Upon returning from the movies (Prestige does not get our stamp of approval) we inspected the insects that were attracted to the garage light at our Mt Washington, Los Angeles offices. We have been seeing Painted Arachnis Moths lately and they are laying eggs on the wooden siding. Tonight, to our glee, there was a Sand Cockroach in the genus Arenivaga. This winged male was attracted to the light. Most members of the Cockroach order are benign creatures that do not infest homes, and the Sand Cockroach is one of the native species that should not cause homemakers any grief. This genus is often found near sand dunes and in areas with sandy soil.
¶ Posted 04 November 2006 § ‡ ° Unknown cockroach species
Hi, Bugman!
I love your site! Fascinating and one of my most frequent references. I wish there were a Bug Guide type site for Central America because that’s where I live and find my little beauties. I did send you one photo of a strange new cockroach, but haven’t heard anything from you. Is this because cockroaches are just too boring (not to me!) or because you can’t find a reference. Because of the transparent shield (part of the oddly shaped pronotum) over the head of the cockroad, the creature reminds me of a space man or astronaut. If you can’t ID it, can you suggest some reference sites on the web? I live in an isolated area and there are no libraries or book stores or universities within at least a day’s travel, so I
depend on the Internet. Thanks for any help. I’m attaching several more photos of this roach just in case the first one got lost.
Mary Thorman
Hi Mary,
Sorry to have been negligent. We can’t even recall seeing your previous images, so they might be in the jumble of letters that is clogging up our in box. Sadly, we cannot recommend any good sources online for your question, nor do we recognize your species. It is difficult enough to identify “flashy” exotic species like butterflies in less traveled parts of the world. Your Cockroach is indeed fascinating. Good luck putting a name to it. Eric Eaton quickly wrote in with this information: ” The cockroach is something in the Blaberinae, maybe even a Blaberus sp, but probably a related genus.”
¶ Posted 30 April 2006 § ‡ ° what is this bug?
Dear Whats That Bug:
Hello. I love your site. Considering I don’t know what this little guy is I let him leave unharmed. I have seen a couple of these bugs around my bathroom they crawl under the cracks of the sink and inside the bathtub. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with their nature but they come out closer to nighttime. When I was trying to take a picture of this one he was running so fast I only got one shot and that was a lucky one, keep in mind he isn’t any bigger than the fingernail on my pinky. He was crawling on the wall of the bathtub and I’m not sure if he fell or jumped but nevertheless he ended up on the inside of the bathtub. Do you know what he is??
Thank you sincerly,
Kristen J.
Hi Kristen,
We have never seen an immature Cockroach with this coloration pattern. We found a match on Bugguide that listed it only by genus Periplaneta. The submitted photos were from North Carolina.
¶ Posted 07 April 2006 § ‡ ° Should I kill myself now, or what?
Dear Bugman,
Having just moved to Florida from the north I am TERRIFIED of getting a cockroach infestation in my apartment. Having said that, I moved down here and lived in a place where I saw two German Cockroaches on separate occasions. I moved into a new place about two months ago. Your web site helped greatly. Now this series of events has happened: a) found a cockroach slightly bigger than a German Cockroach but a dark red like an American Cockroach near my patio door, and killed it, this was after I had moved some boxes and while the lights were on; b) found some roach crap near my microwave days later; and c) caught the big dark red cockroach in this photo sneaking out from under the microwave tonight. I think the Intenet helped me identify this ugly bastard as an "Australian Cockroach." Evidently they aren’t as bad at infestations as Germans or Americans since they don’t get nearly the same press coverage. I haven’t seen any other evidence of roach activity anywhere in my apartment. Please help me if you can. What kind of cockroach is this? Do I have an infestation or just an annoying visitor or two? Can I expect a huge sack of eggs to break inside the outer walls of my microwave, unleashing a torrent of cockroaches I will never fully destroy? What should I do to prevent cockroaches from entering my home?
Floridian In Need
Dear Needy Floridian,
We agree with your identification. The Australian Cockroach, Periplaneta australasiae, is not as invasive as the German Cockroach. The pale stripes at the edge of the forewings are the distinguishing feature. According to BugGuide, they are a tropical or subtropical species that will feed on almost anything. We don’t really consider ourselves to be experts at intervention, but Don’t kill yourself.
What is this?
I found this crawling toward my 7 month baby…please please please tell me I don’t have cockroaches!! Thanks!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
The good news is that Cockroaches will not attack your baby, but this is a Cockroach. Whether or not you have Cockroaches in the plural is yet to be determined. As this is an immature Cockroach, indications are there might be siblings, however, often a solitary Roach hitches a ride home from the laundermat or grocery store and its appearance is not an indication of an infestation.
1
¶ Posted 24 December 2005 § ‡ ° Cockroaches will definetly outlive humans.
