Size, Shape and Colour: Oriental cockroaches are 17-30mm in length. Dark brown to almost black in colour, shiny and have a flat body, the female has smaller wing buds than the males, the males wing buds almost reaching the end of the abdomen. These cockroaches have long flexible antennae. They cannot fly nor can it climb smooth surfaces like the German Cockroach but is very fast running.
Biology: Ootheca (egg casing) produced 5-10 per female each containing 16-18 eggs, incubation is approximately 48 to 80 days at a preferred temperature of 20oC to 25oC. There are as many as 7-10 nymphal stages to reach adulthood. A more varied time scale of life span than the German Cockroach, which is 60 to 250 days, this is much dependent on temperature.
Preferred Foods: Omnivorous feeding on any organic matter including human waste, soap, candles, paper etc. They are true scavengers of the insect kingdom.
Habitat: World- wide. Found predominantly in heated buildings, rubbish and waste areas, cellars,basements and boiler rooms. Colonies can often be found in drain systems . They can squeeze into very small cracks and will exploit bad fitting coving and door jams etc. One of the main routes into homes and food premises is via off site laundry and linen services.
