| Forest Cockroach (Ectobius sylvestris (Poda, 1761)) |
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Scientific name: Ectobius sylvestris (Poda, 1761) Common name: Forest Cockroach Other names: Lesser Cockroach French name: Blatte sylvestre Order: Dictyoptera Family: Blattellidae Wingspan : 7-11 mm. Biotope: Deciduous forests, under the litter or on low growing plants, often on woodland edges. Geographic area: Eurasia. Observation period : May to September. |
The Forest Cockroach, like other members of the family, is an insect with a flat body, spiny legs and long antennae. It shows a rather wide black pronotum, with a cream or white border on all sides. The central black mark is a uniform colour. It shows very sharp edges. The back edge is almost straight and shows two well marked angles on each side. The fore wings or elytra, hardened and veined, are a pale brown colour. They cover all the body on males and taper at the rear. Females have shorter elytra which are only partially covering the abdomen. The edges of Ectobius lapponicus's pronotum are rather translucent and not white. The central mark has more blurred edges. It is rounded and does not show any well marked angle as on the Forest Cockroach. The black mark on Ectobius lucidus's pronotum is not as uniformly coloured as on the Forest Cockroach. You can distinguish whitish Y-shaped mark on the central axis. The edges of the pronotum are translucent and not white. |
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These male Forest Cockroaches, observed on the edge of a woodland track, have been very shy and were walking very fast. I have been able to shoot a few pictures because there was many of them. |
André Bon December 2012