There is so much more to cockroaches than you think.
Truth be told, some people might still be confused about the entomological classification of roaches.
What bang out of insects are they?
Should we just categorize them as pests?
These are valid questions because there are bugs that look likecockroachesbut arent.
The only resemblance they probably have is their brown to black color.
Crickets have more elongated or cylindrical bodies while roaches have oval-shaped ones.
Crickets also have longer antennae.
Crickets also have long rear legs which produce their signature sound.
Like roaches however, crickets jump when they are disturbed or startled.
But compared to roaches, they have higher jumps.
Roaches on the other hand are more agile and are most likely to run or glide than jump.
Beetle vs. cockroach
Beetles perhaps resemble roaches the most.
The first difference between these two would be roaches tend to have longer antennae and legs.
Some beetles are comparable to roaches.
This includes ground beetles, May beetles and wood-boring beetles.
Florida roaches most often go by the name of palmetto bugs because they often hide themselves beneath palmetto leaves.
Related:Whats The Difference Between Palmetto Bugs and Cockroaches?
While they could fly, they are clumsy and often crash on walls and will fall on the floor.
Roaches are faster runners and more agile.
June bugs are also attracted to light while only some roaches would.
Unlike roaches, termites have softer bodies, shorter antennae and are about 0.5 inches long only.
There are whitetypes of termiteswhile roaches are only white and translucent at their molt stage.
Most of the time, roaches are solitary creatures while termites are highly social and a close-knit group.
In terms of color, these two have the same red-brown hue and oval-shaped, winged frame.
Their stark difference is on the wings though.
Not all roaches have wings and those that have wings usually have soft, leathery ones.
Ground beetles on the other hand are known for their sturdy, front wings.
They are also vegetarians and will not causean infestationin the home unlike roaches.
Baby cockroach vs. bed bug
Roach nymphs are commonlymistaken as bed bugs.
The most comparable tobed bugswould be German cockroach nymphs.
The difference is thatbed bugshave a more oval-shaped body.
They also have a more prominent red-brown color and shorter antennae compared to roach nymphs.
The most referred to roaches as water bugs would be the small oriental and smoky brown roaches.
Well, unlike roaches, real water bugs live in stagnant waters.
Roaches also rarely bite but water bugs are biters.
Their front legs have pincers and their beaks are strong for that purpose.
Unlike roaches, they do not have antennae.
In terms of diet, water bugs are known water predators while roaches will basically feed on anything.
Related:What Is The Difference Between a Water Bug and a Cockroach?
Other than that, Asian longhorned beetles are distinct and could be easily identified apart from roaches.
Cockroach vs Palo Verde Beetle
Palo Verde beetles are endemic in southwest America.
They are said to resemble roaches because of their size and color.
In terms of habitat, Palo Verde beetles thrive outdoors and cannot live long indoors.
They get their name from hatching their eggs in palo verde trees.
Sometimes, they also inhabit olive trees and even rose bushes.
Baby palo verde beetles will niche in trees roots until they become adults.
They are also smaller than roaches so you could easily identify them.
Honestly, wood-boring beetles look like smaller wasps than roaches.
They are also identifiable for the black, white and yellow markings on their bodies.
But then again, roaches are unique for their niching habit, diet and behavior.
More than anything, these are what sets it apart from other insects and even other pests like termites.
Is a cockroach a beetle?
To set things straight, no, roaches are not beetles.
Roaches belong to the family Blattodea while beetles, mantids and grasshoppers belong to the same order.
These are June bugs, wood-boring beetles and ground beetles.
Technically, termites are more closely related to roaches in terms of species than beetles.
How big are cockroaches?
The answer to this depends on the pop in of roaches we are talking about.
For one, American,Australianand German roaches grow from 0.5 to 3 inches in length.
Sometimes the size of roaches differentiates them from other insects.
They do not go over 3inches while other insect counterparts could grow larger than that size.
Related:
What do small roaches look like?
Truth be told, there are distinct differences among small roaches themselves.
They are distinguishable for their underdeveloped wings or the absence of wings entirely.
In terms of color, different roach types also have differences in color.
Small roaches are 0.2 to 0.5 inches in length.
Is a roach an insect?
Yes, roaches are considered insects.
As have been mentioned, they belong to the order Blattodea, composed of at least 4,500 winged species.
Do roaches like light?
To be clear, roaches are nocturnal species and they thrive in dark, moist locations.
However,some roach typesare attracted to light like smokey brown roaches, brown-banded roaches and oriental roaches.
Another clarification for this question is that roaches do not necessarily hate light.
They just take it as a signal that someone is around.
They like hiding because they are easily startled or disturbed.
They take this as a threat and so they have associated light with people.
They are more afraid than us than we are afraid of them.
