The field cockroach is an outdoor species and very similar in external appearance to a German cockroach. If you want to identify this outdoor cockroach species perfectly and differentiate them from other roaches, then this article is for you.
Quick summary of field cockroach: this is a slightly smaller, green-brownish outdoor cockroach species. You will find remarkable similarities in their external appearance with the German, Cuban, and Oriental cockroaches.
But, these outdoor field roaches possess unique external features that make them different. They have a brown or blackish area on their face and love to stay in irrigated regions and decomposing vegetation.
If you want to know other interesting facts and unique external features of this field roaches, let’s continue this article till the end.
Field cockroach – pale bordered roaches
The field cockroach is also known as the pale bordered field roach. External appearances of the field roaches are more or less similar to the German cockroaches.
As a beginner entomology student, you may struggle to identify the filed roaches. But, I will provide the proper identifying features of the filed roaches that might greatly help you.
You will find the below-mentioned external features of the filed roaches –
- #1. The average length of the filed roaches varies from 12 – 19 millimeters (0.5 – 0.75 inches),
- #2. You will see a more greenish-brown coloration in this outdoor cockroach species,
- #3. These outdoor field roaches possess unique black or brown marks on their faces; that extend from their mouth parts to their eyes,
- #4. You will see the flattened body in the filed roaches that help them to enter the cracks around the home, electric line, and pipes,
- #5. The wings of the older field roaches are rudimentary on females, but wings cover the abdomen of males,
- #6. Time takes to complete their life cycle – about 3 months,
- #7. The average number of eggs per case of a filed roach – 30 – 40,
- #8. The filed roaches love to perform at night and hide in holes or cracks and crevices during the day,
- #9. They love to remain in outdoor irrigated areas, and decomposing feeds,
I hope these interesting field roach features might help you identify them from your area. You may also find the summary of the filed roaches from Table 1 –
| Field Cockroach | Identifying features (Unique) |
| Body size | 12 – 19 millimeters |
| Body shape | Flattened |
| Body color | Greenish-brown |
| Unique face mark | On the face (Brown or black) |
| Wings | Female – rudimentary Male – larger |
Filed roach images
Here, I will provide the real filed roach images so that you may identify every single external body part. First, let’s see the color of the filed roaches that are shown in the provided images.
Here, the greenish-brown (sometime you may find olive green color) coloration on the body of filed roaches is unique compared to German roaches. Again, the provided image shows unique brown (sometimes black) marks on its faces. This unique brown face mark extends from the mouth parts to between two eyes.
The filed roaches show well-organized prothorax, mesothorax, metathorax, and abdomen. The antennae and three pairs of legs of the filed roaches are almost similar to other various cockroach species.
The provided image also shows a filed roach’s clear and well-developed caudal cercus. You will find shorter wings on the female field roaches, whereas the male field roach has larger wings.
You may also find more images or labeled diagrams on the field roach here on social media of the insect pet.
Field cockroach scientific name
As a student of entomology or an insect lover, you may get interested in knowing the scientific name of the field cockroach (pale bordered filed roach). The scientific name of the field roach is – Pseudomops septentrionalis.
You may also get interested to know the scientific name of some of the common cockroaches from Table 2 –
| Cockroaches | Scientific Name | Body Length |
| German cockroach | Blattella germanica | 12 – 21 millimeters |
| American cockroach | Periplaneta Americana | 35 – 40 millimeters |
| Oriental cockroach | Blatta orientalis | 30 – 35 millimeters |
| Brownbanded cockroach | Supella longipalpa | 12 – 15 millimeters |
| Field roach | Pseudomops septentrionalis | 12 – 19 millimeters |
Field roach nymph
The nymph of a field cockroach hatches from egg cases as found in other various roaches. These nymphs of a field roach resemble small grayish brown older roaches. But, you will not find any wings on these nymphs of a field roach.
