Other Common Names
Turkistan Cockroach (alternate spelling)
Explanation of Names
Shelfordella lateralis (Walker 1868)
common name refers to
Turkestan, a region in central Asia within the native range of this species
Identification
Male: reddish-brown with pale cream or whitish lateral strip on pronotum and along outer margin at base of wings; wings long, completely covering abdomen
Female: dark brown with very short wings that do not extend over abdomen; short whitish lateral dash at base of wing
Range
native to c. & sw. Asia and e. Mediterranean, adventive in NA
(1) (so. US, spreading)
Habitat
water meter boxes, cracks between blocks of poured concrete, compost piles, leaf litter, potted plants, and sewer systems
Remarks
introduced to the US in the late 1970s, presumably by military personnel returning from the Middle East