Dictyoptera

Cockroach
Hemma Yulfi
Parasitology Dept.
FK USU
Introduction

• Previously named order Orthoptera

• Common name: cockroach (roach)
• Ancient and highly successful form of insect
life
• 4,000 species in the world
• 30 species have established close association
with man
• Most domiciliary are nocturnal; wild ones
diurnal

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Life cycle

• Incomplete metamorphosis: egg –

nymph – adult
• Egg is placed in a bag called ootheca,
which consists of 15-40 eggs
• Nymph resembles adult, only smaller,
and under-developed wings and genitalia

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Morphology

• Usually flattened dorso-ventrally

• Tough integument, varying in color from
chestnut brown to black
• Antennae are filiform and many segmented
• Two pairs of wings
• Two pairs of long and well-developed legs,
help them to run and swift

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Common domiciliary species

• Periplaneta americana (American roach)

• P. brunnea
• P. australasiae
• Blattella germanica (German roach)
• Neostylopyga rhombifolia
• Supella longipalpa

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Periplanata americana

P. brunnae

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 Blattella germanica

P. australasiae Neostylopyga rhombifolia

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Feeding habit

• The mouth parts are of generalized

biting-chewing type
• Omnivorous, preferences for starchy and
sugary materials
• Coprophagous, saprophagous

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Living habit

• Live in dwellings belonging to all ethnic

groups
• All economic classes of people
• Immaculate housekeeping does not
exempt roaches
• Sloppy housekeeping
• Preferences in humid and dark places
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Public health significance

Roaches are known to harbor:

• pathogenic bacteria
• helminths eggs
• viruses
• protozoa
• fungi

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Public health significance

Two ways of transporting pathogens:

• Mechanically thru their legs, mouth
parts, or body
• Thru excreta/vomit after feeding on
infectious materials

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Public health significance

• Habit of feeding on human feces and

food as a potential health hazard
• Move from building to building or sewer
to human habitations
• Regurgitating partially digested food and
dropping feces
• Active at night – contaminating food
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Public health significance

Contact between man and roaches may

cause:
• Dermatitis of the skin
• Eye edema
• Secretion, which irritates sensitive skin
• Allergic reactions

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Cockroach and allergy

Important of roach allergen:

• Casts of skin
• Feces
• Body parts
• Saliva

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Preventive measures

• Keep all foods in sealed containers

• Remove waste foods from the house
• Keep plumbing well maintained
• Increase ventilation in damp areas
• Carry out regular trapping
• Boric acids under appliances and sinks

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Control measures

• Mechanical control: reducing infestations by

using traps, e.g. sticky traps, or non-organic
dust:
– Silica gel: finely ground sand or glass, removed
wax from the roaches, causes dehydration
– Boric acid: stick to the cuticle, ingested by the
roaches and poisoning
• Biological control: insect growth regulators
(IGRs)
• Chemical control: insecticides

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