Latin name: Blattaria
Type: Insect
Diet: omnivore
Average lifespan:
- German cockroach - about 3 to 4 mouths.
- American cockroach - from 1 to 2 years.
- Oriental cockroach - about a year.
- Surinamcockroach - 1 year
- Madeira cockroach - 2 years.
- Brown-banded cockroach - around 6 months.
- Madagascan hissing cockroach - about 18 months.
Size: about 1/2" (inch) long
Group name: Intrusion
Cockroach video.
What does a Cockroach look like?
There is a variety of cockroaches and they all look a little different.
German Cockroaches
Adult German cockroaches average about five-eighths of an inch long. They have long antennae which they use to detect chemicals, moisture, air currents, and probably sound waves and vibrations in their environment. German cockroaches prefer warm, moist areas, and are frequently found in kitchens and bathrooms. Thousands of german cockroaches can occupy a single kitchen.
American Cockroaches
American Cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) are large roaches, ranging in length up to an inch and a half. American cockroaches prefer dark, moist, warm areas. They are commonly found in basements, steam tunnels, boiler rooms, rubble foundations, and similar places. Often they aren't even noticed until a light is turned on, and they scurry away rapidly. Adult American cockroaches of both sexes have working wings and at least some flight capability, but oddly enough, they seldom fly.
Brown-Banded Cockroaches
Brown-banded Cockroaches (Supella longipalpa) are about half an inch in length as adults. Adults of both sexes have wings, although only the males fly.
Brown-banded cockroaches have two light-colored bands running across the base of their wings, hence the name "brown-banded cockroach". They're commonly found in bedrooms (especially in the cabinets and night tables), in closets, behind peeling wallpaper, and inside electrical and electronic equipment.
Oriental Cockroaches
Oriental Cockroaches (Blatta orientalis) are black or very dark brown in color and roughly an inch in length. Adult males' wings reach about three-quarters down their abdomens, but they cannot fly. Adult females have only small wing pads.
Oriental cockroaches tend to live outdoors when the weather is warm, but they readily move inside during extremes of heat, cold, or drought. They can commonly be found in garbage storage areas, basements, and under porches and decks. They're often found along sill plates in unfinished basements and crawl spaces.
Where do Cockroaches live?
Cockroaches most often live in kitchens near food. They also live in bathrooms, especially near plumbing and heating ducts. During the day they hide in small cracks under appliances, behind baseboards, in boxes, and in any other tight space they can find. Cockroaches are most active at night. Usually you or someone else in your home will see them. You may also see their eggs, which are the size and shape of kidney beans, or their feces, which look like black pepper.
What does a Cockroach eat?
Cockroaches feed mostly on dead or immobile things. Cockroaches prefer food sources such as sweets, cheese, meat products, starches and grease. They also feed on plants, vegetables and fruits. They eat almost any type of food, including household items such as leather, beer, glue, flakes of dried skin, starch in book bindings or decaying organic matter of animals or plants. Cockroaches also eat kitchen crumbs, paper, human dander, shelf paper backing and much more.
Did you know about these Cockroach facts?
Cockroaches live in a wide range of environments around the world. Pest species of cockroaches adapt readily to a variety of environments, but prefer warm conditions found within buildings.
Many tropical species prefer even warmer environments and do not fare well in the average household.
Cockroach images
Cockroach Wallpapers
Download free Cockroach wallpapers, click on the image to open the large version.
Cockroach wallpaper 1
Cockroach wallpaper 2
Cockroach wallpaper 3
Cockroach Coloring pages
Print free Cockroach coloring pages, click on the image to open the large version.
