Oriental cockroach
Blatta orientalis
elena-u · Signagi Georgia field photo
Key facts in one look
- Group
- Insect · cockroach · Blattidae
- Georgian evidence
- 75 records and 5 photos
- Adult size
- About 22–27 mm
- Identification
- Dark body; male with short wings, female with wing pads
- Where to look
- Cool, damp refuges, often near buildings
- Indoor concern
- Allergens and food contamination
The Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) has wings, but neither males nor females can fly. Males have short wings, while females have only small, undeveloped ones. Adults are about 22–27 mm long and range from dark brown to almost black. It belongs to the cockroach order (Blattodea) and the Blattidae family. Older sources may call it Periplaneta orientalis; today its accepted scientific name is Blatta orientalis. The Oriental cockroach has been recorded in Georgia: there are 75 publicly posted observations and five photos with location coordinates. It is recorded in Tbilisi, Kakheti, Abkhazia and Adjara. There are also reports from Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Samtskhe-Javakheti and the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region, but only a few.
Identification
Oriental cockroach: how to identify it
The adult Oriental cockroach is a flat, shiny insect, dark brown or almost black, with long feelers. Males and females have wings of different lengths, so check the wings as well when identifying it. You cannot identify the species by color or size alone.
Adults are about 22–27 mm long. The male’s wings do not cover the tip of the abdomen, and the female’s wings are very short and undeveloped. Neither males nor females can fly. In a photo, do not rely on dark color alone: wing shape and the upper side of the body are more useful for identification.
A young Oriental cockroach has no wings. An adult female's wings are also very short, so a young one and a female are hard to tell apart. To separate them, look at size and body details. The female's eggs are enclosed in a single dark capsule. Do not rush to identify it from a damaged or blurry photo.
An adult German cockroach (Blattella germanica) is usually smaller and brownish. Just behind its head, on the upper shield of the thorax, it has two dark stripes. The Oriental cockroach is larger and dark all over. The common bed bug is a different insect altogether: the adult is smaller and oval, has no wings it can fly with, and feeds on blood. One feature alone is not enough to tell the two cockroaches apart, so look at several features together.
Colour
The adult Oriental cockroach has a shiny body that ranges from dark brown to almost black. The female's egg capsule is dark as well. Color is only a supporting feature, so to identify the species, check the wings, size and body shape too.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
In general, the Oriental cockroach often hides in cool, dark, damp places. Indoors, it finds them in basements and around pipes, drains and foundations. Outdoors, it shelters under debris and leaves.
The Oriental cockroach map combines public iNaturalist observations from Georgia with georeferenced Reptiles.ge gallery photos. Regions come from the records-by-region table; only regions with enough records are shaded on the map, while others have too few records.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
The Oriental cockroach will eat almost anything, but it prefers food rich in starch. It feeds on various foods and on organic waste. It is also associated with rubbish, sewers and decaying material. This is a general description of what the species eats.
The Oriental cockroach moves mainly at night. The female lays her eggs in a dark capsule. She carries the capsule with her at first, then leaves it in a warm, sheltered spot near food. The young that hatch have no wings at first. They shed their skin several times before they become adults. How long they take to grow depends on temperature and other conditions.
Yes, Blatta orientalis has been recorded in Georgia. Observations and photos of it from various regions of the country have been published openly. The photos come with the place where they were taken.
The Oriental cockroach has been recorded in Tbilisi, Kakheti, Abkhazia and Adjara. There are also records from Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Samtskhe-Javakheti and the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region, but they are few. These are only the places where it has been recorded, so they do not show the species’ full range.
The Oriental cockroach is usually larger and very dark. Males have short wings, while females have only very short, undeveloped wings. The German cockroach is smaller and brownish, with two dark stripes on the shield just behind its head. One feature alone is not enough to tell them apart, so check several features together.
About 22–27 mm. An adult Oriental cockroach is usually about this long. Size alone will not tell you the species, so look at the wings and body shape as well.
No. Neither the male nor the female can fly. The adult male has wings, but they do not fully cover its abdomen. The female’s wings are very small.
The Oriental cockroach moves mainly at night. It often hides in cool, damp, dark places. In buildings, it finds them in basements and near pipes, drains and foundations. Outdoors, it may hide under debris and leaves.
The Oriental cockroach is not venomous, but it is not entirely harmless either. It can contaminate food. Tiny pieces of cockroaches’ bodies and their droppings can also make allergies or asthma symptoms worse in sensitive people.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
