Class: Insects
Size: 1 to 10cm
Weight: 5 to 20g
Age: 6 to 12 months
Appearance: Red-brown to black carapace
Sexual dimorphism: Yes
Diet type: Omnivorous
Food: Dead organic material
Distribution: Over 4’000 species worldwide
Original location: Africa
Sleep-wake rhythm: Diurnal
Habitat: Unspecific natural
Enemies: E.g. jewel wasp
Sexual maturity: After four to five months
Mating season: All year round
Egg laying: 20 to 40 eggs
Social behaviour: Social insect
Threatened with extinction: No

• There are more than 4’000 species of cockroaches worldwide, most of which live in the wild far from human settlements. In Germany, only two cockroach species are considered pests: they mainly inhabit kitchens and pantries and look for food there.
• The German cockroach, the Oriental cockroach introduced from tropical and subtropical Asia, and the American cockroach are representative of the two cockroach species that are considered pests in Central Europe.
• Cockroaches are now native to every country, remote area and island in the world except Antarctica and the Arctic.
• Most nocturnal cockroaches can grow to several centimetres in size, depending on the species. Although they have wings, they move very fast, especially when running and climbing. With a running speed of up to six kilometres per hour, the cockroach is the fastest crawling insect on earth.
• Cockroaches like warmer temperatures, so they prefer heated living spaces.
• Cockroaches are storage pests and prefer to live near people.
• It takes about 600 days for a cockroach to develop from egg to adult insect through 13 different stages.
• At first glance, cockroaches look like large beetles, but they are flatter, so they can hide in the tightest cracks.
• The cockroach has two antennae on its abdomen through which it can clearly sense any air movement. The tiny hairs on these antennae can detect the breath or movement of an enemy within fifty milliseconds and cause it to flee. In doing so, it flees in a targeted manner, taking into account various factors such as the incidence of light, the direction of the wind, the initial position of its body and any obstacles it can see from a great distance.
• The cockroach is one of the most resilient animals on earth and can even survive in areas heavily contaminated with radiation after a nuclear accident.