Other external characteristics of the field roach’s nymph are similar to other various roaches. You may get an overview of the nymph or baby cockroach from the below-mentioned article on insect pets –
The nymphs of a filed roach will molt several times (typically 10 – 12) in over a year. It takes 100 – 150 days to become older from the nymph.
The life cycle of field roaches
A field roach needs almost 3 – 5 months to complete its life cycle. The female field roach carries its eggs until they are ready to hatch.
Typically, 30 – 40 eggs are found in the capsule of a filed roach. Again, the average number of nymph hatching is 35, and the incubation period is 25 days.
If the capsule is removed from the female field roach, it will never hatch. A female field roach may produce an average of 4 – 6 capsules at room temperature.
The whole life cycle of a field roach shows the simple metamorphosis of other roaches. An older field roach may participate in the gliding fights.
Field roach vs cockroach
As I told you before, the external features of a field roach are somewhat similar to the German, Oriental, and Cuban cockroaches. Thus, you need to differentiate these cockroaches from each other.
Before differentiating field roaches from other cockroaches, let’s know some other common things like their habitat and feeding habit.
Where is the field roach found?
You will most commonly find the filed roaches in irrigated regions of southern Arizona. These outdoor cockroaches may also find in the adjacent areas of Southern California.
They are primarily associated with and feed on decomposing materials like vegetables and weeds. Again, you may also find this field roach under a stone, clumps of anything, wood piles, palm tree, and decaying trees.
Sometimes, a few field roaches may see in the cracks of house doors and windows. They remain active at night but usually hide in cracks and crevices during the daytime.
What do field roaches eat?
The field roach may eat anything they want. Here, I will list their favorite feeds for a field roach –
- #1. Meat and grease,
- #2. Starchy foods, sweets, and baked materials,
- #3. Leather and wallpaper,
- #4. Book materials and sizing,
German cockroach vs field cockroach
A German cockroach is a very common species that have a tremendous capacity to produce offspring. They are smaller types of cockroaches with a light brown color and two dark stripes on the pronotum.
You will find the details external features of the German cockroach in the below-mentioned article on insect pets –
- Palmetto bug (German cockroach) vs cockroach – the difference between water bug and other cockroaches,
The field roach is slightly smaller and more greenish-brown compared to the German roaches. German cockroaches love to stay in commercial and industrial areas. But sometimes, you may find them in-house.
Whereas the field roaches temporarily come to the house in the dried period of the year. Let’s see the details difference between field and German cockroaches in the next section of this article.
What is the difference between a field roach and a German cockroach?
The appearance of the different external structures of a field roach and a German cockroach plays an important role in differentiating them. Table 3 shows the major differences between a field and a German roach –
| Features | Field Roach | German roach |
| Origin | Southern Arizona Southern California | North America |
| Other Name | Pale Bordered Field Roach | Water or Palmetto Bug |
| Body Size | Smaller 12 – 19 millimeters | Larger 12 – 21 millimeters |
| Body color | Greenish-brown | Reddish-Brown |
| Marking | Black or brown face mark | A light yellow band around the head |
| Wings | Short | Larger |
| Reproductive cycle | 3 – 5 months | 12 – 18 months |
| Eggs per capsule | 30 – 40 eggs | 25 – 75 eggs |
| Egg capsule | Long bean-like | Dark-brown |
| Nymph | Grayish-brown | Grayish-brown |
Again, you will find some differences in their behavior, habitat, and feeding habits. Thus, you will differentiate a filed roach from a German roach easily.
What is the difference between a field roach and an oriental roach?
The oriental cockroach is slightly larger, black-brown, and is a common indoor species compared to the field roach. You may easily differentiate an oriental roach from a field roach with the help of its external appearance.
The male oriental cockroach has short wings, whereas the female oriental is almost wingless. So, this may be a great differentiating point for the oriental roach from a field roach.
The female or male oriental cockroaches cannot fly at all. You may be interested in knowing about any cockroaches flying. The below-mentioned article might help you to find your answer –
You will find a great variation in the reproductive cycle, eggs capsule, and number of eggs per capsule in these two roaches. The life cycle of an oriental roach is larger than these of field roaches.
