The
German cockroach,
Croton bug or
Steam fly (
Blattella germanica) is a small
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of
cockroachCockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria. This name derives from the Latin name for the insect, Blatta....
, measuring about to long. It can be tan through brown to almost black, and has two dark parallel streaks running from the head to the base of the wings. Although it has wings, it is unable to sustain
flightInsects are the only group of invertebrates known to have evolved flight. Insects possess some remarkable flight characteristics and abilities, still far superior to attempts by humans to replicate their capabilities. Even our understanding of the aerodynamics of flexible, flapping wings and how...
. The German cockroach is one of the most common and prominent household cockroaches in the world, and can be found throughout many human settlements.
The
German cockroach,
Croton bug or
Steam fly (
Blattella germanica) is a small
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of
cockroachCockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria. This name derives from the Latin name for the insect, Blatta....
, measuring about to long. It can be tan through brown to almost black, and has two dark parallel streaks running from the head to the base of the wings. Although it has wings, it is unable to sustain
flightInsects are the only group of invertebrates known to have evolved flight. Insects possess some remarkable flight characteristics and abilities, still far superior to attempts by humans to replicate their capabilities. Even our understanding of the aerodynamics of flexible, flapping wings and how...
. The German cockroach is one of the most common and prominent household cockroaches in the world, and can be found throughout many human settlements. These insects are particularly fond of inhabiting
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s,
food processingFood processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
facilities,
hotelA hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, and
nursing homeA nursing home, convalescent home, Skilled Nursing Unit , care home or rest home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living. Residents include the elderly and younger...
s. In colder climates, they are found only near human habitats, since they are not very tolerant to cold. However German cockroaches have been found as far north as
Alert, NunavutAlert, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world. It is only from the North Pole. It takes its name from HMS Alert, which wintered east of the present station off what is now Cape Sheridan, Nunavut in 1875-1876.Alert was reported to...
. The German cockroach is originally from
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
and very common in
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, not in Germany. It is very closely related to the
Asian cockroachThe Asian cockroach was first described in 1981 from insects collected on Okinawa Island, Japan. It is nearly identical to the German cockroach except for a few minor morphological differences. Like the German cockroach, it is about long, is tan to brown in color, and has wings...
, and to the casual observer they appear nearly identical and may be mistaken for the other. This cockroach can be seen in the day occasionally, especially if there is a large population or if they have been disturbed. However, sightings are most commonly reported in the evening hours as they are most active at night.
Pest control
The German cockroach is very successful at establishing an
ecological nicheIn ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different school if the members of these schools utilize significantly different...
in buildings, and is very hardy and resilient against attempts at
pest controlPest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy....
. This is because of the large number of
nymphsIn biology, a nymph is the immature form of some invertebrates, particularly insects, which undergoes in gradual metamorphosis before reaching its adult stage. Unlike a typical larva, a nymph's overall form already resembles that of the adult. In addition, while a nymph moults it never enters a...
produced from each
eggIn most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the...
case, the short period between birth and sexual maturity, and their ability to easily hide due to their small size. The mother also carries the egg case (called an
oothecaAn ootheca is a type of egg mass made by any member of a variety of species .The word is a latinized combination of oo-, meaning "egg", from the Greek word ōon , and theca, meaning a "cover" or "container", from the Greek theke...
) with her during the
germinationGermination is the process in which a seed or spore emerges from a period of dormancy. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the growth of hyphae from fungal...
period, rather than depositing it like other species, a practice which would leave them vulnerable in a human habitat to zealous attempts to wipe them out. This cockroach is also smaller than many other species so it can more easily hide and fit into very small cracks and crevices to evade humans. That is also the main reason they can most effectively be controlled with bait in cracks and crevices near harborages. These type of pest control methods should kill 95% of the overall population in a property due to their fast reproductive cycles. The German cockroach, discounting the presence of
petsPETS may be an acronym for:* Pet Travel Scheme, which allows animals to travel internationally without quarantine*Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act* Paediatric Emergency Transport Service, an ambulance for children...
, has few natural predators inside a human habitat. The German cockroach's thigmotactic nature compounds the difficulty of pest control treatment. The immature cockroaches will live off excretions and moults from the adult cockroaches and thus can remain hidden away from most surface treatments....
Diet
The German cockroach is omnivorous and a
scavengerScavenging, or necrophagy, is a carnivorous feeding behaviour in which a predator consumes corpses or carrion that were not killed to be eaten by the predator or others of its species. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the decomposition of dead animal remains...
. They particularly like
starchStarch or amylum is a polysaccharide carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds.Starch is produced by all green plants as an energy store and is a major food source for humans....
, sugary foods, grease and meats. In certain situations where there is a shortage of foodstuffs, they may eat household items such as soap, glue and toothpaste or they may even turn cannibalistic, often chewing on the wings and legs of each other.
External links
- German cockroach on the UF
The University of Florida is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major research university located on a campus located in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. The university traces its origins to 1853, and has continuously operated on its present Gainesville campus since the fall...
/ IFASThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
Featured Creatures Web site
- German cockroach fact sheet from the Penn State
The Pennsylvania State University is a state-related, land-grant, space grant public research university located in the University Park area and within State College and College Township in Pennsylvania, United States...
Extension