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Order: Blattodea |
Species accounts
Suriname cockroach
Blatta surinamensis
FAMILY
Blaberidae
TAXONOMY
Pycnoscelus surinamensis (Linnaeus), 1758, Surinam.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Medium size, 0.71–0.94 in (18–24 mm) long. Shiny brown to black in color. Tegmina often do not extend beyond the end of the abdomen. Black pronotum, with yellow area along the anterolateral margins.
DISTRIBUTION
Originated in Indo-Malayan region and spread by trade throughout humid and subhumid tropics. In the United States it has been found in Alabama, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Iowa.
HABITAT
In northern states can become established in heated greenhouses and zoos. In the wild frequently burrows into loose soil or sand but also occurs under stones, manure, wood, rubbish, or chicken feces.
BEHAVIOR
As usually only females are produced, courtship rarely occurs. When it does, the nonfunctional male mounts the female and grasps her genitalia from above.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Destroys palms and ferns by eating the hearts. In greenhouses, girdles rose bushes and eats aerial roots and orchid petals.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Parthenogenetic, producing females. Males are produced rarely; when they occur, they are nonfunctional. At about 86°F (30°C), the virgin female deposits her first ootheca in the uterus seven days after emergence and gives birth 34 days later. During an average life span of 307 days she produces three litters, each consisting of about 21 young. Larvae undergo eight to 10 molts and mature in 140 days when reared in groups. The fecundity of clones from different parts of the world varies considerably.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Household pest in the southern United States, Philippines, Tanzania, and Trinidad. Intermediate host of the nematode Oxyspirura mansoni, which causes worm infections and blindness in poultry. Spread simplified by parthenogenesis, because the species can become established through the introduction of a single larva or unfertilized adult female into a suitable habitat.
Rhyparobia maderae
Blatta surinamensis
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Order: Blattodea
Cinereous cockroach
Nauphoeta cinerea
FAMILY
Blaberidae
TAXONOMY
Nauphoeta cinerea Olivier, 1789, Isle of France, Mauritius.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Lobster cockroach.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Large, reaching 0.98–1.14 in (25–29 mm) in length. The sexes are similar, except that male tegmina and wings reach about the fifth abdominal tergite and are slightly longer in the female. Ashy colored. Pronotum with a lobster-like design.
DISTRIBUTION
Apparently a native of East Africa, the species has become distributed widely in the tropics by commerce.
HABITAT
Found in native huts in the Sudan, in outhouses and stores, and in hospitals in Australia.
BEHAVIOR
Males stridulate when courting nonreceptive females. Newly hatched larvae crawl under the female or under her wings, remaining there until about an hour after hatching.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
The cinereous cockroach infests mills producing animal feeds in Florida and poultry food sheds in Honolulu. Fond of feeds
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containing fish oil; known to kill and eat the cypress cockroach, Diploptera punctata.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
At 86–96.8°F (30–36°C), the mated female produces the first ootheca, containing about 33 eggs, in 13 days; gestation lasts 31 days. Larvae undergo seven or eight molts and are reared in groups. Males mature in 72 days and females in 85 days. The adult male lives 365 days, and the female lives 344 days, during which time she produces six litters.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Was implicated in an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning in an Australian hospital.
Madeira cockroach
Rhyparobia maderae
FAMILY
Blaberidae
TAXONOMY
Blatta maderae Fabricius, 1781, Madeira.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Fatula cockroach, knocker cockroach.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Reaches 1.57–1.97 in (40–50 mm) in length. Sexes are similar in habitus. Pale brown to tan. Tegmina and wings fully devel-
Nauphoeta cinerea
Periplaneta americana
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oped, with two black lines in basal region and mottled posterior zones.
DISTRIBUTION
Native of West Africa; introduced into West Indies more than a hundred years ago and through commerce became circumtropical. Abundant in countries that border the Caribbean Sea south of the United States.
