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Cockroaches 1
P.G. Koehler and J.L. Castner2
- German cockroach, Blattella germanica ( Plate1 ). This is the most important species of cockroach in the United States. It is about 1/2" to 5/8" long as an adult. Nymphs and adults of both sexes have two dark stripes behind the head. It prefers to live in kitchens and bathrooms of homes and apartments, restaurants, supermarkets and hospitals. The Asian cockroach, Blattella asahinai, is identical to the German cockroach in appearance and lives outdoors in lawns and leaf litter.
- Brown-banded cockroach, Supella longipalpa ( Plate 2 ). It is about 5/8" long as an adult. This cockroach is dark brown, and the wings range from reddish-brown to brown. There are two pale-brown bands on the wings, and the edge of the pronotum is clear. It prefers to live in bedrooms, furniture and closets, particularly on high shelves.
- American cockroach, Periplaneta americana ( Plate 3 ). This cockroach is about 1-1/2" long as an adult. It is reddish-brown with light markings behind the head. The cerci at the tip of the abdomen are long and thin. It is commonly found in sewers and basements.
- Australian cockroach, Periplaneta australasiae ( Plate 4 ). The adult is about 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" long. It is reddish-brown to dark-brown with a characteristic marking behind the head. On the front edge of the base of the forewing is a light-yellow band. Nymphs have light-yellow spots on top of the abdomen. This cockroach is abundant outdoors and in greenhouses, where it can damage plants. It enters homes and is called a palmetto bug.
- Smoky-brown cockroach, Periplaneta fuliginosa ( Plate 5 ). It is about 1-1/4" long as an adult. It is mahogany brown to black with no patterns behind the head. This cockroach is abundant outdoors and is found in tree holes, wood piles and attics of houses in Florida. It readily enters homes and is called a palmetto bug.
- Brown cockroach, Periplaneta brunnea ( Plate 6 ). This cockroach is almost identical to the American cockroach in appearance and is about 1-1/4" long as an adult. It is reddish-brown. The cerci at the tip of the abdomen are stubby, whereas the American cockroach has long, thin cerci. The brown cockroach is found outdoors. It readily enters houses and is often called a palmetto bug.
- Florida woods cockroach, Eurycotis floridana ( Plate 7 ). It is 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" long as an adult and is often called the stinking cockroach because it produces a foul-smelling fluid to protect it from predation. It is dark-reddish-brown to black. The nymphs have broad yellow bands on the top of the thorax. This cockroach is commonly found in leaf mulch, wood piles and under rotting logs. It is often called a palmetto bug.
- Surinam cockroach, Pycnoscelus surinamensis ( Plate 8 ). This cockroach is about 3/4" to 1" long. It is shiny-brown to black with golden markings on the abdomen. The pronotum behind the head has a yellow margin along the front edge. It is a burrowing species that lives outdoors and often infests potted plants. When plants are brought inside, the cockroach infests the premises.
- Oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis ( Plate 9 ). It is about 1" long as an adult. It is shiny black and has no distinctive markings. The male has wings that cover only about three-fourths of the abdomen; the female has only wing pads or lobes. This cockroach is not commonly found in Florida. It is usually found in damp basements, sewers and crawl spaces beneath houses.
- Cuban cockroach, Panchlora nivea ( Plate 10 ). The Cuban cockroach is about 3/4" long as an adult. Males and females are pale-green, whereas the nymphs are dark-brown. It is an outdoors, tropical species that usually is not found north of Florida. Adults are attracted to light and are adept fliers.
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Plate 10 . Footnotes
1. This document is SP87, one of a series of the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date May 1991. Reviewed May 2003. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. P.G. Koehler, Professor; J.L. Castner, Scientific Photographer; Department of Entomology and Nematology, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611. The term plates, where used in this document, refers to color photographs that can be displayed on screen from the FAIRS CD-ROM. These photographs are not included in the printed document.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
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