista said the species Periplaneta japonica is well documented in Asia but was never confirmed in the United States until now. The scientists, whose findings were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, said it is too soon to predict the impact but there is probably little cause for concern.
“Because this species is very similar to cockroach species that already exist in the urban environment,” Evangelista said, “they likely will compete with each other for space and for food.”
That competition, Ware said, will likely keep the population low.