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Shelfordella lateralis
female laying an ootheca. Photo:Happy1892 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

alien species in Poland only in culture

Shelfordella lateralis

(Walker, 1868) · Turkestan cockroach

The male is pale rusty and fully winged. The female is dark, with vestigial wings and cream patches on the sides of the thorax. In Poland known mainly from cultures.

! Data on this species still need verification.

Length
18–25 mm
Habitat
feeder species – escapees from cultures inside buildings
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How to recognise it

  • The male is light brown, fully winged, with cream stripes along the tegmina edges.
  • The female is dark, with short wing pads and pale side marks.
  • Cannot climb smooth walls; sensitive to cold.

Distribution

In Poland only as a feeder insect in culture; no wild populations. Native from North Africa to Central Asia.

When to look

all year in buildings and glasshouses

Sources