Periplaneta japanna is a subtropical field-dwelling cockroach endemic to southern Japan. The Japanese common name means urushi cockroach, or lacquer tree cockroach.
Nymphs and adults are a dark black, and typically live under stones and pieces of wood. Their ability to bore or live in rotting wood enables their spread via ocean currents.
The species is found on several Japanese islands, distributed continuously from Japan's southwestern Ryukyu Islands chain to the south of Kyushu Island, and on Hachijà Â-jima Island.
Nymph specimens from Hachijà Â-jima Island and Naha, Okinawa responded to photoperiodic stimuli quite differently during laboratory-induced diapause tests. This âÂÂmight be regarded as the result of divergent evolutionâ between the parapatric populations.