APPEARANCE:

This roach is shiny black and is about 1.25 inches long. They have wings, but can't fly.

The total length for the female is 1 ¼" and 1" for the male.
The females have small nonfunctional wings while the males have wings that cover about ¾ of the abdomen, nether the female or male can fly. Adults are very dark brown or black in color.

DIET:

Decayed organic matter in mulch piles and rubbish.
The Oriental cockroach prefers starchy food, and builds up populations around garbage cans.
Most of their water consumption is gotten through their food and the moisture around them.

HABITS AND BIOLOGY:

Females produce an average of 8 egg Capsules, containing 16 eggs in each,from spring to mid-summer.
Unlike other urban cockroaches, the Oriental roach produces only one generation per year
where temperatures are cool in winter.
The female will carry the egg capsule(irregularly shaped,black,3/8" long,and 1/4"wide),
for around 30 hours and then drops or attaches it in a protected area, near a food supply.
The eggs hatch in about 60 days under warm conditions.
At least 75% of the eggs must hatch to open the capsule.

The young become adults in 6-12 months.
Nymphs(young) are active from about March through much of the summer.
During this period they molt seven to ten times, and are reddish-brown to black in color,
except in the first stage when they are pale tan.
The older brown Oriental cockroach nymphs are very difficult to distinguish from the American cockroach nymphs.

This type of roach will have seasonal cycle in it's development.
They peak to adults during the spring and early
summer, dwindling in numbers by the late summer/early fall.
Nymphs(young) are active from about March through much of the summer.
During this period they molt seven to ten times, and are reddish-brown to black in color,
except in the first stage when they are pale tan.
The older brown Oriental cockroach nymphs are very difficult to distinguish
from the American cockroach nymphs.

Inside they can be found in damp areas such as basements, crawl spaces,and kitchens, indoors and outside.

They are usually found at or below ground level in yards, beneath leaves,
in dumps, in the mulch of flower beds and in high moisture situations such as sewers,
drains and dark, damp basements. They favor crawl spaces, spaces between the soil
and building foundations, the undersides of stoops and sidewalks, landscaping mulches,
water meters, basements and their floor drains, and other such moist places.
These cockroaches frequently live in floor drains that drain directly outside;
these drains are also used as entrances to homes.
They tolerate lower temperature ranges than other roaches and may winter in rock walls or such protected sites.

During times of drought there may be movement towards the inside of the home,
but generally speaking they are found outdoors during the warmer months.
They may also move inside if it is unseasonably cold.