Oriental cockroach

(Blatta orientalis)

Biology:

The oriental cockroach is sometimes referred to as a water bug. It is 20 to 28 mm long. The males are a dark chestnut-brown colour and have fully developed wings, which are slightly shorter than the abdomen. The females are almost black and only have short, stubby wings. They deposit their egg sacks at random with approximately 16 eggs after 2 to 5 days. The larvae hatch from here after 2 to 3 months. They then need, depending on the temperature, anything from 6 months to 2 years or more to develop fully.

Like the American cockroach, the oriental cockroach is thermophilic, but it can manage with lower temperatures and can even still breed at 15 °C. These creatures cannot fly and cannot climb as well as the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) and the German cockroach (Blattella germanica), for example. They usually hide in the floor area, in cable ducts or in sewer pipes.

 

Damage:

In terms of lifestyle and the damage caused, it resembles the American cockroach.