Oriental cockroach

The oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis), also known as the waterbug (as they live in damp areas) or black cockroaches (as their bodies are mostly dark), is a large species of cockroach, adult males being 18–29 mm (0.71–1.14 in) and adult females being 20–27 mm (0.79–1.06 in). It is dark brown or black in color and has a glossy body. The female has a somewhat different appearance from the male, appearing to be wingless at a casual glance, but is brachypterous, having non-functional wings just below her head. She has a wider body than the male. The male has long wings, which cover three quarters of the abdomen and are brown in color, and has a narrower body. Both of them are flightless. The female oriental cockroach looks somewhat similar to the Florida woods cockroach and may be mistaken for it. Originally endemic to the Crimean Peninsula and the region around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, its distribution is now cosmopolitan.

Oriental cockroach
A: Female
B: Male
C: Side view of female
D: Young male
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Blattidae
Genus: Blatta
Species:
B. orientalis
Binomial name
Blatta orientalis
Synonyms
  • Blatta lucifuga Poda, 1761
  • Blatta secunda Schaeffer, 1769
  • Blatta tertia Schaeffer, 1769
  • Blatta culinaris De Geer, 1773
  • Blatta ferruginea Thunberg, 1810
  • Blatta europaea Bartsch, 1846 (Nom. Nud.)
  • Kakerlac castanea Blanchard, 1851
  • Blatta hemialata Gistel, 1856
  • Pulex imperator Westwood, 1858 (Nom. Nud.)
  • Blatta badia Saussure, 1863
  • Kakerlac pallipes Philippi, 1863
  • Kakerlac platystetho Philippi, 1863
  • Stylopyga orientalis spontanea Semenov-Tian-Shansky, 1909
  • Stylopyga orientalis gracilis Adelung, 1910
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