What is a Cockroach?

May 19th, 2010

The word cockroach is taken from the Spanish cucaracha. The cockroach is recognizable by a flat oval body, long threadlike antennae, and a shining black or brown leathery integument. The head is bent downward, and the mouthparts are directed to the rear instead of forward or downward as is the case with almost all other insects. The male generally has two pairs of wings, but the female, who in some species, is wingless or appears with vestigial wings. The female generates eggs in egg cases (labeled oothecae). These are on occasion held away from her body or can be stuck in protected areas. After the female generates an egg case, the soft, white nymphs emerge. As their exoskeleton hardens, it turns brown in hue. The shape and huge size (certain species demonstrate a wing spread of more than 12 cm [4.7 inches]) of cockroaches have become a keen study in the biological laboratory.

The cockroach prefers a warm, humid, dark living habitat and is often located in tropical and other mild locations. Just a couple of species have become pests. The insect inflicts damage on more material than it eats and has a yucky odour. The eating habits of the roach, which is both plant and animal product, ranges from food, paper, clothing, and books to dead insects, especially bedbugs. Insecticides can be taken in roach removal.

The American cockroach (species Periplaneta americana) is 30 to 50 mm long (up to about 2 inches), reddish brown, and inhabits outdoors or in dark, heated indoor spaces (e.g., basements and furnace rooms). During its adult life, lasting about 1.5 years, the female generates 50 or more oothecae, each containing usually 16 eggs that hatch after 45 days. Nymphal life takes from 11 to 14 months. The American cockroach, indigenous to tropical and subtropical America, has well-developed wings. However, most species are not good flyers.

The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common household pest and is often erroneously thought of as a waterbug, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic area. The female produces the ootheca three days after mating and carries it for about 20 days. Because it is miniature (about 12 mm [less than 0.5 inch] long), this cockroach frequently is introduced into residences in grocery bags and boxes; it has been spread from nation to nation by boat. Three or more generations might live yearly. This cockroach, abundant in the water pipes of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City, became called the Croton bug.

The brown-banded cockroach (Supella supellectilium) closely resembles the German cockroach but is even smaller. The male possesses totally developed wings and is paler in hue than the female, whose wings are short and nonfunctional. Both sexes have two light-coloured bands along the back. The adult life span is around 200 days, and there can be two generations in a year. Eggs might be dropped in clothes, wood molding, or cracks in the floor. With the introduction of heated buildings this cockroach became more common in cooler areas.

The Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is held to be one of the dirtiest of household pests. It is oval, shiny black or dark brown, 25 to 30 mm (1 to 1.2 inches) long, with a life cycle similar to that of the American cockroach. The male has short, fully developed wings, and the female has vestigial wings. This cockroach has been spread in vehicles of commerce from its Asiatic origins to almost every temperate regions.

Wood roaches are non-domestic pests. Parcoblatta pennsylvanica, the common wood cockroach, habits under logs and stones in northern latitudes. The male and female are so unlike in appearance that they were once believed to be different species. The male, 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1 inch) long, possesses wings that go beyond the abdomen; the female is smaller and has much shorter wings. Cryptocercus punctulatus eats wood with the help of certain protozoans in its digestive tract.

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