Identification
This species can only be definitively differentiated from Parcoblatta divisa by looking under the wings of the adult male cockroaches. As with other species within Parcoblatta, males are identified by structures on the dorsal abdomen just behind the thorax. In both species, the structure on the "median segment" just beyond the thorax is a ridge with an overhanging, concave area. In P. pennsylvanica there is a similar ridge on the first abdominal segment as well, whereas there are no unusual structures on the first abdominal segment of P. divisa These two species have significant overlap in their distribution. P. pennsylvanica tends to be darker than P. divisa for both males and females.
Male:
In females, the general dark color of the species contrasts more strikingly with the pale margins of the pronotum, although P. divisa can not always be differentiated from P. pennsylvanica with this character.
Female:
There are no characteristics that definitively the juvinile cockroach of this species from others. You have to rear them to adulthood.
Range
From Quebec down to Texas and Georgia.
The similar species P. divisa ranges from Pennsylvania down to Louisiana
Life Cycle
Oothecae are deposited by females in moist areas
Tiny nymphs hatch out of the oothecae, and go through multiple instars of development
Adult males and females both have wings, but only males are capable of flight.
