PL – Polski
Glossary · terms

Glossary of terms

Short explanations of the terms used in the care sheets, the key and the blog. In texts across the site they are underlined with dots – hover or tap to see the definition.

12 terms
# adult (imago) imago
The fully developed, sexually mature adult. Many species have wings at this stage; an adult cockroach no longer moults.
# cerci przysadki odwłokowe
A pair of short appendages at the tip of the abdomen, sensitive to air movement – one reason cockroaches escape so fast.
# moulting linienie
Shedding the old exoskeleton in order to grow. A freshly moulted cockroach is pale, almost white, and darkens within a few hours.
# nymph nimfa
The juvenile stage of a cockroach. It resembles a small adult without wings and grows by moulting several times.
# ootheca ooteka
An egg case produced by the female. Some species deposit it in a crevice, others carry it at the tip of the abdomen or retract it into the body until hatching.
# oviparity jajorodność
A mode of reproduction in which the female deposits the ootheca outside (e.g. in a crevice) and nymphs hatch from it weeks later.
# ovoviviparity jajożyworodność
A mode of reproduction in which eggs develop in an ootheca kept inside the female, which then gives birth to active nymphs – e.g. Blaptica dubia.
# parthenogenesis partenogeneza
Reproduction without males – females produce offspring from unfertilised eggs, as in European populations of Pycnoscelus surinamensis.
# pronotum przedplecze
The shield behind the head that covers it from above. Its shape and pattern are key features for identification.
# subadult subadult
A nymph in its last stage before adulthood – one more moult and it becomes an adult.
# synanthropic species gatunek synantropijny
A species living alongside people – in buildings, basements or sewers – such as the German or Oriental cockroach.
# tegmina pokrywy
The front pair of wings – leathery and covering the membranous hind wings. Their length often differs between males and females.
Key to the cockroaches of Poland → Care sheets →