HABITAT
Especially infests food stores. In 1950 became established in basements of buildings in New York City occupied by people from Puerto Rico; spread little since originally reported. Outdoor species in tropics found in sugar cane fields and associated with palms, guava, and bananas. Spread from banana ships and intercepted at ports by quarantine inspectors.
BEHAVIOR
Gregarious; builds up huge colonies. The male may tap the substrate with his thorax, which may be a method of attracting the female. She feeds on secretions on his second abdominal tergite during courtship. The pair remain attached for 20–30 minutes. Young larvae forage with the mother.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Probably omnivorous. Bananas and grapes are favorite foods.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
At 86–96.8°F (30–36°C), the mated female produces first ootheca, usually containing up to about 40 eggs, 20 days after becoming adult. Eggs develop within the uterus in 58 days. Larvae undergo seven or eight molts and are reared in groups. Males mature in 121 days; females require 150 days. Life expectancy is up to 2.5 years.
Order: Blattodea
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Important pest in some areas. Used extensively as an experimental laboratory animal.
Asian cockroach
Blattella asahinai
FAMILY
Blattellidae
TAXONOMY
Blattella asahinai Mizukubo, 1981, Okinawa.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The sexes are similar; fully winged. Reaches 0.31–0.47 in (8–12 mm) in length. Yellowish or yellowish brown. Adult pronotum has a pair of light to dark brown longitudinal stripes. This species is almost impossible to distinguish from the German cockroach but differs markedly in behavior.
DISTRIBUTION
This species is the most recent introduction into the United States. Although it is not distributed as widely as the German cockroach, it has been found (as its synonym Blattella beybienkoi) in Sri Lanka, Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Chagos Archipelago, China, India, Thailand, and Okinawa.
Blattella asahinai
Supella longipalpa
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Order: Blattodea
HABITAT
In Florida, where it was introduced and became established and spread, it occurs outdoors on lawns, bushes, and trees.
BEHAVIOR
Flies readily. Active at sunset. Adults are attracted to white walls and illuminated buildings. Adults and larvae are active in grass and mulch. In houses adults fly to lights and sit on walls, tables, and dishes. Winged adults are half an inch (12.7 mm) long and have a pair of longitudinal stripes on the thorax; the larvae lack wings but also are striped.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
In Florida it often feeds on aphid honeydew.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
In the laboratory Asian cockroach males cross with German cockroach females and produce offspring. Crosses between male German cockroaches and Asian females did not produce offspring.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Considered a pest on lawns in Florida, sometimes making outdoor activities almost impossible.
German cockroach
Blattella germanica
FAMILY
Blattellidae
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TAXONOMY
Blatta germanica Linnaeus, 1767, Denmark; type Brünnich, 1763 [suppressed by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature].
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Croton bug, steamfly, steambug, Yankee; German: Russische Schabe; Russian: Prussak.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The sexes are similar; fully winged. Relatively small at 0.4–0.5 in (10–13 mm) in length. Pale yellowish-brown to tawny. Pronotum has distinct dark, parallel, longitudinal bands.
DISTRIBUTION
Cosmopolitan; found in and around human habitations throughout the world. Present in Greenland, Iceland, and the Canadian High Arctic, where it survives indoors.
HABITAT
Preferring a warm, moist habitat, the German cockroach is a common pest of kitchens, larders, and restaurants. In temperate climates it can be found outdoors, under houses without basements, under rubbish and date palms, and in city dumps. It also has been taken in gold mines and caves in South Africa. It is one of the most prevalent cockroaches in the galleys and storerooms of ships.
