Oriental cockroach
Blatta orientalis Linnaeus, 1758
Status not recordedinsects
The oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is an insect in the order Blattodea and the family Blattidae. It was named by Linnaeus, 1758, and belongs to the suborder Solumblattodea, the subfamily Blattinae and the genus Blatta.
Quick facts about the oriental cockroach
Checklists record it in Germany, Georgia, Iran and Poland. Other English names for it include Shad cockroach, Asian cockroach, Common cockroach and Asiatic cockroach.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 1.8 cm – 2.9 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- 4 countriessrc for Countries on record
How big is the oriental cockroach?
Photos of the oriental cockroach
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the oriental cockroach live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The oriental cockroach is listed for 4 countries.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: SF Blattodea (scope: worldwide), through the Catalogue of Life.
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the oriental cockroach as introduced in 14 countries, and flagged as invasive in 2 of them.
- Latviainvasive
- Swedeninvasive
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canary Islands
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Germany
- Ireland
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Poland
- United States
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the oriental cockroach?
The oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis), also known as the waterbug (as they live in damp areas) or black cockroach (as their bodies are mostly dark), is a large species of cockroach, adult males being 18–29 mm (23⁄32–1+5⁄32 in) and adult females being 20–27 mm (25⁄32–1+1⁄16 in). It is dark brown or black in color and has a glossy body. The female has a somewhat different appearance from the male, appearing to be wingless at a casual glance, but is brachypterous, having non-functional wings just below her head. She has a wider body than the male. The male has long wings, which cover three quarters of the abdomen and are brown in color, and has a narrower body. Both of them are flightless. The female oriental cockroach looks somewhat similar to the Florida woods cockroach and may be mistaken for it. Originally endemic to the Crimean Peninsula and the region around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, its distribution is now cosmopolitan.
From the Wikipedia article “Oriental cockroach” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oriental_cockroach&oldid=1379267382), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the oriental cockroach endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the oriental cockroach classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderBlattodea
- familyBlattidae
- genusBlatta
- SpeciesBlatta orientalis Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Blatta badia, Blatta culinaris, Blatta ferruginea, Blatta hemialata, Blatta lucifuga, Blatta secunda, Blatta tertia, Kakerlac castanea, Kakerlac orientale, Kakerlac pallipes, Kakerlac platystetho, Periplaneta orientalis, Stylopyga gracilis, Stylopyga orientalis, Stylopyga spontanea
Other names and names in other languages (51)
- Asian cockroachEnglish
- Asiatic cockroachEnglish
- Common cockroachEnglish
- Common cockroach, oriental cockroachEnglish
- Shad cockroachEnglish
- صرصور شرقيArabic
- الصرصور الشرقيArabic
- Cucaracho comúnAragonese
- cucaracha orientalAsturian
- Чорны тараканBelarusian
- Черна хлебаркаBulgarian
- panerolaCatalan
- šváb obecnýCzech
- Orientalsk kakerlakDanish
- BäckerschabeGerman
- Gemeine KüchenschabeGerman
- KüchenschabeGerman
- Orientalische SchabeGerman
- Cucaracha NegraSpanish
- Labezomorro beltzBasque
- ruotsintorakkaFinnish
- blatte orientaleFrench
- תיקן מזרחיHebrew
- Crni žoharCroatian
- Konyhai csótányHungarian
- Közönséges csótányHungarian
- Scarafaggio nero comuneItalian
- トウヨウゴキブリJapanese
- Juodasis tarakonasLithuanian
- Melnais prusaksLatvian
- orientalsk kakerlakkNorwegian Bokmål
- BakkerstorDutch
- Oosterse kakkerlakDutch
- SzwabPolish
- Karaczan pospolityPolish
- Karaczan wschodniPolish
- KaraluchPolish
- Barata-NegraPortuguese
- Barata-orientalPortuguese
- Gândac Negru de BucătărieRomanian
- Таракан чёрныйRussian
- Чёрный тараканRussian
- šváb obyčajnýSlovak
- Црна бубашвабаSerbian
- orientalisk kackerlackaSwedish
- BoddinkaTelugu
- แมลงสาบเอเชียThai
- Doğu hamam böceğiTurkish
- Тарган чорнийUkrainian
- 东方蠊Chinese
- 東方蜚蠊Chinese
Relatives of the oriental cockroach
Other species in the same genus Blatta.
CompareOriental cockroach vs Blatta berendtiOriental cockroach vs Blatta bolivariOriental cockroach vs Blatta cinereofuscaOriental cockroach vs Blatta constricta
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the oriental cockroach?
The oriental cockroach is an insect in the order Blattodea and the family Blattidae.
What is the scientific name of the oriental cockroach?
Its scientific name is Blatta orientalis, in the genus Blatta.
Who named the oriental cockroach?
The oriental cockroach was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Which countries is the oriental cockroach recorded in?
Checklists record it in Germany, Georgia, Iran and Poland.
What other names does the oriental cockroach have?
It is also called the Shad cockroach, Asian cockroach, Common cockroach and Asiatic cockroach.
Is the oriental cockroach extinct?
No, the Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
Is the oriental cockroach an invasive species?
In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the oriental cockroach as invasive in 2 countries: Latvia and Sweden. It lists it as introduced in 14 in all.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blatta-orientalis
“Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/blatta-orientalis.
@misc{blatta_orientalis_2026,
title = {Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blatta-orientalis},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}