This is a list of cockroaches of Saudi Arabia, including both indigenous and non-indigenous species.
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.
Blattidae is a cockroach family in the order Blattodea containing several of the most common household cockroaches. Notable species include:
The German cockroach, colloquially known as the croton bug, is a species of small cockroach, typically about 1.1 to 1.6 cm long. In color it varies from tan to almost black, and it has two dark, roughly parallel, streaks on the pronotum running anteroposteriorly from behind the head to the base of the wings. Although B. germanica has wings, it can barely fly, although it may glide when disturbed. Of the few species of cockroach that are domestic pests, it probably is the most widely troublesome example. It is very closely related to the Asian cockroach, and to the casual observer, the two appear nearly identical and may be mistaken for each other. However, the Asian cockroach is attracted to light and can fly like a moth, while the German cockroach cannot.
Ectobiidae is a family of the order Blattodea (cockroaches). This family contains many of the smaller common household pest cockroaches, among others. They are sometimes called wood cockroaches. A few notable species include:
Cryptocercus is a genus of Dictyoptera and the sole member of its own family Cryptocercidae. Species are known as wood roaches or brown-hooded cockroaches. These roaches are subsocial, their young requiring considerable parental interaction. They also share wood-digesting gut bacteria types with wood-eating termites, and are therefore seen as evidence of a close genetic relationship, that termites are essentially evolved from social cockroaches.
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.
The Asian cockroach is a species of cockroach that was first described in 1981 from insects collected on Okinawa Island, Japan. It is a small species of cockroach, typically 1.3 to 1.6 centimetres long and tan to dark brown in colour with dark parallel stripes on the back of their heads. It is commonly mistaken with the German cockroach for their similar appearance. It is commonly found in the United States in and around houses.
The brown-banded cockroach is a species of small cockroach, measuring about 10 to 14 mm long and the most well-known in the genus Supella. It is tan to light brown and has two light-colored bands across the wings and abdomen, they may sometimes appear to be broken or irregular but are quite noticeable. The bands may be partly obscured by the wings. The male has wings that cover the abdomen, while the female has wings that do not cover the abdomen completely. The male appears more slender than the female, the female appears wider.
Supella is a genus of cosmopolitan and wild cockroaches, in the family Ectobiidae: originating from Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The death's head cockroach is a species of cockroach belonging to the family Blaberidae. It is often confused with the discoid cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis, due to its similar appearance. It is distinguished by jet black cloak-like marking on its wings and a skull-shaped, amber/black marking on its pronotum. The name death's head comes from the markings on the top of the pronotum: "cranii", which is Latin for "of the head", and "fer", meaning "carry" or "carrier". Due to their unique appearance and certain characteristics, they make an easy to care for pet or display insect for entomologists and hobbyists.
Therea petiveriana, variously called the desert cockroach, seven-spotted cockroach, or Indian domino cockroach, is a species of crepuscular cockroach found in southern India. They are members of a basal group within the cockroaches. This somewhat roundish and contrastingly marked cockroach is mainly found on the ground in scrub forest habitats where they may burrow under leaf litter or loose soil during the heat of the day.
Zdenekia is a genus of extinct winged insects from the Upper Carboniferous period. It contains the species Z. grandis from the Czech Republic, Z. occidentalis from Belgium, and Z. silesiensis from Poland. Zdenekia is considered a member of the extinct order Paoliida, a group that historically had controversial affinities and composition but have been resolved as the sister group of Dictyoptera by recent studies.
Ectobius is a genus of non-cosmopolitan cockroaches once thought native to the Old World and described by Stephens in 1835, belonging to the family Ectobiidae, subfamily Ectobiinae. The discovery of 4 ectobius cockroaches in Colorado dating to 49 million years ago suggests the genus actually originated in North America. This genus has been subject to a number of revisions.
The Tryonicidae are a family of cockroaches.
The Turkestan cockroach, also known as the rusty red cockroach, red runner cockroach or simply rusty red, red runner, or lat, is a primarily outdoor-dwelling cockroach native to an area from northern Africa to Central Asia. Adults measure around 3 cm (1.2 in) in length. Adult males are a brownish orange or red, are slender, and have long, yellowish wings which allow it to attract females and to glide. Adult females are dark brown to black, with cream-colored markings on the shield and a cream-colored stripe edging its wings; they are broader than males, and have short vestigial wings. Nymphs are brown in front, black on the rear, and are wingless.
Schizopilia fissicollis is a species of cockroach living in Suriname and French Guiana.
Blattella vaga, the field cockroach, is a species of cockroach in the family Ectobiidae. It is found in Europe and Northern Asia, Central America, North America, and Southern Asia.
Megaloblatta longipennis is a species of cockroach in the family Ectobiidae. It is one of the world's largest cockroaches by length and wingspan. It is native to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; although its range sometimes is reported to extend into Panama; this is based on misidentifications of the closely related and similar M. blaberoides.