BEHAVIOR
Gregarious and may build up huge populations: a four-room apartment in Texas harbored 50,000–100,000 mostly German cockroaches. It is a poor flier despite having fully developed wings, which it uses to glide downward from a high resting place. The sexually active female assumes a calling position by raising the wings and emitting a pheromone produced in the tenth abdominal tergite that attracts the male. On contact with
Blatta orientalis |
Blattella germanica |
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the female, the male raises the wings, exposing a pair of glands on his back. The female mounts the male, apparently feeding on a glandular secretion. The male clasps the female genitalia, and the pair remain joined until the male inserts the spermfilled spermatophore.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Omnivorous.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
At 86°F (30°C) the mated female produces first ootheca, eight days after adult emergence. Average number of eggs per egg case is 37; the incubation period is 17 days. The male lives 128 days; the female lives 153 days, during which time she produces, at intervals of 22 days, seven oothecae, each of which she carries externally, protruding from the end of the abdomen, until or shortly before eggs hatch. Larvae undergo five to seven molts; they are reared in groups and mature in 40—41 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
The species causes asthmatic attacks and is known to carry or is suspected of transmitting various bacterial disease organisms.
Oriental cockroach
Blatta orientalis
FAMILY
Blattidae
TAXONOMY
Blatta orientalis Linnaeus, 1758, America, Oriente.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Schad roach, black beetle.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
This dimorphic, shiny, blackish-brown species is 0.71–0.94 in (18–24 mm) long. The tegmina and wings of the male are reduced but cover about two-thirds of the abdomen. The tegmina of the female are small lateral pads that extend only to the middle of the metanotum; hind wings are absent.
DISTRIBUTION
Found in port cities throughout the world and occurs in almost every state of the United States. It also is found in England, northern Europe, Israel, southern Australia, and southern South America.
HABITAT
Usually found in basements and cellars, service ducts, crawl spaces, toilets, and behind baths, sinks, radiators, ovens, and hot-water pipes; they may congregate in large numbers around sources of water. In north-central states of the United States, they often are found outdoors around homes during the summer and in garbage and trash dumps.
BEHAVIOR
Often occurs outdoors. In buildings, usually occur below or on ground floor, but small numbers may be found up to the fifth floor.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Probably omnivorous.
Order: Blattodea
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
At 86–96.8°F (30–36°C), the first ootheca is deposited, 12 days after the female becomes an adult; the eggs take 44 days to hatch. The larvae undergo eight to 10 molts. When raised in groups, males require 146 days and females 165 days to mature. The average number of eggs in an ootheca is 16, and the female averages only 2.5 oothecae during a brief average adult life span of 44 days. The life cycle of this species is seasonal; in some areas adults appear in May and June, but some adults can be found in almost all months. Having considerable resistance to cold, they have been found breeding out of doors in England and southern Russia.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
A significant household pest.
American cockroach
Periplaneta americana
FAMILY
Blattidae
TAXONOMY
Blatta americana Linnaeus, 1758, America.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Bombay canary, ship cockroach; Dutch: Kakerlac.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Grows to 1.1–1.7 in (28–44 mm) in length. Tegmina and wings developed in both sexes. Reddish-brown, with pale yellow zone around the edge of the pronotum.
DISTRIBUTION
An important cosmopolitan pest in tropical and subtropical areas, having been distributed by commerce to many regions of the world.
HABITAT
Its original home was Africa, where it is found commonly both inside and outside human dwellings. In the United States it probably is found in all urban areas. This species prefers a warm, moist habitat and in tropical and subtropical America is common outdoors and may be found in dumps, woodpiles, sewers, and cesspools.
BEHAVIOR
May fly short distances on occasion. Gregarious and may build up huge populations. After spraying the walls of a trickling filter plant in Florida, over 2.5 cu yd (2.3 m3) of American cockroaches were collected, and several times that quantity died in the adjacent woods. Females produce a pheromone that can attract the male from as far away as 98 ft (30 m).
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Probably omnivorous; known to feed on human feces.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Five-year life-history study under room conditions in Lafayette, Indiana (64.4–80.6°F, or 18–27°C, during winter, with a maximum summer temperature 95°F, or 35°C), found average duration of larval development to be 468 days for females and 551 days for males. Females lived, on average, 441
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Order: Blattodea
days and produced 58 oothecae (maximum of 90). Oothecae contained 16 eggs, and the incubation period was 53 days. In another study conducted at 86–96.8°F (30–36°C), larvae went through nine to 13 molts. When reared in groups, females required 161 days and males 171 days to mature.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Together with the German cockroach, probably the most important cockroach pest. Many bacteria, viruses, fungi, and helminths, a number of them pathogenic to man, have been found in the American cockroach.
