This animal is about 3 cm long with a flat body; chestnut brown with dark bands across. It looks like the American cockroach but is wider and has those darker bands. It seems he has no wings, at least not visible.
We found him in the house; he sat on clothes. A leg and feeler were lost during capture.
How does he/she get home?
Answer
Hi Peter,
This is most definitely a cockroach! Size you mention, and the fact that this specimen has no wings means that it can only be a few species: it could be a female of the Baker’s Beetle (Blatta orientalis), but then I would in fact expect clearer wing rudiments; most likely it is a juvenile of the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana). This animal often comes along with houseplants from warm regions (Africa). They have enormous chances of survival and it is therefore best to euthanize them as soon as possible.
vg,
Dominick
Answered by
drs. Dominick Verschelde
Biology, Zoology, Marine nematology, Systematics and taxonomy
http://www.ugent.be
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