Subject: Found on my shower curtain
Location: Maryland
May 27, 2017 5:23 pm
Help! I found this bug scattering around my shower curtain. It is spring/summer and I live in Maryland outside of D.C.
Signature: Michelle

Dusky Cockroach

Dear Michelle,
This is a Cockroach, but it does not look like one of the species that typically infests homes.  We believe we have correctly identified it as a Dusky Cockroach, Ectobius lapponicus, a species that according to BugGuide is:  “native to Europe (widespread), adventive in NA” and “earliest record in our area: NH 1984 (Chandler 1985).” iNaturalist has images of it crawling on leaves, so we suspect this individual just found its way into your home and it will not cause an indoor infestation.  According to ResearchGate:  “Adult and nymph males are typically found on low-lying vegetation, while females are more often found in leaf litter and decaying wood (Roth and Willis 1960).  That does not seem like behavior of a home infesting Cockroach.  Of the entire genus, BugGuide notes:  “Abundant in European forests, moorlands, scrubby woodland margins, and rough grasslands, mostly on the ground under dead leaves, among bracken ferns, in grass and moss, on lower branches of small trees and shrubs, and also in coastal habitats (sea cliffs, sand dunes, beaches).”

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Subject: identification
Location: Kenya, Malindi
April 7, 2017 9:18 am
Hi there, I would need if possible an identification for the following two insects, one seems to be a moth and the other some type beetle (?). They came flying on a veranda at night close to a light and landed on the curtain where they stayed for long. In Kenya, Malindi (coast) , April the second 2017.
Signature: Joan

Cockroach

Dear Joan,
Your Moth is a member of the superfamily Noctuoidea which contains Owlet Moths and kin.  What you have mistaken for a beetle is a Cockroach.

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Subject: What is this bug?
Location: Fallon Nevada U.S.A.
April 4, 2017 9:37 pm
Found this bug on my carpet in my garage converted to computer room, could not ID it, please help.
Found April 4th, 2017
Signature: Brian.

So sorry, forgot to say the bug in my previous submission is 1/2 inch long

Flightless Female Sand Cockroach

Dear Brian,
This is a flightless, female Sand Cockroach in the genus Arenivaga which you can verify by comparing your individual to this BugGuide image.  This is not a Cockroach genus that infests homes.  Males can fly and are attracted to lights.  According to Eric Eaton:  “Females are wingless and rarely surface from under the sand.”

Flightless Female Sand Cockroach

Thank you,
The area I am in is very sandy, I dug a tower footing 5.5 ft deep and it was still like a beach, we have had a lot of rain this year after years of drought, wonder if that is why this is the first time I have seen them.
Brian.

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Subject: What is this please?
Location: Southern California
January 9, 2017 1:28 am
Dear Bugman, I live in monrovia hills which is in southern calif. In the last week I have encountered two of these bugs indoors on the floor in 2 separate bedrooms. Their torso are about 2 inches long and by the photo it appears the wings are about the same . One actually aggressively jumped on me and I had to keep swatting it away. I have been in my home 20 years and living in the hills I have encountered my share of insects from millipedes , scorpion, Jerusalem bugs, black widows etc. Neverthess despite exhaustive research I cannot identify this insect and wonder if you can help me. Identifying it hopefully will help me discover where they are coming from and how I can prevent them from infesting my home. Your help would be greatly appreciated . Many thanks
Signature: Erin

American Cockroach

Dear Erin,
We believe this Cockroach, based on its appearance and the size and behavior you described, it an American Cockroach, Periplaneta americana, which despite its name is NOT a native species.  According to BugGuide:  “They are significant pests throughout the world. They are not native to the Americas at all. They come from tropical Africa. They were probably transported to the Americas on slave ships.”  Because of their large size, American Cockroaches are not as likely to infest homes as the much smaller German Cockroach, and we suspect the two you found were most likely accidental visitors as opposed to breeding individuals that have taken up residence in your home.

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