Brownbanded cockroach
Supella longipalpa
FAMILY
Blattellidae
TAXONOMY
Supella longipalpa Fabricius, 1798, India. Until recently known as Supella supellectilium (Serville).
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Furniture cockroach, TV cockroach.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
A small cockroach, reaching only 0.39–0.57 in (10–14.5 mm) in length. Male tegmina completely cover the abdomen; in the female they rarely reach the tip of the abdomen. Color varies widely. Dark pronotum, often with a pale area in the center; chestnut tegmina, with pale areas at base and in middle.
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DISTRIBUTION
Probably originated in Africa but, as a domiciliary pest, spread by commerce throughout warm temperate countries; may occur outdoors in subtropical countries. Found in almost every state of the United States.
HABITAT
In dwellings, it can be found in almost every room: on kitchen chairs; in cupboards and pantries; underneath tables and shelves in closets; behind pictures and picture molding, in TV sets, bookshelves, drawers, and shower stalls.
BEHAVIOR
Tends to fly when disturbed. The female emits a pheromone that has been identified and attracts the male from a distance.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Often feeds on gum sizing of books and on paste behind wallpaper, stamps, and gummed labels. Visits kitchens when searching for food.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Oothecae may be attached throughout the house to walls and ceilings and about kitchen sinks, desks, tables, and bedding. At about 86°F (30°C), larvae undergo six to eight molts. When reared in groups, both sexes mature in about 55 days. Males live 115 days and females 90 days. The female deposits her first ootheca, which usually contains 16 eggs, 10 days after emergence. During her lifetime she produces an average of 11 oothecae, which are deposited at six-day intervals. Eggs hatch in 40 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Important household pest that spreads throughout infested homes.
Resources
Books
Asahina, S. Blattaria of Japan. Tokyo: Nakayama-Shoten, 1991.
(Japanese, with parts in English).
Bell, W. J., and Adiyodi, K. G., eds. The American Cockroach. London: Chapman and Hall, 1982.
Bey-Bienko, G. Y. “Fauna of the U.S.S.R.” In Insects. Moscow: Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1950.
Carpenter, F. M. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part R, Arthropoda. Vol. 3, Superclass Hexapoda. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, 1992.
Cornwell, P. B. “The Cockroach.” In A Laboratory Insect and an Industrial Pest, vol. 1. London: Hutchinson, 1968.
Gordon, David George. The Compleat Cockroach: A Comprehensive Guide to the Most Despised (and Least Understood) Creature on Earth. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1996.
Roth, L. M., and Alsop, D. W. “Toxins of Blattaria.” In Arthropod Venoms. Edited by S. Bettini. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol. 48. New York: SpringerVerlag, 1978.
Taylor, R. L. Butterflies in My Stomach; or, Insects in Human Nutrition. Santa Barbara, CA: Woodridge Press, 1975.
Vishniakova, V. N. “Mesozoic Blattids with External Ovipositors and Details of Their Reproduction.” In Jurassic Insects of Karatau. Edited by B. B. Rohdendorf. Moscow: Akademiya Nauk SSSR, Ordelenide Obschei Biolgii, 1968. (Russian).
Periodicals
Carpenter, F. M. “A Review of Our Present Knowledge of the Geological History of Insects.” Psyche 37 (1930): 15–34.
Grandcolas, P. “El Origen de la Diversidad en las Cucarachas: Perspectiva Filogentica de su Gregarismo, Reproducion, Comunicacion y Ecologia.” Boletin de la Sociedad Entomologica Aragonesa 26 (1999): 397–414 (English translation, 415–420).
McKittrick, F. A. “Evolutionary Studies of Cockroaches.”
Memoir of the Cornell University Agricultural Experimental Station 389 (1964): 1–197.
