Ectobius sylvestris (Poda, 1761)
woodland, especially edges and clearings; leaf litter, shrubs
The commonest woodland cockroach in Poland. The pronotum is black with broad, pale translucent margins. The female has clearly shortened wings.
Key · identification
Key to the cockroaches of Poland
Draft version data and features still need verification
A multi-access key: tick the visible features in any order – the species list narrows down as you go, and the numbers next to each feature show how many species would remain. Several states of the same feature are combined with “or”.
Draft version – the data still needs verification. The key helps narrow things down, but a reliable identification of Ectobius species often requires examining a male under a stereo microscope.
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Ectobius lapponicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
woodland and heath, shrubs and low branches
Paler than E. sylvestris. The female’s wings are almost as long as the male’s. Reliable separation from related species requires examining the male’s dorsal gland.
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Ectobius pallidus (Olivier, 1789)
dry, sunny woodland edges, grassland, heath
Entirely pale, straw-yellow, with tiny dark dots on the wings. Both sexes are fully winged. Distribution in Poland needs confirmation.
to be verified
Ectobius vittiventris (A. Costa, 1847)
gardens, urban greenery; in autumn sometimes flies into homes
A southern species spreading north through Europe. Pale, uniformly yellowish-brown and attracted to light. Can be mistaken for the German cockroach but lacks the pronotal stripes. Status in Poland to be verified.
to be verified
no photo under a free licence yet
native Phyllodromica maculata (Schreber, 1781)
warm dry grassland, sunny slopes
Very small and dark. Both sexes have shortened wings and cannot fly. Easily overlooked in leaf litter. Features and distribution need verification.
to be verified
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Blattella germanica (Linnaeus, 1767)
German cockroach
buildings – kitchens, bathrooms, restaurants; also glasshouses
Easily recognised by the two dark longitudinal stripes on its pale pronotum. The female often carries the ootheca until the nymphs hatch.
Supella longipalpa (Fabricius, 1798)
brown-banded cockroach
warm, dry places in buildings – furniture, electronics, ceilings
Two pale transverse bands across the wings and abdomen. Avoids moisture and is found in rooms more than in kitchens. Rarely recorded in Poland.
Blatta orientalis Linnaeus, 1758
Oriental cockroach
basements, sewers, damp rooms
Large, dark brown to black and glossy. The male’s wings do not reach the abdomen tip and the female has only small lobes. Cannot climb smooth surfaces.
Shelfordella lateralis (Walker, 1868)
Turkestan cockroach
feeder species – escapees from cultures inside buildings
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.
→ View care sheetto be verified
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Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus, 1758)
American cockroach
sewers, warm basements, zoos, palm houses
The largest cockroach found in Poland. Reddish-brown, with a paler ring around the pronotum. Both sexes have long wings.
Periplaneta australasiae (Fabricius, 1775)
Australian cockroach
palm houses, glasshouses, botanical gardens
Similar to the American cockroach, but with a bright yellow pronotal ring and a yellow stripe at the base of the wings.
no photo under a free licence yet
introduced Pycnoscelus surinamensis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Surinam cockroach
glasshouses and palm houses – burrows in potting soil
Stocky, dark and glossy, with paler wings. European populations are mostly parthenogenetic females, so males are rarely seen.
to be verified
No species matches all selected features. Untick the feature you are least sure of.
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