What is a Cockroach?
The word cockroach is rooted in the Spanish cucaracha. The cockroach is recognized by a flattened oval body, long thin antennae, and a shiny black or brown leathery integument. The head is bent downward, and the mouthparts are directed to the back instead of forward or downward as is the case with most other insects. The male often has two pairs of wings, but the female, who in some species, is wingless or has vestigial wings. The female creates eggs in egg cases (known as oothecae). These are occasionally held coming from her body or might be stuck in protected locations. After the female generates an egg case, the soft, white nymphs emerge. As their exoskeleton solidifies, it turns brown in colour. The geometry and big size (certain species have a wingspread of upwards of 12 cm [4.7 inches]) of cockroaches have become a significant interest in the biological laboratory.
The cockroach prefers a warm, humid, dark living habitat and is often found living 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 has a unpleasant odour. The diet of the roach, which is both plant and animal product, ranges from food, paper, clothing, and books to dead insects, particularly bedbugs. Insecticides could be used in roach control.
The American cockroach (species Periplaneta americana) is 30 to 50 mm long (up to about 2 inches), reddish brown, and lives outside or in dark, heated indoor locations (e.g., basements and furnace rooms). During its adult life, a time of about 1.5 years, the female deposits 50 or more oothecae, each holding usually 16 eggs that hatch after 45 days. Nymphal life goes from 11 to 14 months. The American cockroach, indigenous to tropical and subtropical America, possesses well-developed wings. However, many species are rarely great at flying.
The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common pest in houses and is often erroneously labeled a waterbug, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic region. The female deposits the ootheca three days from mating and carries it for around 20 days. Because it is small (about 12 mm [less than 0.5 inch] long), this cockroach often can be taken into houses in grocery bags and boxes; it has been spread across the world by ship. Three or more generations may occur yearly. This cockroach, abundant throughout the water pipes of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City, became called the Croton bug.
The brown-banded cockroach (Supella supellectilium) is like the German cockroach but is a bit smaller. The male has totally developed wings and is paler in hue than the female, whose wings are stunted and nonfunctional. Both sexes have two light-coloured bands over the back. The adult life span is around 200 days, and there might be two generations annually. Eggs may be left in clothes, wood molding, or cracks in the floor. With the advent of heated buildings this cockroach became common in cooler temperatures.
The Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is considered one of the filthiest 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 similar to that of the American cockroach. The male has short, fully developed wings, and the female has vestigial wings. This cockroach has been distributed by vehicles of commerce from its Asiatic origins to almost every temperate regions.
Wood roaches are non-domestic pests. Parcoblatta pennsylvanica, the common wood cockroach, habits in logs and stones in northern latitudes. The male and female are so varied in appearance that they were originally believed to be unique species. The male, 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1 inch) long, has wings that go past the abdomen; the female is smaller and possesses much shorter wings. Cryptocercus punctulatus consumes wood with the assistance of select protozoans in its digestive tract.
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