Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Blatta germanica Linnaeus 1767
Size
Adult body length 13-16 mm
Identification
pale brown with two parallel longitudinal dark streaks on pronotum
[paraphrased from U. of California Internet reference below]
"Pronotal stripes simple, slightly more broadly separated by their widths. Male interocular distance scarcely 3/4 times as long as distance between antennal sockets; lateral submarginal area of tergite VII immaculate; apical margin of tergite VIII shallowly notched in the middle; left stylus armed with 5-6 thorns; genitalia with R21 less than 4/5 times as long as R3; recurved portion of L3 elongate; female with interocular distance more than 4/5 times as wide as distance between antennal sockets; apical margin of subgenital plate subsinuous distally."
[copied from U. of Florida Internet reference below]
Although adults have fully developed wings, they do not fly.
Unlike Asian Cockroach, females do not have wings long enough to cover the oothecae.
Habitat
Infests human dwellings and workplaces
Food
Omnivorous, eats just about anything edible
Remarks
Like most cockroaches, the German Cockroach is nocturnal. It is a major pest of residential and commercial structures.
Some people can develop severe allergies to cockroach parts, feces, and oils.
Females carry the ootheca for up to a month, dropping it just before the eggs hatch.
Internet References
detailed species account and information on 15 other species of cockroach (Walter Ebeling, U. of California at Riverside)
cockroach key; PDF doc A Dichotomous Key for the Identification of the Cockroach fauna (Insecta: Blattaria) of Florida. (P.M. Choate, S. Burns, L. Olsen, D. Richman, O. Pérez, M. Patnaude, C. McFarland, K. McManamy, and R. Pluke, U. of Florida)
cockroach allergies (Johns Hopkins Hospital, Maryland)
fact sheet from Penn State's Entomology Department
