What is a Cockroach?

The word cockroach is stemmed from the Spanish cucaracha. The cockroach is characterized by a flat oval body, long hairlike antennae, and a gloss black or brown leathery integument. The head is directed downward, and the mouthparts are directed backward instead of forward or downward as is the case with most other insects. The male generally has two pairs of wings, unlike the female, who in some species, is wingless or has vestigial wings. The female generates eggs in egg cases (called oothecae). These are sometimes held coming from her body or may be held in protected parts. After the female produces an egg case, the soft, white nymphs emerge. As their exoskeleton toughens, it turns brown in hue. The structure and huge size (particular species possess a wingspread measurement of longer than 12 cm [4.7 inches]) of cockroaches have turned them into a singular objective in the biological laboratory.

The cockroach prefers a warm, humid, dark living and is usually found in tropical or other mild temperatures. Just a couple species have become pests. The insect harms more material than it eats and possesses a yucky odour. The diet of the roach, which should be both plant and animal product, can be from food, paper, clothing, and books to dead insects, particularly bedbugs. Insecticides are used in roach removal.

The American cockroach (species Periplaneta americana) is 30 to 50 mm long (up to about 2 inches), reddish brown, and lives in an outdoor habitat or in dark, heated indoor spaces (e.g., basements and furnace rooms). In adult life, generally about 1.5 years, the female drops 50 or more oothecae, each possessing about 16 eggs that hatch after 45 days. Nymphal life goes from 11 to 14 months. The American cockroach, indigenous to tropical and subtropical America, has well-developed wings. However, many species are not usually great at flying.

The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common household pest and is sometimes erroneously referred to as a waterbug, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic region. The female generates the ootheca three days post mating and carries it for generally about 20 days. Because it is tiny (about 12 mm [less than 0.5 inch] long), this cockroach often can be taken into houses in grocery bags and boxes; it has spread through the globe by ship. Three or more generations may breed yearly. This cockroach, found in abundance in the water pipes of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City, is now known as the Croton bug.

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

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 like 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 trade from its Asiatic origins to all the temperate regions.

Wood roaches are feral pests. Parcoblatta pennsylvanica, the common wood cockroach, can be found under logs and stones in northern latitudes. The male and female are so different in appearance that they were originally seen as separate species. The male, 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1 inch) long, has wings that expand past the abdomen; the female is smaller and possesses much shorter wings. Cryptocercus punctulatus consumes wood with the aid of select protozoans in its digestive tract.

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