what is this insect?
October 17, 2009
In late summer 2006, I started noticing some kind of unidentified roach-like bug in the garden & around the house.
Observed in daylight, doesn’t run to avoid light. Body is ~6 mm long, semi-translucent, with darker brown stripes lengthwise down the back side of body, and one central brown stripe. Feelers approx as long as body, 2 mandible-type extensions near base of feelers, 6 legs, rearmost legs longest, with hairy extensions on them, two spikey extensions at rear end. Body is segmented, no obvious wings. A captured one was observed to have a very large object attached to it, which it eventually shed after about a day (at right). Is this some kind of egg case?
(see attached jpg images)
Thank you, JD
Petaluma, California
Cockroach
Hi JD,
This is a species of Cockroach, and we believe it is Phyllodromica trivittata, a Mediterranean import that BugGuide reports from California. BugGuide has this comment: “Known from dry habitats around the Mediterranean. It has been recorded from Morocco; Algeria; Spain; Italy (Sardinia Island); Italy (Sicily); Libya; and Israel. Given that it has not been recorded as being a pest in buildings in those countries (as far as I’m aware) it is unlikely to invade buildings in the USA. Comment by George Beccaloni (The Natural History Museum, London, UK).” In many species of Cockroaches, the female carries the ootheca, or egg case, and your description and photograph support this, though that photo is a bit blurry and we will not be posting it. The Cockroach Forum has some nice images.
Cockroach
I like This
We saw these cockroaches all over Lake Sonoma Liberty Glenn Campround in Sonoma County. I saw them in the campground bathroom/showers and the camp sites peripherally. I accidentally brought one home in my backpack. Should I worry about them infesting my home?
A female with an ootheca might begin a new colony. Hitchhiking with humans is one way insects can expand their range.
We had a bunch of these in my folk’s house north of Santa Rosa about the same as this was posted. Saw them for a few weeks and then they up and disappeared. They were pretty cute when we discovered they were adults and not nymphs.