CreatureData

Forest cockroach

Ectobius sylvestris (Poda, 1761)

Status not recordedinsects

The forest cockroach (Ectobius sylvestris) is a species in the family Ectobiidae, order Blattodea. Source checklists list it for 20 countries, including Armenia, Austria and Belgium.

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Quick facts about the forest cockroach

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
20 countriessrc for Countries on record

Where does the forest 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 forest cockroach is listed for 20 countries.

RussiaFranceIranArmeniaSwedenPolandAustriaHungaryRomaniaGermanyBulgariaSwitzerlandBelgiumNetherlandsItalyDenmarkGeorgiaFinlandCzechia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Armenia
  2. Austria
  3. Belgium
  4. Bulgaria
  5. Czechia
  6. Denmark
  7. Finland
  8. France
  9. Georgia
  10. Germany
  11. Hungary
  12. Iran
  13. Italy
  14. Liechtenstein
  15. Netherlands
  16. Poland
  17. Romania
  18. Russia
  19. Sweden
  20. Switzerland

Why a country list is not a range map

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the forest cockroach as introduced in 1 country.

  1. 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).

Is the forest 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 forest cockroach classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderBlattodea
  5. familyEctobiidae
  6. genusEctobius
  7. SpeciesEctobius sylvestris (Poda, 1761)

Synonyms Blatta sylvestris

Other names and names in other languages (16)
  • Lesser cockroachEnglish
  • rusec lesníCzech
  • Echte WaldschabeGerman
  • Euroopa metsaprussakasEstonian
  • metsätorakkaFinnish
  • Cafard des boisFrench
  • Miškinis prūsokasLithuanian
  • Meža prusaksLatvian
  • BoskakkerlakDutch
  • Zadomka leśnaPolish
  • Лесной тараканRussian
  • švábik hôrnySlovak
  • navadni gozdni ščurekSlovenian
  • Тарган лісовийUkrainian
  • Dunkle WaldschabeGerman
  • Gemeine WaldschabeGerman

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the forest cockroach

Other species in the same genus Ectobius.

CompareForest cockroach vs Dusky cockroachForest cockroach vs Tawny cockroachForest cockroach vs Garden cockroachForest cockroach vs Balkan wood cockroach

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Where does the forest cockroach live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the forest cockroach for 20 countries, including Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and Czechia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the forest cockroach an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the forest cockroach as introduced in 1 country: United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the forest cockroach?

The forest cockroach (Ectobius sylvestris) belongs to the family Ectobiidae in the order Blattodea.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Forest cockroach (Ectobius sylvestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cockroach

MLA

“Forest cockroach (Ectobius sylvestris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cockroach.

BibTeX
@misc{forest_cockroach_2026,
  title = {Forest cockroach (Ectobius sylvestris)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cockroach},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}