American Cockroach

Order/family: Blattodea/Blattidae

Scientific Name: Periplaneta americana

Description: American cockroaches are 1 3/8” to 2 1/8” long when fully grown, orange-brown, and characterized by fully developed wings which completely cover the abdomen. The pronoun, a shield-like area behind the head, has a dirty-yellow band around the edge. The immature stages (nymphs) are gray-brown an 1/4” long when they emerge from an egg capsule. As they develop, the become more orange-brown, and the yellow band becomes more prominent on the pronoun. The purse-shaped egg capsule called an ootheca is dark red-brown in color, 3/8” long, and typically contains 16 eggs.