Moore, Thomas E., Seldon B. Crary, Daniel E. Koditschek, and Todd A. Conklin. “Directed Locomotion in Cockroaches: ‘Biobots’ Acta Entomologica Slovenica 6, no. 2 (1998): 71–78.
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Resources
Princis, K. “Zur Systematik der Blattarien.” Eos: Revista Española de Entomología 36, no. 4 (1960): 427–449.
Rehn, J. A. G. “Man’s Uninvited Fellow Traveler: The Cockroach.” Scientific Monthly 61 (1945): 265–276.
Roth, L. M. “Evolutionary Significance of Rotation of the Ootheca in the Blattaria.” Psyche 74 (1967): 85–103.
—.“The Evolution of Male Tergal Glands in the Blattaria.” Annals of the Entomological Society of America 62 (1969): 176–208.
—.“Evolution and Taxonomic Significance of Reproduction in Blattaria.” Annual Review of Entomology 15 (1970): 75–96.
—.“A Taxonomic Revision of the Panesthiinae of the World.” I. “The Panesthiinae of Australia (Dictyoptera: Blattaria: Blaberidae).” Australian Journal of Zoology
Supplement series 48 (1977): 1–112.
—.“The Mother-Offspring Relationship of Some Blaberid Cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattaria: Blaberidae).”
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 83, no. 3 (1981): 390–398.
—.“A Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Blattella Caudell (Dictyoptera, Blattaria: Blattellidae).” Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement no. 22 (1985): 1–221.
—.“Blattella asahinai Introduced into Florida (Blattaria: Blattellidae).” Psyche 93 (1986): 371–374.
—.“New Cockroach Species, Redescriptions and Records, Mostly from Australia, and a Description of Metanocticola christmasensis gen. nov., sp. nov., from Christmas Island (Blattaria).” Records of the Western Australian Museum 19 (1999): 327–364.
—.“Systematics and Phylogeny of Cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattaria).” Oriental Insects 37 (2003): 1–139.
Roth, L. M., and G. P. Dateo. “Uric Acid Storage and Excretion by Accessory Sex Glands of Male Cockroaches.”
Journal of Insect Physiology 11 (1965): 1023–1029.
Order: Blattodea
Roth, L. M., and T. Eisner. “Chemical Defenses of Arthropods.” Annual Review of Entomology 7 (1962): 107–136.
Roth, L. M., and H. B. Hartman. “Sound Production and Its Evolutionary Significance in the Blattaria.” Annals of the Entomological Society of America 60 (1967): 740–752.
Roth, L. M., and E. R. Willis. “A Study of Cockroach Behavior.” American Midland Naturalist 47, no. 1 (1952): 66–129.
—.“The Medical and Veterinary Importance of Cockroaches.” Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 134, no. 10 (1957): 1–147.
—.“An Analysis of Oviparity and Viviparity in the Blattaria.” Transactions of the American Entomological Society
83 (1958): 221–238.
—.“The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches.” Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 141 (1960): 1–470.
Rugg, D., and H. A. Rose. “Biology of Macropanesthia rhinoceros Saussure (Dictyoptera: Blaberidae).” Entomological Society of America 84, no. 6 (1991): 575–582.
Schal, C., J. Y. Gautier, and W. J. Bell. “Behavioural Ecology of Cockroaches.” Biological Reviews 59 (1984): 209–254.
Shelford, R. “Mimicry Amongst the Blattidae; with a Revision of the Genus Prosoplecta Sauss., and the Description of a New Genus.” Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London
(1912): 358–376.
Sreng, L. “Cockroach Mating Behaviors, Sex Pheromones, and Abdominal Glands (Dictyoptera: Blaberidae).” Journal of Insect Behavior 6, no. 6 (1993): 715–735.
Willis, E. R., G. R. Riser, and L. M. Roth. “Observations on Reproduction and Development in Cockroaches.” Annals of the Entomological Society of America 51 (1958): 53–69.
Other
Driscoll, T. M. Insect Pet Care: The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. 1999. (Video; includes a booklet with directions for housing, and biological information).
Louis M. Roth, PhD
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