Brown cockroach

Brown cockroach
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Blattodea
Family:	Blattidae
Genus:	Periplaneta
Species:	P. brunnea
Binomial name
	Periplaneta brunnea; Burmeister, 1838
Synonyms
	Periplaneta concolorWalker, 1868; Periplaneta patensWalker, 1868; Periplaneta truncataKrauss, 1892; Periplaneta ignotaShaw, 1925;

Last updated November 28, 2023

The brown cockroach (Periplaneta brunnea) is a species of cockroach in the family Blattidae. It is probably originally native to Africa, but today it has a circumtropical distribution, having been widely introduced.^[1] In cooler climates it can only survive indoors,^[2] and it is considered a household pest.^[1]

This cockroach is similar in appearance to the American cockroach (P. americana), but darker in color and with thicker, wider, triangular cerci. It is a reddish-brown color and has fully developed wings.^[2] It reaches up to 4 centimeters in length.^[1]

It produces an ootheca about 1.2 to 1.6 centimeters long containing about 24 eggs on average.^[3]

It is an omnivore.^[2]

Brown Cockroach usually produces longer ootheca compared to American Cockroach. One ootheca could contain around 28 eggs on average. They are smaller in size and darker in colour and often times being mistaken with American Cockroach. American Cockroach on the other hand are larger and usually reddish-brown in colour. This is because both of the two different species comes from the same genus hence there's a little similarities. Brown Cockroach do gives off unpleasant smell when threatened or touched. Males are usually smaller than their females counterparts. They are social insects. They like to be in large groups resting in warm, moist, dark areas. They prefer indoor areas and often times known as the pests that linger around our homes. However, not for American Cockroaches. American Cockroaches prefer to live in outdoor areas like the sewers on the streets and only comes into our homes when there's changes in the weather climate or when food is limited. Hence, that's the reason why American Cockroach is always well known to be mistaken as Brown Cockroach as people often sees them on the streets and when back to their homes they thought it's the same species. However, both species of the same genus can be found in your homes too.

Related Research Articles

Giant cockroaches, or blaberids, are the second-largest cockroach family by number of species. Mostly distributed in warmer climates worldwide, this family is based on the American genus Blaberus, but much of the diversity is also found in Africa and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blattidae</span> Family of cockroaches

Blattidae is a cockroach family in the order Blattodea containing several of the most common household cockroaches. Notable species include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American cockroach</span> Species of cockroach

The American cockroach is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. In certain regions of the U.S. it is colloquially known as the waterbug, though it is not a true waterbug since it is not aquatic. It is also known as the ship cockroach, kakerlac, and Bombay canary. It is often misidentified as a palmetto bug.

The Florida woods cockroach or palmetto bug is a large cockroach species which typically grows to a length of 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in). When alarmed, adults can eject an extremely foul-smelling directional spray up to 1 m, which inspired several of its other common names: Florida skunk roach, Florida stinkroach, skunk cockroach, skunk roach, stinking cockroach, and stinkroach. Two other naming variations include Florida cockroach and Florida woods roach.

The Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach is a species of burrowing cockroach. It is a common plant pest endemic to the Indomalayan realm that has spread to tropical and into subtropical regions around the world, and in isolated populations to temperate climates where protective habitat such as greenhouses provide shelter for individuals inadvertently shipped in the soil of plants. Its populations are almost exclusively female, and it reproduces through parthenogenesis, having evolved several clonal strains from its sexual progenitor P. indicus.

Panchlora nivea, the Cuban cockroach or green banana cockroach, is a small species of cockroach in the subfamily Panchlorinae. It is found in the subtropical or tropical climates of Cuba, the Caribbean and southern US: along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas and has been observed as far north as Moncks Corner, South Carolina. Panchlora nivea got into the US through Caribbean fruit shipments.