I found a large American Cockroach in my bedroom, as they tend to freak me out, I grabbed a large knife from my dresser and sliced it alongside the upper abdomen. Both parts continued to move. It laid still for a moment, but when I went to pick it up, the body made a run for it. It ran about 5 feet and stopped. I picked it up again and put it on my dresser, with the head. The head was moving it’s mouth and little mandible things quickly, it looked very mad. I took pictures of it, and a video so I could prove it was still moving. Then I started to feel bad for it and cut it’s head from it’s abdomen, thinking that would surely do it in. Of course it didn’t, because apparently the brain doesn’t have much to do with it. I packed it into a plastic bag, went on the internet to investigate (make sure it was really a cockroach). I found your site. Now, I read the cockroach page, the unnecessary carnage page, and the bug love page. I felt much worse for killing it. Then I got up to get a soda, walking past the plastic bag I noticed the one of the cockroach’s legs is still moving. It’s been at least 30 minutes now since I first killed it. Is this normal? I think I may have some super cockroach strain. I know the praying mantis males compulate without their heads, but how long can an insect go without a head?
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
I’m not sure I can answer your question accurately. Death of the Cockroach is imminent. The exact moment of death in any being is definitely a hot topic worth debating, and science and religion are often at odds. Chickens run about without heads but that is usually a matter of seconds or minutes at most. I think the Cockroach accomplished quite a feat by provoking both your sorrow, your pondering and your subsequent webwearch. We believe much of what you observed was reflex reaction. Our question to you is “What is a large knife doing on your bedroom dresser?”
Update (02/06/2006)
Hey Guys!
This is just a comment for the carny page. The decapetated roach that was still moving after 30 mins is quite normal. I read once that a roach is able to live for 7 days without a head and will thus eventually die of hunger. This was proven with a test I did, my headless roach lasted 5 days. I think the 30 min roach didn’t make it for that long cause of the fact that the knife took more that just the head. I’ll see if I can find the articel for you again. Nways, Great Site! Love it!
Hardus Swanepoel
What’s this bug….please?
Hi Bugman,
We (my son) have found a heap of bugs roaming around the property. We would like to know what they are and what they are doing? They appeared after a large storm event and are just walking around everywhere. My dog also ate some. I will let you know if the dog dies 
Thanks for any info…
Regards
Anthony (and Daemon)
Hi Anthony and Daemon,
These are some species of Roach, but we didn’t recognize them. We found a matching photo on BugGuide, but with no information. We wrote to Eric Eaton, and here is his response: “Depends on where they are. If this image is from Florida, it is probably of the broad Keys roach, Hemiblabera tenebricosa. If they smelled really bad, then maybe they are the stinking cockroach, Eurycotis floridana, found from Mississippi to Florida and Georgia. Without examining the specimens I can’t rule out other possibilities, including nymphs of other roaches, but if they were over 30 mm, then the above two possibilities are best. Eric” We wish you had included a location which is one of the things we request.
Correction (06/11/2006)
mystery roaches
The Mystery roaches on your page are most likely the heaviest roaches in the world. The photographer is almost certainly from Australia if he got these in the wild. These beauties are Macropanesthia rhinoceros, or the Rhinoceros cockroach, in the family Blaberidae. I’ll send you a picture of some specimens I photographed in the LA County Museum (as well as a photo of a specimen of the longest roach Megaloblatta longipennis). These guys are monsters in real life, but live a pretty calm 10 years or more eating Eucalyptus litter.
Paul Lenhart
University of Texas at El Paso
Dear What’s that Bug?
Last night, as I was preparing to bicycle over to a friend’s house, I noticed that my chain had fallen off. When I bent down to reattach it to the gear ring, I noticed this little feller, quite dead, resting on my derailer cables. I enjoyed keeping him on my bike for a few miles, as bugs are the only hitchhikers a cyclist can really pick up. I was charmed to have a rider, despite his deadness. When I brought my bicycle into my friend’s home, it was time for my rider to leave (not polite to bring cockroaches into a home, even if they aren’t breathing), and I ripped a page from a nearby phone book and prepared a makeshift coffin. It was only later that I wondered about the connection between my chain falling off and the presence of the bug. Could there possibly be a cause and effect at work here? Was this cockroach some sort of suicide attacker, hoping my chain problem would cause me to have an incident? Can bugs be devious? Are there any cockroaches in Al Queda? Should I call Homeland Security? Please advise.
Thanks,
Another paranoid American.
Dear Paranoid American,
While I would like to assure you that this was just a random event, ask any homemaker, and you will be assured that Cockroaches are indeed devious, well-organized and capable of planning strategies. What is most disturbing about your hypothesis is that this is definitely an American Cockroach, Periplaneta americana, and not an illegal immigrant. If there is an Al Queda connection, it would be frightening to think that we may soon be on high alert against native Americans. This is way too big for What’s That Bug? to handle and most assuredly a job for the leader of the Free World.
¶ Posted 12 July 2005 § ‡ ° 
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