The word cockroach is stemmed from the Spanish cucaracha. The cockroach is characterized by a flattened oval body, long threadlike antennae, and a shiny 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 of almost all other insects. The male often has two pairs of wings, unlike the female, who in some species, is wingless or appears with vestigial wings. The female produces eggs in egg cases (called oothecae). These are on occasion held coming from her body or may be stuck in protected parts. After the female produces an egg case, the soft, white nymphs emerge. As their exoskeleton hardens, it turns brown in shade. The form and huge size (some species possess a wingspan of longer than 12 cm [4.7 inches]) of cockroaches have turned them into a particular interest in the biological laboratory.
The cockroach takes a warm, humid, dark living habitat and is usually found in tropical or other mild areas. Just a small number species have become pests. The insect inflicts damage upon more material than it eats and emits a yucky scent. The food preference of the roach, which should be both plant and animal products, ranges from food, paper, clothing, and books to dead insects, particularly bedbugs. Insecticides could be used in roach killing.
The American cockroach (species Periplaneta americana) is 30 to 50 mm long (up to about 2 inches), reddish brown, and lives outdoors or in dark, heated indoor spaces (e.g., basements and furnace rooms). During its adult life, a time of about 1.5 years, the female creates 50 or more oothecae, each containing around 16 eggs that hatch after 45 days. Nymphal life goes from 11 to 14 months. The American cockroach, a native of tropical and subtropical America, possesses well-developed wings. However, the majority of species are not gifted at flying.
The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common pest in the house and is on occasion incorrectly called a waterbug, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic region. The female creates the ootheca three days post mating and carries it for generally around 20 days. Because it is small in size (about 12 mm [less than 0.5 inch] long), this cockroach often can be brought into residences in grocery bags and boxes; it has gone throughout the world by ship. Three or more generations can occur yearly. This cockroach, found in abundance around the water pipes of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City, is commonly called the Croton bug.
The brown-banded cockroach (Supella supellectilium) is like the German cockroach but is a bit smaller. The male possesses wholly developed wings and is lighter in hue than the female, whose wings are short and nonfunctional. Both sexes have two light-coloured bands over the back. The adult life span is generally about 200 days, and there can be two generations in a year. Eggs might be deposited in clothes, wood molding, or cracks in the floor. With the invention of heated buildings this cockroach became more common in cooler temperatures.
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 resembling that of the American cockroach. The male possesses short, fully developed wings, but the female possesses vestigial wings. This cockroach has been spread in vehicles of business from its Asiatic origins to all the temperate regions.
Wood roaches are not domestic pests. Parcoblatta pennsylvanica, the common wood cockroach, lives below logs and stones in northern latitudes. The male and female are so unlike in appearance that they were once believed to be unique species. The male, 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1 inch) long, has wings that extend past the abdomen; the female is smaller and possesses much shorter wings. Cryptocercus punctulatus eats wood with the help of particular protozoans in its digestive tract.
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