What is a Cockroach?
The word cockroach is a corruption of the Spanish cucaracha. The cockroach is characterizable by a flat oval body, long threadlike antennae, and a gloss black or brown leathery integument. The head is bent downward, and the mouthparts point to the back instead of forward or downward as is the case of most other insects. The male generally 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 at times held protruding from her body or might 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 appearance. The geometry and remarkable size (some species have a wing spread of upwards of 12 cm [4.7 inches]) of cockroaches have turned them into objects of area in the biological laboratory.
The cockroach likes a warm, humid, dark environment and is often thriving in tropical or other mild locations. Only a small number of species have become pests. The insect harms more material than it consumes and has a yucky smell. The food preference of the roach, which can be both plant and animal produce, ranges from food, paper, clothing, and books to dead insects, including bedbugs. Insecticides could be utilized in roach control.
The American cockroach (species Periplaneta americana) is 30 to 50 mm long (up to about 2 inches), reddish brown, and inhabits outside or in dark, heated indoor spaces (e.g., basements and furnace rooms). In adult life, a time of about 1.5 years, the female drops 50 or more oothecae, each containing around 16 eggs that hatch after 45 days. Nymphal life lasts from 11 to 14 months. The American cockroach, a native of tropical and subtropical America, has well-developed wings. However, most species are not usually gifted flyers.
The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common pest in the house and is sometimes erroneously called a waterbug, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic area. The female deposits the ootheca three days from mating and carries it for about 20 days. Because it is tiny in size (about 12 mm [less than 0.5 inch] long), this cockroach frequently can be carried into homes in grocery bags and boxes; it has gone throughout the world by ship. Three or more generations can occur yearly. This cockroach, found abundantly throughout the water pipes of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City, is now called the Croton bug.
The brown-banded cockroach (Supella supellectilium) closely resembles the German cockroach but is even smaller. The male possesses wholly developed wings and is lighter in colour than the female, whose wings are undeveloped and nonfunctional. Both sexes have two light-coloured bands across the back. The adult life span is around 200 days, and there may be two generations a year. Eggs might be left in clothes, wood molding, or cracks in the floor. With the advent of heated buildings this cockroach became established in cooler temperatures.
The Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is held as one of the most disgusting 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 has short, fully developed wings, while the female possesses vestigial wings. This cockroach has been distributed in vehicles of trade from its Asiatic origins to every temperate regions.
Wood roaches are wild pests. Parcoblatta pennsylvanica, the common wood cockroach, can be found in logs and stones in northern latitudes. The male and female are so different in appearance that they were originally thought to be separate species. The male, 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1 inch) long, has wings that expand beyond the abdomen; the female is smaller and has much shorter wings. Cryptocercus punctulatus digests wood with the aid of certain protozoans in its digestive tract.
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