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Identifying Features of Indoor Cockroaches

 

GERMAN

Adult: 0.5 inch; light brown, two dark stripes on pronotum

Preferred location: kitchens, bathrooms, food preparation and storage areas

Adult
adult
nymph
nymph
 

BROWNBANDED

Adult: 0.5 inch; males are golden tan; females are darker brown; both have light-colored bands on abdomen, wings, and sides of pronotum

Preferred location: warm areas indoors, behind pictures on walls, in hollow legs of furniture, clutter

Adult male
adult male
Adult female
adult female
nymph
nymph

Identifying Features of Outdoor Cockroaches

ORIENTAL

Adult: 1.25 inches; almost black; male, wings are shorter than body; female, wings are rudimentary

Preferred location: cool damp, dark places-woodpiles, ivy, ground cover, garages, basements, water meter boxes, and in drains

Adult male
adult male
Adult female
adult female
 

SMOKYBROWN

Adult:1.5 inches; dark brown to mahogany; almost-black pronotum

Preferred location: planter boxes, trees, shrubs, vegetation

Adult
adult
   

AMERICAN

Adult: 2 inches; reddish brown; large body, edges of pronotum are light colored

Preferred location: sewers, water meter boxes, storm drains, steam tunnels, animal-rearing facilities

Adult
adult
   

TURKESTAN

Adult: female, 1 inch with cream-colored markings along the edges behind the head and around the short, rounded wings; males slightly smaller with yellowish-tan wings and cream-colored stripes along the edges

Preferred location: water meter boxes, cracks between blocks of poured concrete, compost piles, leaf litter, potted plants

Adult male
adult male
Adult female
adult female
 

FIELD

Adult: 0.5 inch; gray to olive brown; two black stripes on pronotum; one black stripe between the eyes

Preferred location: leaf litter, plant debris

Adult
adult
   

Illustration from U.S. Depts. of Food and Agric. and Health and Human Services. 1991. Insect and Mite Pests in Food, Vol. II. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, Ag. Handbook No. 655.


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