Cockroach


We like to stick around: Cockroaches have been present on the earth for more than 400 million years.

And there are lots of us, too: There are approximately 4000 - 7500 species of cockroaches.

World's worst pest? only a very small fraction of these are considered pests, including the American, German, Oriental, brown-banded, smokybrown and Asian species. However, because their excrement can contaminate food and they secrete an unpleasant odor that can permeate the indoors, they are considered to be one of the worst household pests.

Roach Coach: Cockroaches inhabit ant, wasp, termite colony nests, caves, animal burrows and even mines.

Cockroach Babies: The lifecycle of a cockroach begins when a mature female cockroach produces an eggcase or ootheca. Females can carry an egg case with them for quite some time, dropping the case wherever it may fall. This habit can lead to the rapid dissemination of these insects, because each ootheca may contain up to 50 eggs which hatch into small versions of the adults, called nymphs. Nymphs can be recognized by the absence of wings.

Status: Common.

Australasia | Conservation Corner | Madagascar |
Marco Polo Trail | North America | Plains of Africa | Tropical America