Bug dragging young?
May 19, 2010
Hi.
I was hoping you could help with this. I unearthed it digging out a Hell-Strip in Austin Texas. It looks like a huge pill-bug but more “roachy”. And is that a baby it is dragging around behind it?
ESP
Austin, Texsa
Boll's Sand Roach
Dear ESP,
This fascinating creature is a female Boll’s Sand Roach, Arenivaga bolliana, a species represented on BugGuide by a few photographs. The information page on BugGuide indicates: “The downy females have no wings and burrow in the dust under houses and in natural rock shelters where they feed on packrat droppings.“ This is not a Cockroach species that infests homes. We also located the AllPet Roaches Forum that has some discussion on Boll’s Sand Roach. This female is dragging her oothica or egg case, a behavior pattern characteristic of most Cockroaches.
Thank you so much for the ID Daniel, really appreciated. Please follow up
on my blog, and my next post… I have linked to your services.
Cheers,
ESP.
¶ Posted 20 May 2010 § ‡ ° bug love OUCH
May 16, 2010
Hi guys,
Congratulations on the 10,000th post. Hope you like this shot of Australian Bush Cockroaches mating. Sorry don’t have a species name for this one. My first thought was Ouch, that’s gotta hurt.
Aussietrev
Queensland Australia
Mating Bush Cockroaches
Hi Trevor,
Thanks so much for sending in your photo of mating Bush Cockroaches. We have seen other images of mating Cockroaches, but nothing with this degree of penetration.
¶ Posted 17 May 2010 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love Armour-plated bug
April 7, 2010
Seen on 04/06/2010 at Silvermine near Cape Town alive but inactive in the National Park
Richard Tudor Price
Western Cape, South Africa
Cape Mountain Cockroach
Hi Richard,
The Cape Mountain Cockroach in your photograph is not one of the few species of Cockroaches that infests homes and gives the other relatives a bad reputation. Just this January we ran another posting of this fascinating insect.
Hi Daniel and thanks for identifying the Cape Mountain Cockroach.
Cheers.
Richard
¶ Posted 08 April 2010 § ‡ ° Thinking the worst, hoping for the best.
March 31, 2010
When I first saw this bug it was at night & it flew from my hallway to my livingroom. By the time I went to get a container to catch it to find out what it was, it was gone. About ten minutes later it was flying towards one of my livingroom lights. As I attempted to catch it, it ran pretty quickly on the floor. My husband has tried to calm my nerves by saying that it’s just a water bug that’s come in the house. We live in the country & we recently had high water & our septic backed up in the yard because of the creek behind the house. I don’t believe him & think that it’s a type of roach. This is the largest one that I’ve seen in the house. & the last time that I saw a similar bug was over 2 years ago when we had high water & our septic pipes f ell. I have two young children & am worried that I may have the start of an infestation. I put a 32v standard auto fuse (sorry no coins near by) beside it to show you how big it is.
Nervous Ninny
Eastern Ohio
Wood Roach
Dear Nervous Ninny,
Calm your nerves. Yes it is a Cockroach, but luckily it is not a species that infests homes. This is a Wood Roach in the genus Parcoblatta. Wood Roaches are much happier outside in the woods, but they are attracted to light. Again, let us reiterate that Wood Roaches do not infest homes. You can read more about them on BugGuide. You are our third letter today from Ohio, including one from our home town Youngstown. We wonder, perhaps, if there was some local publicity.
¶ Posted 01 April 2010 § ‡ ° Stripy Cockroach Looking Bug With Tail
March 2, 2010
I found these 2 little bugs nesting happily underneath a computer on top of a plastic box. They were a pair, one with a long smooth hard black tail thing and the other without one. I’ve never seen anything like them before, can you tell me what they are? They look a little like trippy cockroaches to me. The house they were in is on the mountain, with the surrounding terrain mostly in it’s natural fynbos state. The room itself has a lot of damp in the walls which perhaps they like.
Jo
Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Zebra Cockroaches
Hi Jo,
These are definitely Cockroaches, and not the species that are normally associated with home infestations. They are actually quite pretty. The tail on the one specimen is actually an oothica or egg case. In many species of Cockroaches, the female carries the oothica about until she finds a suitable location for it. We recently posted an image of Cape Mountain Cockroaches from South Africa, but your species is different. While attempting to unsuccessfully identify your species, we stumbled upon the All Pet Roaches page on Angelfire, though your species is not pictured. Perhaps one of our readers can assist in this identification.
Cape Zebra Cockroach with Oothica
Daniel and Jo:
They look like Cape Zebra Cockroaches (Temnopteryx phalerata). According to Wikipedia the Cape Zebra Cockroach is “is endemic to the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape province of South Africa”. The Field Guide to Insects of South Africa has a brief write-up and a photo if you scroll down. According to the Field Guide there are six other similar Temnopteryx species, all endemic to South Africa, so it could actually be another species in the genus. Regards.
Karl
¶ Posted 02 March 2010 § Eggs ‡ ° Madagascar Hissing Roach
February 27, 2010
Hey, I don’t see any Madagascar Hissing Roaches on your site, so I
thought I might contribute!
His name is Eero, means “Ever-Ruler” and I was letting him crawl around on my pantleg in these pictures (was in a dark room using flash so his colors showed up better) sure it’s just brown, but I think it’s a pretty fade of black-brown and kind of a golden color.
I say “he” because of the big horn like protrusions on his thorax, females have a smooth top
Tara
Captive
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Hi Tara,
Thanks for sending us photos of this popular pet insect.
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Unidentified Bathroom Bug
February 16, 2010
I found this critter in my second floor bathroom. It has what I thought was a distinctive white-brown-white, H shaped marking on its backside that I thought would make it easy for me to identify. I have searched but I still have no idea what it is. I tried to get better photos, but the ones I have are a bit blurry because he kept trying to escape. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks
Bob in HI
Oahu, Hawaii
Immature Cockroach
Hi Bob,
This is an immature Cockroach, though we are not certain if it is a species that infests homes.
Immature Cockroach
Karl may have found the answer
Hi Daniel and Bob:
It looks like Balta notulata (Blattodea: Blattellidae), although there appears to be more extensive black on the pronotum. This is a very wide ranging cockroach, found throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands. I suspect it is not native to Hawaii but I was unable to find out where it originally comes from. There is one other species of Balta in Hawaii, the Wood Cockroach (B. similis) that may be a native species, but I couldn’t find any nymph photos. The Wood Cockroach is an outdoor cockroach that occasionally finds its way indoors, while B. notulata is considered an indoor species. I would say it is one of the two. Regards.
Karl
Eric Eaton disagrees
Daniel:
I’m about 99% positive this is a nymph of the Brown-banded cockroach, Supella longipalpa. They like to live inside electrical appliances because of the warmth. They are definitely a global domestic pest species. No exterminators may be necessary, though. Do-it-yourself, non-toxic bait recipes can be found online, especially at various “.edu” websites that discuss cockroach control.
Eric
¶ Posted 16 February 2010 § ‡ ° Unknown Insects
February 15, 2010
Please can you help me identify these insects, found in the garden during the summer months.
Chris Moran
Perth, WA, Australia
Bush Cockroach
Hi Chris,
Not all Cockroaches are pestiferous species that infest homes. Some Cockroaches are actually quite beautiful and they would much rather live in a natural environment. This Bush Cockroach, Ellipsidion humerale, is pictured on a Brisbane Insect website page.
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