Again, the ability of the produced offspring is less in oriental roaches compared to the field roaches. The oriental roach loves to stay in dark, damp, and cool areas.
Field roach vs oriental roach
Let’s find the summary of the difference between a filed roach and an oriental roach from Table 4 –
| Features | Oriental roach | Field roach |
| Origin | Northern USA | Southern Arizona |
| Body size | 30 – 35 millimeters | 12 – 19 millimeters |
| Body color | Dark reddish brown to black | Olive green to brown |
| Wings | Almost wingless | Short wings |
| Fly or glide | Incapable | Capable |
| Life cycle | 6 – 10 months | 3 – 5 months |
| Capsule and egg | Eight capsules, 14 – 16 eggs per capsule | Average 35 eggs per capsule |
| Odor | More odorous species | Less odorous |
Thus, you will differentiate an oriental roach from a field roach easily. The oriental cockroach infestation may occur during spring and fall. Again, these oriental cockroaches may spend much time outdoors during warm weather.
Field roach vs Cuban roach
There are distinct external features between the field and Cuban roaches. The body color, the appearance of wings, and the nymph color are the main distinguishable features of the Cuban roach from the field roach.
The Cuban roach is also known as the green banana cockroach. They are a very well-known cockroach species due to their pleasant green color.
The female of this outdoor Cuban cockroach is larger (measured 25 millimeters). On the other hand, the male Cuban is smaller than the female Cuban cockroach (12 – 15 millimeters).
You will find strong and well-developed wings in both male and female Cuban cockroaches. They are considered the strong flier cockroaches in the world.
You will also find a great variation in the color and habit of a nymph of the Cuban cockroach. They (nymphs) are brown or black in color and considered strong burrowers.
Frequently asked questions on field cockroach
Now, you will find the commonly asked question on a filed cockroach by the insect learners. But you might go through the whole article to know the basic of the field roach.
Okay, let’s see the frequently asked questions on the field roach with their concise answer –
What is a field cockroach?
A field roach is an outdoor species almost externally similar to the German roach. But, they have a black or brown colored unique face mark from the mouth parts to between the eyes.
You will see a little difference in the size of the field roach when compared to the German cockroach. The body color difference may play a great role in differentiating the field roach from German roaches.
What attracts field roaches?
The odors of decomposing materials like trees, vegetables, meat, grease, and baked goods may attract filed roaches. Again, various starchy foods, sweets, leather, and paste also may attract a field cockroach.
As field roach love to hide in cracks and crevices, thus, the cracks in house doors and windows may also attract them. The male field roach attracts light during the night time.
How do I get rid of field roaches?
The controlling procedure of the field roaches is straightforward. You may control the filed roaches in two ways – manually and chemically.
The doors and windows of your house should be very tight fitting to control the entry of field roaches. Again, the cracks and crevices of the house should be sealed by you. That might help you get rid of these field roaches.
Finally, outdoor insecticide barrier treatment may apply around the windows and door of your house. Various agents like boric powder and silica can be applied to remove field cockroaches.
You may also apply light dust in the crack and crevices of your houses. But, make sure more dust is not applied as its heavy deposition may repel filed cockroaches.
How odorous is a filed roach?
A filed cockroach typically produces odorous secretions from various points of its body. Such secretions from the filed roach make an unpleasant odor and affect the flavor of foods.
When there is a filed roach infestation, you will find characteristics unpleasant odor. There is no evidence that a field roach can directly produce human disease. But they can carry diseasing-producing organisms in their legs and bodies.
Conclusion
You get a basic idea of the external appearance of a filed cockroach. Again, the provided external features might help you identify a filed roach from other roaches like German and Oriental species.
The body color, shape, size, nymph color, and wings of filed cockroaches are the essential features that make them unique from other species. As outdoor cockroaches carry various organisms, you should care about their control of your house.
