| The woods cockroach,
Parcoblatta
pennsylvanica, is a fairly large, harmless, native species. It
normally lives outdoors in hollow trees, under bark, and in piles of dead
wood, such as firewood. In the spring, the male cockroaches may invade
homes in moist woodland areas, such as the Ozarks. The large males,
up to an inch long, with wings that cover the tip of the abdomen, are attracted
to lights around homes during their May and June mating season. The
smaller females have short wings that extend only to about the middle of
the abdomen. Bother males and females have the pronotum and anterior
outer edges of the wings margined with pale yellow bands. The short-winged
females and wingless nymphs, which are rarely found indoors, resemble wingless
Oriental cockroach nymphs. Woods roaches cause no damage, and they
do not spread disease. They usually die within a few days indoors. |