The Australian cockroach is a common species of tropical cockroach, with a length of 23–35 mm (0.91–1.38 in). It is brown overall, with the tegmina having a conspicuous lateral pale stripe or margin, and the pronotum with a sharply contrasting pale or yellow margin. It is very similar in appearance to the American cockroach and may be easily mistaken for it. It is, however, slightly smaller than the American cockroach, and has a yellow margin on the thorax and yellow streaks at its sides near the wing base.

The smokybrown cockroach is a large species of cockroach, winged, and growing to a length of 32–35 millimetres (1.3–1.4 in).

The Pennsylvania wood cockroach or Pennsylvanian cockroach is a common species of cockroach in eastern and central North America.

Parcoblatta virginica, the Virginia wood cockroach, is a small cockroach species of the genus Parcoblatta, measuring about a centimeter long as an adult.

Parcoblatta fulvescens, the fulvous wood cockroach, is a species of cockroach endemic to the United States and possibly Canada that measures around 13 mm (0.5 in) long.

Cockroaches are insects belonging to the order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as pests.

Periplaneta is a genus of cockroaches.

Evania appendigaster, also known as the blue-eyed ensign wasp, is a species of wasp in the family Evaniidae. Its native range is not known, but it likely originated in Asia. Today it occurs throughout the tropics and subtropics and in many temperate regions. As with the rest of its family, the blue-eyed ensign wasp is a parasitoid known for specializing on cockroach eggs.

The Japanese cockroach, also known as the Yamato cockroach, is a cockroach native to Japan, adapted to cooler northern climates. It has a flexible univoltine or semivoltine lifecycle, depending on the timing of its hatching, and is unusual in being able to spend two winters as diapause nymphs before reaching maturity.

Cariblatta lutea is a small species of cockroach native to the United States and other countries, measuring usually around 7 millimeters long as an adult and under 2 millimeters from head tip to abdomen tip at the 1st instar or hatchling. It consists of two subspecies, the small yellow cockroach, and the least yellow cockroach.

Parcoblatta uhleriana, the Uhler's wood cockroach, is a species of Parcoblatta native to the United States and Canada. It is a forest species also found in disturbed and urban environments. The male of the species flies freely, while the female does not fly.

Parcoblatta zebra, the banded wood cockroach, is a species of Parcoblatta native to the United States. It has dark transverse bands across the back of its abdomen.

Parcoblatta desertae, the desert wood cockroach or desert cockroach, is a species of Parcoblatta endemic to the United States state of Texas.

Parcoblatta americana, the western wood cockroach, is a species of wood cockroach that occurs in Mexico and the western United States.

References

1 2 3 Periplaneta brunnea, Brown Cockroach. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database. The Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust. 2007.
1 2 3 Periplaneta brunnea (Burmeister, 1838). Archived November 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Orthopteroids of the British Isles Recording Scheme.
↑ Periplaneta brunnea Burmeister, 1838. PaDIL.

External links

Black and white photographs of top view of P. brunnea male and female specimens, from Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.
Drawings of body parts of male P. brunnea; plate VII, figures 12-16 show detail of the pronotum, end of abdomen with cerci, genital process, subgenital plate, and supra-anal plate with cerci. From a 1917 article^[1] by Morgan Hebard, with a key to the figures on page 280.

This cockroach article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

↑ Hebard, Morgan (1917). "The Blattidae of North America north of the Mexican boundary". Memoirs of the American Entomological Society. 2: 1–284.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[cook-1] 1 2 3 Periplaneta brunnea, Brown Cockroach. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database. The Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust. 2007.

[brit-2] 1 2 3 Periplaneta brunnea (Burmeister, 1838). Archived November 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Orthopteroids of the British Isles Recording Scheme.

[padil-3] Periplaneta brunnea Burmeister, 1838. PaDIL.

[4] Hebard, Morgan (1917). "The Blattidae of North America north of the Mexican boundary". Memoirs of the American Entomological Society. 2: 1–284.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[1]