German cockroach

Blattella germanica · A small, light brown cockroach that lives almost entirely in human buildings around the world.

Also called Croton bug.

German cockroach
Photo: Lmbuga, CC BY-SA 3.0
German cockroach
Photo: Bagous, CC BY-SA 4.0
German cockroach
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K, CC BY 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderBlattodea
FamilyEctobiidae
GenusBlattella
SpeciesBlattella germanica

Where it lives

Indoors worldwide; probably from Southeast Asia originally.

Fun facts

  • Although it has wings, the German cockroach can barely fly, though it may glide when disturbed.
  • When food is scarce, German cockroaches may eat household items such as soap, glue, and toothpaste.
  • In famine conditions, these cockroaches turn cannibalistic and chew at each other's wings and legs.
  • Under ideal conditions, a German cockroach can grow from egg to reproductive adult in roughly 50 to 60 days, faster than any other residential cockroach.

Play it

The German cockroach was the creature in a regional daily on November 2, 2026. Can you identify tomorrow's from its photos? Every day brings a new creature to place from kingdom to genus, map and name.

Play today's creature or replay a past daily

Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).