Alternate name: Waterbug

Family: Blattidae, Blattid Cockroaches view all from this family

Description 1 1/2-2" (38-50 mm). Reddish brown with yellowish edges and markings on pronotum. Yellowish stripe along front margin of each fore wing. Slender antennae are longer than body.

Food Moist human and pet food and other organic matter.

Life Cycle Female carries egg capsule containing about 12 eggs and abandons it after 1-2 days, usually in some dark crevice. Nymphs require about 12 months to attain maturity. Females may survive a year or more.

Habitat Crevices of tropical and subtropical vegetation; indoors in hospitals, warehouses, and homes.

Range Florida to Mexico and, by introduction, indoors in warm buildings from Antarctica to Greenland.

Discussion Adults fly well, occasionally attracted to artificial lights at night. They often crawl into grocery packages and are transported to new locations. The related Australian Cockroach (P. australasiae), 3/4-1" (19-25 mm), is dark red to brown with yellow markings. It is well established as far north as San Francisco and is a greenhouse pest in Connecticut.