International hitchhiker.

[Trent Watts]

My granddaughter just returned from 2 months in New Zealand. I dropped her off and about 30 minutes later received a frantic call that there was a giant bug in her luggage. It was a big shiny cockroach that had crawled into her luggage at the house she was visiting in Christchurch. I took it home to get some photos and then put it in the freezer overnight. Our climate doesn't support rampant cockroach infestations so they are quite a novelty here. iNaturalist suggest this is a Gisborne Cockroach.


This is a shot of the live bug before freezing.

This is a closeup of the head with the dead bug set on a rock.

 

[AlanLichty]

Our mobility enables travel that extends beyond our species. Good example of that.

 

[JimFox]

Great capture Trent, and I can imagine your granddaughters shock.

When I was in the Army I was stationed for a while in Alabama and I learned that they have more cockroaches then people in the south, and that they often grow large enough that they can carry off Tanks.

 

[Michael13]

You should be proud of that girl Trent.

Most relatives would just get a t-shirt as a gift!