They are slow moving, wingless, docile, have little or no odor, and do not bite. With appropriate supervision, even young students can handle them. The cockroach family, to which Madagascan roaches belong, is among the most primitive of the winged insects. There are at least 3,500 known species living today, in 450 genera, most of which originate in the tropics. As a group, cockroaches exhibit a wide diversity of sizes, colors, and habits.
Many species are diurnal, some are semiaquatic, others live in the ground or are wood-boring.
Some, such as the Madagascan roach, do not have wings. About a dozen or so species live commensally in the nests of ants, wasps, or termites. There are also roach species that inhabit caves with bats or live in the desert. The majority of cockroaches in tropical countries exist as scavengers outdoors, feeding on vegetation and organic matter in an apparently harmless fashion. This insect is native to the island of Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa, where it appears to play the ecological role of scavenger on or near rotten logs in savannah areas.